Screaming, fainting, entering puberty the second “Shake It Up Baby†starts playing on the radio: In the early ’60s, Beatlemania was nothing short of a pop-culture epidemic. Ron Howard’s upcoming documentary, The Beatles: Eight Days a Week, recounts the band’s hectic life on the road as a brand-new international sensation. With blessings from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison, Howard uses “rare and exclusive footage†to explore Beatlemania as a social and political phenomenon and also delve into the “band’s inner workings — how decisions were made and music created,†the answer ostensibly being “via a lot of shouting as to be heard over the millions of shrieking fans waiting in the parking lot.â€
