There is no one in the world who has not heard of The Beatles, deemed the best band to ever exist. However, they will never be able to see into the magical relationship between the four young members and their music, until they watch Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back documentary series.
The movie Let it Be was released in 1970, and was intended to provide insight into The Beatles latest creation, the album Let it Be. While the movie did provide an interesting look into how the Beatles worked, remaining Beatle members Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney both agreed that the movie portrayed their band’s work process as negative, as there was lots of tension between the band members at the time.
That is where Peter Jackson comes in, as he acquired hundreds of hours worth of unused footage for the movie. He then decided to make a new documentary to be available on Disney+, and according to Jackson, Starr, and McCartney, it uses never before seen footage to create what he believes to be a more accurate and positive three part documentary series.
The Beatles: Get Back documentary series is an extremely entertaining and informative documentary that is worth watching until the very end as it shows the astonishing relationship between all four of the Beatle members as they struggle to create with a tight deadline, as they had less than a month to write, record and produce songs for the album.
While it might seem unnecessary to some to release yet another Beatles documentary 51 years after their time together has come to a close, this documentary is different from any other, as it was made with guidance from the two remaining Beatles, Starr and McCartney, and creates the side of the story they both want to be shown.
Although the documentary uses footage from a time when The Beatles were very close to the end of their run as a band, there is no doubt that the chemistry between all four members, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and Paul McCartney, had not been lost. There was constant witty banter between all of them, and there were many times when they were making each other laugh, particularly in the second part of the series when they are seen in rehearsal making up songs with incoherent lyrics.
With these scenes, one is able to see the admiration each member has for each other, and the close relationship that was formed throughout their years as a band, something that was not seen in past documentaries.
Additionally, this documentary shows at great length The Beatles’ creative process and how some lyrics evolve into a thorough song. Each song used in the Let it Be album underwent significant changes throughout January of 1969, and other songs that were considered for the album would end up being in their final album, Abbey Road.
The new look into what happened in the studio made it easy to notice the talent all four members have. Starr, the drummer for the band, was able to pick up the beat for the song instantly through hearing the lyrics and only a few guitar notes. Even during a time when they were under a harsh deadline, they did not let the pressure affect their creative process.
Possibly the most important reason as to why this documentary is different from any other Beatles documentary is the personal moments throughout the three parts of the series. There are many parts of the footage that allows the audience to experience the ‘fly on the wall’ phenomenon, where one feels like they are there, experiencing the moment. In one piece of audio in particular, Lennon and McCartney do not even know they are being recorded. It allows the audience to feel as if they are watching something secretive.
Jackson made sure he included rare heartfelt moments between the members, as most documentaries only focus on the tension between them that was taking place during 1969. This footage includes Harrison helping Starr write his song “Octopus’s Garden,” Lennon and McCartney dancing during their breaks and Lennon and Starr giving each other a warm hug as they leave the studio after a long day. These audios and footage provide more soul to the documentary, which differentiates it from any other program that, in most cases, includes overused and standard footage of the group.
Without a doubt, The Beatles: Get Back is a groundbreaking series that will not go unacknowledged, as every second provides rare and fascinating insight about one creation by the four men that will go down in history.
