Unreleased Beatles video released in Japan

A video recorded by Japanese police in 1966, during the Beatles' only tour in that country, was finally released after a long legal battle. It is 35 minutes long, in black and white and contains no audio for security reasons. It is now available on YouTube with free access.

Posted by

Marina Izidoro

October 3, 2022 11:47 AM

For years, the issue of the image rights of these recorded people became a point of contention between the band's Japanese fans, defenders of the right to information and the local police. The files have now been released, but to protect the identities of the people, the faces of the Beatles and the other people filmed are blurred.

In the video, the four singers, dressed in kimonos, exit the plane. In other images, the band performs in front of a wild crowd at Budokan in Tokyo.

Fans even appealed to Japan's Supreme Court to authorize the uncensored version. They claimed that it was a “historical document” and that it was absurd to want to “blur” people recorded more than 50 years ago. For them, it is almost impossible to identify faces these days.

In 2018 the court rejected these arguments. In the end, the police's proposal to make the document public prevailed, but with the face blurred.

(With AFP)

This post was last modified on October 3, 2022 11:47 pm

Marina Izidoro