200 Motels

We're in agreement: this is the worst film we've covered. Yes, worse than Sextette. Ringo Starr's role in Frank Zappa's 1971 freakout film seems like it could've gone to anyone: is there a specific reason for using him as a Zappa avatar in this film? We also talk Zappa and free speech: do the arguably puerile lyrics undermine the virtuoso musicianship of Zappa and the Mothers of Invention? And did John Lennon and Yoko Ono rip off a Zappa song after they played together?

A WARNING: there is more effing and jeffing in this episode than usual, because of the necessity to quote some of the dialogue to discuss it.

Watch 200 Motels: https://m.ok.ru/video/1559126346278
The documentary The True Story of 200 Motels: https://youtu.be/hHupp3ZDKAk
Théâtre du Grand-Guignol: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Guignol
Cirque de Clunes on Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge: https://youtu.be/hPQHHP7dfjU
Benson Boone: https://youtube.com/@bensonboone
The Darkness: https://youtube.com/@theactualdarkness
Jamrag/King Kong, as of 2025's Power to the People box set, now credits Zappa as a writer: https://youtu.be/4BDPdquOpnk
Ringo's quote about his waning commitment to filmmaking is from Alan Clayson's book Ringo Starr: https://share.google/mEjJ4ljorGZFTVQmi

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.

But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

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Episoder(110)

A Hard Day's Night (Part 5: And a room)

(Ringo's Theme.) We get on to Ringo Starr's real introduction to the world as an actor, when everyone thought "Hey, he's not bad at this, is he?" In particular he does a great job with Wilfred Brambel...

17 Aug 53min

A Hard Day's Night (Part 4: And a room)

Part 4 takes in three of the film's key solo spots: John Lennon's scene with Anna Quayle, George Harrison in the teen TV show office, and Paul McCartney fronting the Beatles' performance of And I Love...

10 Aug 1h 15min

A Hard Day's Night (Part 3: And a car)

From the hotel to the TV studio. We see the Beatles at a press event, which revisits one of the film's themes: that Beatlemania persists with or without the Beatles themselves. We get into more class ...

3 Aug 49min

A Hard Day's Night (Part 2: And a room)

Part 2 covers roughly the next 12 minutes of Richard Lester's film. We look at the absurdist downplayed reaction to finding an intruder in your hotel room cupboard, and the generational disconnect in ...

27 Jul 42min

A Hard Day's Night (Part 1: A train)

Come 'ead, then. We start by looking at roughly the first 16 minutes of the Beatles' 1964 film debut. Expect a detailed breakdown of their first dialogue scene in the train carriage ("Who's that littl...

20 Jul 1h 11min

Snodgrass (with David Quantick)

Ian Hart's third outing as John Lennon was 2013's Snodgrass, adapted by David Quantick from Ian R MacLeod's short story. Aired as part of the Sky Arts Playhouse series, it deals with a Lennon who left...

6 Jul 1h 27min

Raga

In Apple Films' 1971 documentary, Ravi Shankar is pondering whether he's diluted his beloved Indian classical music by promoting it to the West, through his association with George Harrison and The Be...

29 Jun 52min