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Beatles for sale

The Beatles' performances on video -- A run down of releases that contain choice material such as concert performances, clips, and films

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By Allan Kozinn

A decade ago, Beatles collectors had to scramble around the bootleg circuit for copies of filmed concert performances and promo clips. That remains the case for the rarest items, but recent years have seen the commercial release of some choice material:
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR (1967, MPI) A made-for-British-TV film full of enigmatic inside jokes, Tour still features inventively choreographed song clips.
THE COMPLEAT BEATLES (1982, MGM/UA) The best documentary overview, Compleat offers wonderful, otherwise unreleased performance footage. But some of that footage is misleadingly labeled.
IMAGINE: JOHN LENNON (1988, Warner) A trove of rare clips, with Lennon's voice-over.
THE PAUL MCCARTNEY SPECIAL (1986, Sony) and Put It There (1989, PolyGram) McCartney's reminiscences punctuated with solo performance clips.
JOHN LENNON AND THE PLASTIC ONO BAND: LIVE IN TORONTO (1969, HBO) Lennon, Eric Clapton, et al. playing a blistering 1969 set of rock oldies and solo hits.
CONCERT OF BANGLADESH(1971, HBO) and Ringo Starr and His All Star Band (1989, PolyGram) Starry revues featuring the back half of the Beatles, with a little help from plenty of friends.