Peter Jackson restores 50-year old docu footage for ‘The Beatles: Get Back’ on Disney Plus
Even after over 50 years since their break up, The Beatles still remain as the biggest band in the world.
There's just something about John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr that catches the attention of fans over the past five decades despite the fact that they were only active as a performing group for seven years. The songs they created remain relevant up to these trying times.
The Fab 4 will once again capture the interest of loyal fans and new fans alike with the release of the highly anticipated docuseries The Beatles: Get Back, under the direction of Lord of the Rings and self-confessed Beatles fan, Peter Jackson.
In January 1969, a film crew was given exclusive access to document The Beatles as they worked on their album, Let it Be. This resulted in over 57 hours of the most intimate footage ever shot of the band. Kept hidden in a vault for fifty years, the footage was never seen until now.
During this time, The Beatles were given less than three weeks to write and record a new album, with the intention of recording at least 14 tracks.
Originally, they planned to film a concert for a TV show and a documentary special. Take note that this is after three years of not performing in public as a group—their last official live concert was in Aug. 29, 1966 at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California.
On the teaser trailer, we can see a young George asking for advice from John and Paul on how he'd write the lyrics to the song Something, a track that is considered by Frank Sinatra as one of the best love songs of all time. We can also see Ringo juggling with his drumsticks with son, Zak Starkey.
Just like any other band who are set to perform in front of a live audience after a long time, you can see that they're nervous and anxious while preparing for the live concert, which was eventually cancelled.
Having four musicians who are serious in making the best music on a limited amount of time, with different ideas and directions they want to take, tensions arose. They had their personal issues, as discussed in the original Let it Be documentary, but you can also sense that the boys also had fun as they try to work together as a group.
We will finally see better footage of them dancing, jamming, having a laugh, experimenting with music, hanging out with their real-life partners and so on. Think about it—they were only in their late 20s while filming the documentary.
"The best bit of us, always has been and always will be, is when we're... Backs against the wall." – Paul McCartney
With the myths surrounding the real reason behind the “breakup” of The Beatles, will we be able to find answers to the questions boggling our minds? Were those days working together really as bad as the press described it back in the day?
"Instead of shouting at each other and blaming each other and kind of going crazy, they just knuckle down, be professional, have a sense of humor and get on with it. And they end up with the triumph of the rooftop," said Jackson in an interview.
"The best bit of us, always has been and always will be, is when we're... Backs against the wall," said Paul in the documentary.
"All we've got is us..." added john.
The hidden and unseen tapes were intended for the controversial documentary Let it Be created by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. It was released in May 1970, just after Paul officially left the band.
Paul and Ringo are the remaining surviving members of the band. The two worked with Jackson along with Yoko Ono (John's widow) and Olivia Harrison (George's widow). None of them asked for changes or edits even if most of them were nervous about the output of the docuseries.
How did they end up performing their last live gig on the rooftop of the Apple Corps headquarters in central London on Jan. 30, 1969? Whose idea was it? Did they pass the “audition?”
Check out the teaser trailer below:
The Beatles: Get Back three-part documentary series will be released exclusively on Disney Plus starting Nov. 25 until the 27th.
Now, the big question is: When will Disney Plus be legally available here in the Philippines? We deserve to experience Beatlemania all over again!
