Director Morgan Spurlock has likened One Direction's fan reaction to that of the Beatles.

The 'Kiss You' boyband are releasing their first ever documentary style movie This Is Us on August 29 and Spurlock oversaw its filming.

The group are often compared to the Beatles in relation to the hysteria the Fab Four caused among their fans back in the 1960s.

Speaking a press conference today (August 19) to launch the film, Spurlock said:

"This is probably the closest I’ll get in my whole lifetime to seeing anything similar to Beatlemania. The access we got, the stories we tell, I just think it’s remarkable."

The Super Size Me director added: "The thing that I thought was incredible was that everywhere you go, you suddenly realised that it isn’t just a British or an American phenomenon. Once you get outside of the country wherever they go they are chased by hordes of fans. We were in Mexico City and there were 5,000 people camping outside the hotel. I mean this is such a massive global phenomenon and it’s only growing. It was incredible to witness and see.”