A memorable sketch in the second season of 'Rutland Weekend Television' was a parody of Richard Lester's 'A Hard Days Night' ( 1965 ). Shot in monochrome, it featured a Liverpuddlian pop group called 'The Rutles' - consisting of Dirk McQuickly ( Eric Idle ), Ron Nasty ( Neil Innes ), Barry Wom ( John Halsey ) and Stig O'Hara ( Rikki Fataar ). When Idle hosted an edition of the Python-influenced 'Saturday Night Live' a few years later, he showed the sketch as the pay-off to a running gag about The Beatles coming together again. It caused a sensation. 'S.N.L' viewers sent in Beatles' album covers, amended to read 'Rutles'.
Idle and 'S.N.L.' producer Lorne Michaels then teamed up to make a special programme about the group, a spoof documentary charting its rise and fall. Idle played a number of roles, including an inept interviewer. In one of the best visual gags, he is talking whilst walking down a street, then has to run to keep up with the camera car. Most of the 'S.N.L.' cast joined in the fun, such as Bill Murray as loud-mouthed disc jockey 'Bill Murray The K', Gilda Radner as 'Emily Pules', John Belushi as 'Ron Decline' ( based on the Beatles' manager Allen Klein ). Idbe brought along most of the 'Rutland' gang, such as Gwen Taylor, Terence Bayler ( as 'Leggy Mountbatten' ), Bunny May, Henry Woolf, and Carinthia West. Several real-life pop stars appeared as themselves, including Mick Jagger and Paul Simon ( not to mention George Harrison! ). Idle's Python colleague Michael Palin cropped up as the litigation conscious 'Eric Manchester'.
The reaction was positive, although some die-hard Beatles' fans failed to get the joke. "The final impression conveyed by this dismal programme was that of the talentless sneering at the talented" was how one such person summed up 'All You Need Is Cash' in a letter to 'The Radio Times'. He'd missed the point completely. Eric Idle and Gary Weis' film is not a mickey take of the group themselves, but rather the media circus that surrounded the Beatles. Archive footage is seamlessly blended with new material to create an exhilarating comic portrait. Those who saw Tony Palmer's 'All You Need Is Love' series will appreciate Idle's spoof even more.
Special mention must be made of Neil Innes as the Lennon figure, Ron Nasty. So brilliant were his Beatles pastiches ( particularly 'I Must Be In Love' and 'Doubleback Alley' ) that they were released as an album, then on C.D. ( Lennon objected to 'Get Up & Go' on account of its similarity to 'Get Back'. It was not released until years later ). And as for 'Yellow Submarine Sandwich', well, it takes your breath away!
Not all of the film works, for example, the joke made of Brian Epstein's death manages to be both tasteless and not particularly funny, but this remains Idle's finest post 'Python' project to date.
Idle and 'S.N.L.' producer Lorne Michaels then teamed up to make a special programme about the group, a spoof documentary charting its rise and fall. Idle played a number of roles, including an inept interviewer. In one of the best visual gags, he is talking whilst walking down a street, then has to run to keep up with the camera car. Most of the 'S.N.L.' cast joined in the fun, such as Bill Murray as loud-mouthed disc jockey 'Bill Murray The K', Gilda Radner as 'Emily Pules', John Belushi as 'Ron Decline' ( based on the Beatles' manager Allen Klein ). Idbe brought along most of the 'Rutland' gang, such as Gwen Taylor, Terence Bayler ( as 'Leggy Mountbatten' ), Bunny May, Henry Woolf, and Carinthia West. Several real-life pop stars appeared as themselves, including Mick Jagger and Paul Simon ( not to mention George Harrison! ). Idle's Python colleague Michael Palin cropped up as the litigation conscious 'Eric Manchester'.
The reaction was positive, although some die-hard Beatles' fans failed to get the joke. "The final impression conveyed by this dismal programme was that of the talentless sneering at the talented" was how one such person summed up 'All You Need Is Cash' in a letter to 'The Radio Times'. He'd missed the point completely. Eric Idle and Gary Weis' film is not a mickey take of the group themselves, but rather the media circus that surrounded the Beatles. Archive footage is seamlessly blended with new material to create an exhilarating comic portrait. Those who saw Tony Palmer's 'All You Need Is Love' series will appreciate Idle's spoof even more.
Special mention must be made of Neil Innes as the Lennon figure, Ron Nasty. So brilliant were his Beatles pastiches ( particularly 'I Must Be In Love' and 'Doubleback Alley' ) that they were released as an album, then on C.D. ( Lennon objected to 'Get Up & Go' on account of its similarity to 'Get Back'. It was not released until years later ). And as for 'Yellow Submarine Sandwich', well, it takes your breath away!
Not all of the film works, for example, the joke made of Brian Epstein's death manages to be both tasteless and not particularly funny, but this remains Idle's finest post 'Python' project to date.