A lonely man facing Chinese tanks on Tiananmen Square is often described…
Contact, Ep. 2 - The Beatles by David Hurn
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
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British photographer David Hurn takes us to swinging London, introducing us to the legendary photo session with The Fab Four.
Series Description
Contact sheets are the first overview for the photographer of what he has captured on film. They give a unique and intimate view of the style, methods and thoughts of the artist.
Cartier-Bresson himself, founder of the Magnum Photo agency, was strongly opposing the disclosure of his contact sheets and yet the choice of that picture is the point of contact between the photographer's life, thoughts, philosophy and the subject he portrays.
Two very different stories that—due to decision or unexpected coincidences—bring to life a snapshot or a posed photo, which turns into an historical icon.
Photographers and subjects:
Muhammad Ali by Thomas Hoepker
The Beatles by David Hurn
Tienanmen Square by Stuart Franklin
Margaret Thatcher by Peter Marlow
Iranian Revolution by Abbas Attar
9/11 by Steve McCurry
Yakuza by Bruce Gilden
Kitchen Debate by Elliot Erwitt
Miles Davis by Guy Le Querrec
Citation
Main credits
Attorre, Gianluigi (film director)
Attorre, Gianluigi (film producer)
Paloschi, Mario (film director)
Paloschi, Mario (film producer)
Hurn, David (on-screen participant)
Conenna, Ezio (narrator)
Other credits
Cinematography, Emanuele Princi, Pierluigi Siena, Alessandro Pitzalis; editing, Micaela Castro.
Distributor subjects
Photography; Visual Arts; History; Music; 20th CenturyKeywords
00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:23.480
- [Voiceover] Some of the
fences hold, others do not.
00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:30.000
A minor miracle is
mounted by the fact
00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:31.999
that there are no
injuries spread
00:00:32.040 --> 00:00:33.720
among the near-hysterical crowd.
00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:35.800
This, truly, is a social
document for our time.
00:00:36.480 --> 00:00:39.840
(soft, slow music)
00:00:46.999 --> 00:00:47.720
- What interests me?
00:00:52.120 --> 00:00:54.280
How do I pick my subjects?
00:00:54.440 --> 00:00:56.440
It very often comes from
00:00:56.600 --> 00:01:00.440
little clippings I see in
a newspaper or something,
00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:03.999
and I've always kept clippings
of things that interested me.
00:01:04.080 --> 00:01:08.000
I just cut them out.
00:01:08.160 --> 00:01:10.120
I put them, I have
files of these things.
00:01:10.280 --> 00:01:12.600
And if I find I get
quite a lot of them,
00:01:12.760 --> 00:01:14.999
I think, well
that's interesting.
00:01:16.880 --> 00:01:17.999
I think it was McCullen
who actually said
00:01:21.999 --> 00:01:24.200
that David was interested
in tinsel society.
00:01:24.360 --> 00:01:26.999
I find it much more fun
looking at something
00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:29.440
like ballroom dancing, you know,
00:01:29.600 --> 00:01:31.560
which masses of people do,
00:01:31.720 --> 00:01:34.999
but I was fascinated to find
out why they wanted to do it.
00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:38.999
(soft music)
00:01:42.999 --> 00:01:43.999
- [Voiceover]
(laughs) Look at you.
00:01:52.280 --> 00:01:53.400
- I just wanted to go
in for the simple things
00:01:57.440 --> 00:01:59.680
that people did on the split.
00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:02.320
Most of my life is
what I call seeing,
00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:05.999
looking,
00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:08.280
and recording.
00:02:09.600 --> 00:02:11.320
My name is David Hurn,
and I'm a photographer.
00:02:14.480 --> 00:02:18.080
(soft, inspiring music)
00:02:41.640 --> 00:02:42.080
(piano music)
00:02:51.640 --> 00:02:52.720
- [Voiceover] With
Magnum since 1965,
00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:59.080
the Welsh photographer
rediscovered his homeland
00:02:59.240 --> 00:03:01.640
after years traveling
around the world,
00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:03.800
exploring dance halls,
remote villages,
00:03:03.960 --> 00:03:07.400
English suburbs
and Hollywood sets.
00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:11.975
A photographer on a continuous
quest for new ventures
00:03:11.999 --> 00:03:14.680
and answers to
every day questions.
00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:17.320
David Hurn's photo
features are portraits
00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:21.160
of daily life, full of
creativity and curiosity.
00:03:21.320 --> 00:03:25.120
A glowing career, starring
in the Hungarian war of 1956.
00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:31.360
- If you see somebody
hanging upside-down
00:03:35.400 --> 00:03:37.640
by their feet and
somebody kicking them,
00:03:37.800 --> 00:03:40.040
it doesn't take much to think
00:03:40.200 --> 00:03:41.975
that that's worth photographing,
00:03:41.999 --> 00:03:43.720
you know.
00:03:43.880 --> 00:03:45.120
So I shot these pictures,
they got me out of Budapest,
00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:49.600
and, you know, I had
one picture published
00:03:49.760 --> 00:03:52.560
in European edition of Life
00:03:52.720 --> 00:03:55.999
and then pictures get
distributed around,
00:03:56.080 --> 00:03:58.680
and a few pictures were
picked up by Picture Post
00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:02.200
and the Observer, and
00:04:02.360 --> 00:04:05.120
and I'd suddenly found
myself leaping to the top
00:04:06.320 --> 00:04:08.240
of the ladder, you know.
00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:09.880
And so you cling on like that.
00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:11.999
(upbeat music)
00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:20.999
- [Voiceover] The year is 1964,
00:04:22.880 --> 00:04:24.880
and at the top of the
European charts are the songs
00:04:24.999 --> 00:04:26.999
of a group that,
more than any other,
00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:28.560
reflects the vital energy
of this new decade.
00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:31.999
These are the Beatles.
00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:33.960
Their music, breaking
the bounds of convention,
00:04:33.999 --> 00:04:36.080
is lively and authentic.
00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:37.960
Their lyrics,
simple and carefree,
00:04:37.999 --> 00:04:39.800
tell about common, everyday
desires and disappointments.
00:04:39.960 --> 00:04:43.120
Their voices blend
into harmonies
00:04:43.280 --> 00:04:44.975
and create effects
that are irresistible.
00:04:44.999 --> 00:04:47.440
(slow rock beat)
00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:51.960
With "Please, Please Me,"
they achieve success.
00:04:54.200 --> 00:04:57.200
With "She Loves You," they set
00:04:58.999 --> 00:05:00.440
the absolute record for sales.
00:05:00.999 --> 00:05:02.680
With "I Want to Hold Your Hand,"
00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:07.680
in February of 1964, they
lifted the American spirit,
00:05:07.840 --> 00:05:11.440
suffering from great depression,
00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:13.680
shaking up the sounds on
the other side of the Pond.
00:05:15.880 --> 00:05:17.040
(cheers and applause)
00:05:21.920 --> 00:05:25.200
- Well, I met them
while doing the film
00:05:26.999 --> 00:05:28.920
A Hard Day's Night,
which was a movie
00:05:28.999 --> 00:05:31.999
really based on their
music, loosely written
00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:35.975
around the music.
00:05:35.999 --> 00:05:37.880
And, to be honest,
I didn't really know
00:05:37.999 --> 00:05:40.080
that much about them.
00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:42.080
It hadn't been a particular,
00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:43.760
they hadn't been a
particular interest to me,
00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:46.120
so it was really an
assignment, to be honest.
00:05:46.280 --> 00:05:48.975
It's only in hindsight
that you look back,
00:05:48.999 --> 00:05:51.920
or I look back, and
realize how extraordinary
00:05:51.999 --> 00:05:55.160
these songs were.
00:05:55.320 --> 00:05:57.040
Dick Lester, the director,
did this very strange thing,
00:05:57.200 --> 00:06:00.960
which I mean, in
hindsight, was ludicrous.
00:06:00.999 --> 00:06:04.160
Was that decided to shoot
the whole thing on a train.
00:06:04.320 --> 00:06:08.520
So they hired a train,
and every morning,
00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:11.400
they all got on the train,
and went from Marylebone
00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:15.560
down to the west coast,
00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:18.800
and then stopped, and
then came back again.
00:06:18.960 --> 00:06:21.720
And it was one of those
old fashioned trains,
00:06:21.880 --> 00:06:23.880
which you wouldn't
have seen, but it had
00:06:23.999 --> 00:06:26.440
sort of individual compartments,
00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:29.800
of which four people could
sit opposite four people.
00:06:29.960 --> 00:06:32.960
Now, I mean, they're very tiny.
00:06:32.999 --> 00:06:35.600
And if you had the four
Beatles, usually, in there,
00:06:35.760 --> 00:06:38.920
with a film crew and a director,
00:06:38.999 --> 00:06:41.840
the last person they wanted
in there was somebody
00:06:41.999 --> 00:06:44.760
with a still camera, you know.
00:06:44.920 --> 00:06:46.999
(upbeat guitar music)
00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:51.999
But the train had to
stop at certain times,
00:06:54.840 --> 00:06:57.999
and I elected to leap out
and try and do pictures.
00:06:58.120 --> 00:07:02.999
I had to be very
careful that I could get
00:07:03.280 --> 00:07:05.840
back on the train,
otherwise it'd be gone.
00:07:05.999 --> 00:07:07.975
So, I have quite a lot
of pictures like this,
00:07:07.999 --> 00:07:10.640
of the crowds,
00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:14.360
you know, this adoration.
00:07:14.520 --> 00:07:16.680
I found that much
more interesting,
00:07:16.840 --> 00:07:19.040
frankly, than themselves.
00:07:22.999 --> 00:07:23.999
- [Voiceover] Crowds
of frenzied fans
00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:29.440
will follow the group every
time they go out in public.
00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:32.400
Amidst screams and
scenes of delirium,
00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:34.720
the music of the Beatles
amplifies a social phenomenon
00:07:34.880 --> 00:07:37.640
and fad that will come to
be known as "Beatlemania."
00:07:37.800 --> 00:07:42.280
The advent of the group
coincides with the fall
00:07:42.440 --> 00:07:44.120
of the British
Conservative Party.
00:07:44.280 --> 00:07:46.280
During the years when the
liveliness of the youth market
00:07:46.440 --> 00:07:48.960
and employment bring
about a consumption boom
00:07:48.999 --> 00:07:51.999
and all caution and moderation
are thrown out the window.
00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:56.160
The music of the
Liverpool Fab Four
00:07:56.320 --> 00:07:59.120
brings British pop
culture to the fore
00:07:59.280 --> 00:08:01.360
all over the world, not
only for its musical sounds,
00:08:01.520 --> 00:08:04.560
but also creating an
authentic, inspirational model.
00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:08.200
- Remember I would
go out in the car,
00:08:11.200 --> 00:08:13.360
and I'd drive my car, and if
they were in the car with me,
00:08:13.520 --> 00:08:16.999
you could not stop at
a red traffic light.
00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:20.520
If you stopped at a red
traffic light, you were mobbed.
00:08:20.680 --> 00:08:23.600
So, we learned that you just had
00:08:23.760 --> 00:08:25.280
to go through the
traffic lights.
00:08:25.440 --> 00:08:26.520
and the police, if they saw you,
00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:27.880
they'd let you
through, you know.
00:08:27.999 --> 00:08:31.000
I mean, it is extraordinary.
00:08:31.160 --> 00:08:33.680
I mean, why these people
are not terrified,
00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:36.999
I have no idea.
00:08:37.040 --> 00:08:38.840
Because mobs of people
00:08:40.680 --> 00:08:42.440
become extraordinary.
00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:47.680
Visually, people, you know,
went and cut their hair
00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:51.280
like the Beatles
did, they wore suits,
00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:53.999
but I would've
thought no more than,
00:08:54.040 --> 00:08:57.760
say, the Rolling Stones.
00:08:57.920 --> 00:09:00.160
It's just that you had a
different type of audience,
00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:03.440
so that if you went
and saw the Beatles,
00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:06.520
I've always felt
that the audience was
00:09:06.680 --> 00:09:09.120
visually almost like going
to a Billy Graham meeting.
00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:15.240
It was almost like
a religious fervor.
00:09:15.400 --> 00:09:18.240
Whereas, if you went
to the Rolling Stones,
00:09:18.400 --> 00:09:20.720
it was a much more
sexual kind of audience.
00:09:20.880 --> 00:09:24.800
The fervor was a sexual thing.
00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:27.040
And with the more famous groups,
00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:29.960
I think you could see that.
00:09:29.999 --> 00:09:33.000
I suppose I like the
aggressiveness of the Stones
00:09:33.160 --> 00:09:36.360
more than the Beatles.
00:09:36.520 --> 00:09:37.600
Again, people don't realize that
00:09:37.760 --> 00:09:39.320
the Beatles were the tidy ones.
00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:41.040
They were the ones
that mums quite liked.
00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:43.640
You know, they, by
and large, wore suits
00:09:43.800 --> 00:09:46.280
and things, and
even if their hair
00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:50.640
was a little bit long,
it was tidy long,
00:09:50.800 --> 00:09:53.040
you know, they didn't look
like rough-necks, etc.
00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:56.280
They were fun to meet, etc.
00:09:56.440 --> 00:09:58.840
They had very distinct
personalities.
00:09:58.999 --> 00:10:00.720
I got on with Ringo
more than any of them.
00:10:00.880 --> 00:10:04.320
I think cause,
00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:06.080
I guess his background
was more me.
00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:10.040
Paul was strange.
00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:12.040
Paul was slightly aloof.
00:10:12.200 --> 00:10:14.680
John was obviously the
bright, brainy one.
00:10:14.840 --> 00:10:18.960
And George was interested in
being the greatest musician
00:10:18.999 --> 00:10:22.560
in the world, I
mean, he was the one
00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:24.000
that really played well
and went out of his way
00:10:24.160 --> 00:10:27.999
to learn to play
better and better.
00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:31.560
(upbeat rock music)
00:10:32.999 --> 00:10:35.999
- [Voiceover] From the
moment you meet him,
00:10:38.120 --> 00:10:39.520
David Hurn conveys a sense
of instant friendliness
00:10:39.680 --> 00:10:42.080
and total trust.
00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:43.720
He must have charmed the
Beatles with his spirit,
00:10:43.880 --> 00:10:45.999
like would take place
over the following years
00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:48.280
with his portraits
of great stars
00:10:48.440 --> 00:10:50.200
such as Clint Eastwood,
Ursula Andress,
00:10:50.360 --> 00:10:53.520
Sean Connery and Jane Fonda,
00:10:53.680 --> 00:10:56.600
whom he followed during
the shooting of Barbarella.
00:10:59.999 --> 00:11:01.120
David Hurn soon made
a name for himself,
00:11:05.120 --> 00:11:07.760
motivated by a passion
for photography
00:11:07.920 --> 00:11:10.040
that was kindled during
his military service
00:11:10.200 --> 00:11:12.680
at the Sandhurst Academy.
00:11:12.840 --> 00:11:15.200
- At Sandhurst, obviously
there was a kind of,
00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:19.880
indoctrination is
too big a word, but,
00:11:20.160 --> 00:11:23.999
you know, you were
kind of taught
00:11:25.320 --> 00:11:26.640
that all Russians eat
their children, basically,
00:11:26.800 --> 00:11:29.560
and they're all
very nasty people,
00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:31.520
and they're our
enemies, etc, etc.
00:11:31.680 --> 00:11:34.999
Whilst I was there,
I was looking through
00:11:35.040 --> 00:11:37.280
some Picture Post
magazines that were there,
00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:40.720
and I saw
00:11:40.880 --> 00:11:43.240
a series of photographs over,
00:11:44.400 --> 00:11:45.975
I think over four issues.
00:11:45.999 --> 00:11:47.360
I've got, but this
is the key one.
00:11:47.520 --> 00:11:50.080
Basically, what we had
was a series of pictures
00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:55.080
called The Camera in Russia, and
00:11:55.240 --> 00:11:59.720
this is, I think, issue
three of the four.
00:12:00.999 --> 00:12:03.560
It turns out, in hindsight,
they were photographed
00:12:06.040 --> 00:12:08.200
by somebody called
Henri Cartier-Bresson.
00:12:08.360 --> 00:12:11.080
They looked real.
00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:12.920
They looked as though, hang on,
00:12:12.999 --> 00:12:15.080
this is a Russia that
looks not that different.
00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:19.000
The people in these pictures
don't look that different.
00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:23.000
During the second world
war, my father was away,
00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:29.080
he was in the army.
00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:30.400
When he came back
in '45, was it,
00:12:30.560 --> 00:12:34.240
I remember the
first thing he did
00:12:34.400 --> 00:12:37.960
was to take my
mother, and me in tow,
00:12:37.999 --> 00:12:41.999
to Howells in Cardiff, which
is a big department store,
00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:45.760
and he bought her a hat.
00:12:45.920 --> 00:12:48.999
And it was one of my
really joyous memories,
00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:52.640
was the love between my
father and my mother,
00:12:52.800 --> 00:12:56.120
and the whole act
of buying the hat
00:12:56.280 --> 00:12:58.840
was obviously a joyous thing.
00:12:58.999 --> 00:13:01.840
Imagine my surprise
00:13:02.999 --> 00:13:05.680
when, in the Picture Post,
00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:10.040
down in the corner
here is a picture
00:13:10.999 --> 00:13:14.320
of a Russian army officer
buying his wife a hat.
00:13:16.640 --> 00:13:19.520
I remember distinctly,
when I saw that picture,
00:13:21.800 --> 00:13:23.760
I started to cry,
and cry seriously,
00:13:23.920 --> 00:13:27.000
because it brought back
that first joyous memory.
00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:32.999
And I believed in this picture.
00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:35.760
I really believed
in this picture.
00:13:35.920 --> 00:13:37.560
This, to me, was
much more important
00:13:37.720 --> 00:13:40.400
than anything I was
being told about Russia.
00:13:40.560 --> 00:13:43.320
This seemed authentic.
00:13:43.480 --> 00:13:46.200
And literally, I mean,
it's so stupidly romantic,
00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:50.999
but I did, at that
moment, say to myself,
00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:55.160
that's what I want to spend
the rest of my life doing.
00:13:55.320 --> 00:13:57.560
I want to go and photograph
00:13:57.720 --> 00:14:00.320
officers buying their wives
hats or the equivalent.
00:14:02.999 --> 00:14:05.200
(soft piano music)
00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:20.920
(laughing)
00:14:25.480 --> 00:14:27.480
(people murmuring to each other)
00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:33.240
And from the past,
I've done a book
00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:40.520
on 100 people in Wales
that I thought were,
00:14:40.680 --> 00:14:43.520
enriched my life, I
said at that time.
00:14:43.680 --> 00:14:46.520
And one of them was
a milliner, hat-maker
00:14:46.680 --> 00:14:50.200
called Alison Tod.
00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:52.400
And they're wonderfully
extravagant and over-the-top,
00:14:52.560 --> 00:14:54.999
and there's something
slightly surreal about
00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:59.000
in the middle of Wales, this
woman making these exotic hats
00:15:00.280 --> 00:15:04.520
and she has, always
has these wonderfully,
00:15:04.680 --> 00:15:08.440
these very young
assistants who all look
00:15:08.600 --> 00:15:12.400
as though they've been
to finishing school,
00:15:12.560 --> 00:15:14.880
and they're so
polite, and they're so
confident and elegant.
00:15:14.999 --> 00:15:19.680
(soft piano music)
00:15:44.400 --> 00:15:44.999
(soft, upbeat music)
00:15:49.920 --> 00:15:54.400
- [Voiceover] During
a pause in the filming
00:15:54.999 --> 00:15:56.280
of the movie, on
April 16th, 1964,
00:15:56.440 --> 00:15:59.920
the Beatles record the song
00:15:59.999 --> 00:16:01.400
that will give
the film its name.
00:16:01.560 --> 00:16:03.999
The phrase had been
uttered by Ringo Starr
00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:06.400
at the end of a
taxing day of filming.
00:16:06.560 --> 00:16:08.999
Instead, the song had been
penned hurriedly by Lennon
00:16:09.040 --> 00:16:12.600
at their hotel as a
response to the success
00:16:12.760 --> 00:16:15.120
of "Can't Buy Me Love,"
composed by McCartney,
00:16:15.280 --> 00:16:18.160
which was already at the top
of the international charts.
00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:21.560
The opening chords of the
song will forever remain
00:16:21.720 --> 00:16:24.200
one of the cornerstones
of their musical legend.
00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:27.400
(upbeat music)
00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:32.560
The album, the first to
contain only original songs,
00:16:36.400 --> 00:16:39.320
would confirm the power
of the Lennon-McCartney
00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:41.800
song-writing partnership.
00:16:41.960 --> 00:16:43.999
The film will be
a solemn tribute
00:16:44.999 --> 00:16:46.720
to the Beatlemania phenomenon.
00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:51.520
- Is there a visual
relationship between the fans
00:16:55.400 --> 00:16:59.640
and the Beatles?
00:16:59.800 --> 00:17:01.400
Cause the fans are
out-of-control, in a way,
00:17:01.560 --> 00:17:05.999
and the Beatles are, in
theory, under control.
00:17:06.080 --> 00:17:09.999
And so, in a way,
you have that tension
00:17:10.040 --> 00:17:14.160
between
00:17:14.320 --> 00:17:16.480
the famous
00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:19.440
and the people that are
trying to be connected
00:17:19.600 --> 00:17:22.640
to the famous in some way.
00:17:22.800 --> 00:17:24.999
(low beat)
00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:28.600
- [Voiceover] This passion for
music will enable David Hurn
00:17:31.999 --> 00:17:34.120
not only to catch
original, private moments
00:17:34.280 --> 00:17:36.400
and characteristics
of the Beatles,
00:17:36.560 --> 00:17:38.520
but will also guide
him in later works,
00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:40.600
such as his famous photo feature
00:17:40.760 --> 00:17:42.080
on the Isle of Wight
pop concert in 1969,
00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:45.400
an event where music
and emancipation
are brought together
00:17:45.560 --> 00:17:48.480
in his color shots
with a brilliant,
slightly ironic style.
00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:52.999
- The Isle of Wight pop
concert was, you know,
00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:57.600
Bob Dylan coming over, it
was a pretty obvious thing
00:17:57.760 --> 00:18:00.999
to go to, in any case.
00:18:01.120 --> 00:18:02.999
It was slightly posher for
me, because at that time,
00:18:03.120 --> 00:18:06.240
I was extremely friendly
with Jane Fonda, you know,
00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:10.320
and so we flew in by
helicopter (laughs)
00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:13.600
which is a pretty
grand way to be there,
00:18:13.760 --> 00:18:16.999
which meant that, you
know, one was backstage
00:18:17.080 --> 00:18:19.480
and all that sort of stuff.
00:18:19.640 --> 00:18:22.280
And then I did a
professional job,
00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:25.240
you know, I didn't just sit
down and listen to the music,
00:18:26.800 --> 00:18:28.999
I photographed.
00:18:29.080 --> 00:18:30.999
(cheerful guitar music)
00:18:31.999 --> 00:18:35.840
There were everybody
on the beach,
00:18:35.999 --> 00:18:37.880
and suddenly, somebody decided
to take their clothes off,
00:18:37.999 --> 00:18:40.999
and then everybody
took their clothes off,
00:18:41.120 --> 00:18:44.200
and it was really funny,
because the camera crews
00:18:44.360 --> 00:18:48.480
felt embarrassed to be
filming with everybody,
00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:52.680
so they all take
their clothes off,
00:18:52.840 --> 00:18:55.960
so you had this wonderful thing.
00:19:00.520 --> 00:19:01.120
(electric guitar solo)
00:19:09.520 --> 00:19:10.880
- [Voiceover] Once again,
he responds to his instinct,
00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:16.760
which takes him into
the right situation
00:19:16.920 --> 00:19:18.760
in a privileged position,
as had already happened,
00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:21.480
a few years earlier, in the
studios on Abbey Road when,
00:19:21.640 --> 00:19:25.000
during a break, the
Beatles found themselves
00:19:25.160 --> 00:19:27.040
all together around a piano,
studying the lyrics of a song,
00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:30.975
as Hurn's camera
clicks around them.
00:19:30.999 --> 00:19:33.520
- If you're on an assignment,
00:19:34.760 --> 00:19:36.760
or if I guess you're not on,
if you're on a self-assignment,
00:19:36.920 --> 00:19:39.999
one of the things that
you have to think about
00:19:40.120 --> 00:19:42.160
is what is the key picture
that you know you have to get?
00:19:42.320 --> 00:19:46.975
In the case of the Beatles,
you had four people,
00:19:46.999 --> 00:19:50.480
and it's obviously important
that you have all four of them
00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:54.000
at some point in the picture,
00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:56.400
and not only do you have
all four in the picture,
00:19:56.560 --> 00:19:58.999
you need to be able to see,
recognize all four of them,
00:19:59.040 --> 00:20:01.760
and I arrived at the
studio, where they were
00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:05.880
not only recording music,
at Abbey Road studio,
00:20:05.999 --> 00:20:09.040
the famous studio, but
they were also going
00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:12.280
through on the piano,
talking about music
00:20:12.440 --> 00:20:15.520
and the script, etc.
00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:17.800
And I realized that the four
of them were there together,
00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:22.080
and therefore, I was
searching, searching, searching
00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:26.120
for this thing, and
they go into the studio,
00:20:26.280 --> 00:20:29.840
and they're around the piano,
00:20:29.999 --> 00:20:32.400
and I'm just having to move
six inches to the left,
00:20:32.560 --> 00:20:37.240
six inches to the right,
trying to get the four of them
00:20:37.400 --> 00:20:41.960
into some kind of
geometric design,
00:20:41.999 --> 00:20:45.840
which projects a
kind of feeling.
00:20:45.999 --> 00:20:49.200
That's what you're
doing all the time.
00:20:49.360 --> 00:20:51.720
Pictures are about content.
00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:54.680
And then out of that happens
to come what we call style,
00:20:54.840 --> 00:20:58.320
so you're moving around all
the time, trying to get it,
00:20:58.480 --> 00:21:02.040
but when you look at
these very subtly,
00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:05.560
it becomes pretty obvious
to me that this is
00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:09.120
the clearest picture
00:21:09.280 --> 00:21:12.960
that works as a
geometric design.
00:21:12.999 --> 00:21:16.240
(energetic music)
00:21:20.320 --> 00:21:21.040
And I suppose it's become,
00:21:25.480 --> 00:21:27.999
Iconic is a really
overused word,
00:21:28.080 --> 00:21:30.999
but it's become a very
well-known Beatles picture,
00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:34.240
I think because nobody
else has pictures of them
00:21:34.400 --> 00:21:37.999
in that natural
situation, which worked
00:21:38.080 --> 00:21:42.120
quite as well as this
particular picture.
00:21:43.240 --> 00:21:46.680
And so, it's become, for
older generations of people
00:21:47.960 --> 00:21:51.999
when they make lots of money,
it's been one of the pictures
00:21:52.120 --> 00:21:54.920
that sells as, in
corners, an art print,
00:21:54.999 --> 00:21:59.240
you know, it's the picture from
the whole thing I was doing
00:21:59.400 --> 00:22:03.360
that I needed, and you can see
00:22:03.520 --> 00:22:06.600
how difficult it is to do,
00:22:06.760 --> 00:22:08.480
because there's one
of it, you know.
00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:16.800
(birds chirping)
00:22:21.600 --> 00:22:25.560
- [Voiceover] That same
attention to detail
00:22:26.760 --> 00:22:28.240
that will mark the future of
the Beatles will accompany Hurn
00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:30.960
in all his works, until
the main, but above all,
00:22:30.999 --> 00:22:34.680
existential, photography
turning point.
00:22:34.840 --> 00:22:38.200
Wales.
00:22:38.360 --> 00:22:39.840
The land of his father, where
he moved in the early 1990's.
00:22:39.999 --> 00:22:44.240
He will not only
renew distant ties,
00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:47.200
but will find meaning
in the traditions,
00:22:47.360 --> 00:22:49.440
times and colors that form
the local lives and culture.
00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:54.960
- I was in Wales, my country,
00:22:59.160 --> 00:23:01.560
and we very often talk
about Welsh culture,
00:23:01.720 --> 00:23:05.720
and I said to myself,
00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:09.960
"What is Welsh culture?"
00:23:09.999 --> 00:23:12.999
So, I thought I
would try to explore
00:23:13.040 --> 00:23:17.120
what the word
culture means to me.
00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:21.840
So, I thought that,
"I'm a photographer,
00:23:21.999 --> 00:23:24.840
"if I just went
and photographed,
00:23:24.999 --> 00:23:26.720
"then within these things,
perhaps I would end up
00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:28.999
"with a picture
puzzle for the book."
00:23:29.120 --> 00:23:32.240
And that would be, for
me, what is my culture.
00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:36.600
I made the choice
that I would prefer
00:23:36.760 --> 00:23:38.999
to meander around
Wales most of my life.
00:23:39.040 --> 00:23:42.960
(soft music)
00:23:47.760 --> 00:23:48.840
And so when I get
up in the morning,
00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:55.360
you know, what do I do?
00:23:55.520 --> 00:23:56.920
I come back, I put on a CD
and I listen to somebody
00:23:56.999 --> 00:24:00.840
that I hope, somebody
that's enriched my life.
00:24:00.999 --> 00:24:05.080
And I enjoy making coffee,
00:24:05.240 --> 00:24:07.840
I enjoy the fact that
the best takes 21 seconds
00:24:09.640 --> 00:24:12.840
for the coffee to come through.
00:24:14.800 --> 00:24:17.280
And that's very
scientific in a way,
00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:19.480
because related
to the dark room,
00:24:19.640 --> 00:24:21.999
where you put a negative
in, and you put light to it
00:24:22.040 --> 00:24:26.280
for a very precise
amount of time.
00:24:26.440 --> 00:24:29.640
That scientific thing
of getting the balance
00:24:29.800 --> 00:24:33.080
of everything right,
00:24:33.240 --> 00:24:34.999
and I've always
enjoyed that sort of,
00:24:35.120 --> 00:24:38.560
trying to get that
balance right.
00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:41.080
(guitar music)
00:24:51.760 --> 00:24:52.360
(soft, inspiring music)
Distributor: First Hand Films
Length: 26 minutes
Date: 2014
Genre: Expository
Language: English; Italian; French / English subtitles
Grade: College, Adults
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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