Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

aremyhandsdirty Man, barely unwatchable.As staged as you can get, lipped synced the whole way, except for a few of the Beatles numbers, which was filmed for other reasons but includied here for a perk that 3 other groups appear in the film that the Beatles's manager had under contract.The backdrops scenery, spoiler, they spared no expense thru most of this, a painted bed sheet would have been better.About the only bright spot was Matt Monro, a guy with a wonderful voice. A couple of typical The Animals songs we have seen before and synced, would have been nice to see a live performance. Most of the rest pretty MEH, especially the music. This looks just like what it was a cheesy cashing in on things like Hard Days Night. Maybe it's a British thing to like this?

romanorum1 From 1 January 1964 to 31 December 1965 there were 48 number one songs on the Billboard pop charts (USA). Ten of these songs emanated from Detroit, the soul sound. But twenty of the 48 were British. Twenty! To put this information in perspective, the first foreign record to reach #1 in America did not even occur until the summer of 1958, when Domenico Modugno from Italy sang "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)." Not much else happened until 1963, when Kyu Sakamoto of Japan serenaded with "Sukiyaki," which also went to the top. So with the phenomenal English achievement of 40 percent of the top USA records in 1964-1965, one understands that the "British Invasion" was incredibly successful. The English brand was popular then. There was swinging London, Carnaby Street, the Mersey Beat, James Bond, Twiggy, etc. Then there were the four lads from Liverpool: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr – the Beatles – the greatest Rock 'n' Roll group of all time. "Go Go Mania" ("Pop Gear" in England), made for UK audiences, was released in England in January 1965 and in May 1965 in the USA. It capitalized on the popularity of the British sound. There are 25 featured songs from 16 performing artists. The term "Go-Go" was new at the time (and may have originated from the "Whiskey a Go-Go" discotheque in Chicago). You know the connotation: girls in short skirts/dresses, sometimes in white boots, dancing on platforms or suspended cages at various clubs across the USA. We witnessed the popularity of TV shows like "Shindig," "Hullabaloo," "Hollywood a-Go-Go" (with those gorgeous Gazzarri Dancers) and "Shivaree." But although "Go Go Mania" does have two nice-looking female dance numbers (featuring golden hip-huggers and tight skirts), the reason for the name change from "Pop Gear" is not fully clear.Wild-haired (and now controversial) British media personality Jimmy Savile is the host of the movie. But he is rather inconsistent in that he does not always identify a group or a song. Anyway, in the first and last singing acts the Beatles are featured from a live 1963 (not 1964) English concert. Beatles manager Brain Epstein had given Harry Field and Frederic Goode special permission to use the clips. The opening song is "She Loves You"; the conclusion is truncated – just the last part – of "Twist and Shout." Yes, the teen-aged girls scream to their hearts' content and are great fun to watch. Soon, for the first time in American music history, the Beatles had the top 5 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 (4 April 1964)! They were destined for a long run (1964-1970). Savile makes it clear that the first 16 songs of the movie focused on the 1964 hits; the second part is mostly about British pop prospects in the upcoming year. In between the Beatles' hits we see such sound-stage performers (mostly all neatly dressed) on individual and colorful sets as the Animals, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Herman's Hermits, Peter and Gordon, and others. Unfortunately we cannot have everything so there are no Rolling Stones or Dave Clark Five or Zombies. Nevertheless, the feature is a fine time capsule. The Animals sing their only #1 American hit, "House of the Rising Sun." They follow up with "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," which reached #15. The band includes lead vocals Eric Burton, Hilton Valentine (guitar), large and tall "Chas" Chandler (bass), John Steele (drums) and band founder Alan Price (on keyboards). Price would leave the group in the spring of 1965. Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas sing their popular "Little Children," a #7 hit. The Honeycombs, with female drummer Ann "Honey" Lantree, sing "Have I the Right," which reached #5 on the USA charts. So the gal does all right and was obviously the inspiration for the group's name. Peter Asher and Gordon Waller perform their wonderful "A World without Love," which went right to the top in America. The Nashville Teens sing "Tobacco Road" (#14). Herman's Hermits, one of the more successful British groups in the USA, croon "I'm into Something Good," which went to #13 on the charts. By the way, 1965 would be an even better year as the band was destined to score high with two #1 hits and also one #2. Eventually 18 Herman's Hermit's tunes would chart on American Top 40 lists (1964-1968). The music by Sounds Orchestral in "Pop Gear" did not chart, but in 1965 their "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" did reach #10. Now the Spencer Davis group – with Steve Winwood – is intriguing as their best years in America did not begin until 1966-1967 ("Gimme Some Lovin'" was #7). Steve Winwood later left the group, and on his own, had two #1 American hits in the 1980s.The Rockin' Berries never charted in America. In the movie they covered "What in the World's Come over You." That tune was a gold disc winner for Canadian-American Jack Scott (Giovanni Scafone), who wrote the lyrics and sang the song (1959-1960). But Savile's prediction was not correct: 1965 was not a good chart year for the Rockin' Berries. Lesser known artists and groups like the Four Pennies, the Fourmost, Billie Davis, Susan Maughan, Tommy Quickly also never charted in the USA, although Matt Monro had two songs that did make the American lists, including his "Walk Away," which reached #23 in 1964. He even sang the theme song in the second James Bond thriller, "From Russia with Love." This picture is rated affably as I still believe the best rock music ever emanated from the two-year 1964-1965 period. (Within a year or two it would all change, of course.) Just about every song heard on the radio was a delight, and – as I have already pointed out – our British friends had much to do with it. Many of their songs still sound good to me!

kiljanja Unfairly trashed by all mainstream media at the time of its release in early 1965 when I first saw this movie. This was the first time that I saw concert footage of the Beatles:- in color! The Beatles open and close this movie playing LIVE in front of screaming fans at the height of Beatlemania. The energy blew me away. I was 14 at the time. All the other groups mouth along to their records which was a bit disappointing I thought back then. Fans of this particular genre of pop music, particularly mid 60s British, are going to love this treasure trove. As well as some of the better known bands like the Animals and Herman's Hermit's this film also contains performances by the superb Rockin Berries and Four Pennies; two bands huge in England but never had a big hit in North America. All performances are lovingly filmed although spartan in appearance. No annoying split second cuts that have so long been the standard in music videos these days. I cannot believe this style is still in vogue to this day. There are no doubt thousands of fans such as myself who deeply enjoy music of this era and a movie such as this is a rare and valid document.

Lloyd Lawrence This is a fun film showcasing a number of hits from 1964, many of the performances stages specifically for the film. I had not seen it in years, but it has re-emerged on AMC, so if that year's music holds any interest to you, watch and have a ball.