Oscar-winning filmmaker Ron Howard is set to direct a documentary about The Beatles, following their journey from Liverpool's Cavern Club to their last concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. Crucially, the movie is being made in-corporation with Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono.

Ron HowardRon Howard [L] will direct the Beatles documentary [Getty/Christopher Polk]

Howard - known for Apollo 14, The Da Vinci Code and Frost/Nixon - called it "an astounding story".

"Their impact on popular culture and the human experience cannot be exaggerated," he said

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"What's so intriguing to me is not only the subject, but the context we can bring to it now. Not only can we do a study of these touring years, the narrative of an odyssey, we can look at the significance of the Beatles as individuals - as musical geniuses, as societal leaders and their effect on global culture. Dramatically it makes a lot of sense and cinematically, we have a chance to offer a unique experience."

Howard reprises his hugely successful partnership with producer Brian Grazer for the project. 

The BeatlesThe Beatles with Ed Sullivan in 1964 [Getty/Hulton Archive]

"The way the Beatles burst on to the scene in Britain was an overwhelming social, cultural and musical phenomenon, but was even then eclipsed by that extraordinary explosion on the American scene and then the world," said Grammy award-winning producer Nigel Sinclair.

The Beatles began touring Europe in late 1963 but would become global celebrities after their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in the US in 1964. The group - comprising of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr - embarked on their first world tour month later and by 1966 had played 166 shows in 90 different cities around the world.

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