The Beatles and World War II

War footage meets the Bee Gees, Elton John, Tina Turner, Peter Gabriel, Bryan Ferry and others as they belt out new arrangements of Beatles songs. It's an unlikely and bizarre concept for a film that closed before it ever opened in 1976. Tony Palmer had been briefly involved in an early cut but had to leave to make the All You Need Is Love series. An alternate cut was rejected by the studio and the film languished on a shelf. Forty years on, Palmer saw potential that had eluded others. He re-imagined and recut the soundtrack and visuals, then added more music - including classical compositions from Vaughan Williams and Shostakovich. New visuals were brought in, such as archival footage of Roosevelt, Churchill and Hitler, as well as current scenes from war-torn Syria. The result is a truly original anti-war musical. Here's a rare opportunity to catch it on the big screen. (Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival)