Peter Jackson's highly anticipated three-part docuseries about The Beatles premieres Thursday on Disney+ and with its release comes an in-depth look at what ultimately led to the band's break up, and how they were on the verge of splitting long before it became official — while recording "Let It Be."
The director has waded through over 60 hours of previously unseen footage and 150 hours of never before heard audio to create "The Beatles: Get Back," which takes a closer look at the band's time rehearsing and recording for their final album.
The band created art with album's such as 1967’s "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band," but the focus was in the studio, not on the stage. The album "Let It Be" was meant to get the band back in front of audiences after they decided to stop performing live at the end of 1966, according to the New York Post. At the time, they did not know that this would be their final album.
Jackson's docuseries covers 21 consecutive days, excluding the weekends off, in strict chronological order in order to give viewers a true feel of the Beatles' diary in the studio. However, as film critic Owen Gleiberman writes in a review for Variety, "Get Back" is "more than a diary," it is the telling of a "grand story." Drawing comparisons with the original 1970 documentary about the band, "Let It Be," Gleiberman notes that "'Get Back' isn’t all sweetness and light. Its first episode is actually much darker than 'Let It Be.' In this more complete version, the Beatles know in some part of their collective heart and gut that they’re headed for a breakup (if not now, then soon enough). They make casual reference to it, and the prospect causes them visible distress."
The Beatles would eventually put "Let It Be" aside and make "Abbey Road," which was released in September 1969. By that point, John Lennon had already informed his bandmates he was exiting the band, leaving Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr to finish "Let It Be" by themselves, the New York Post noted.
By the time the album came out in May 1970, the band had already announced their official breakup. As reviewers have noted, there is a hint of underlying tension in "Get Back" however, the ultimate concept behind the documentary was to reflect "the warmth, camaraderie and creative genius that defined the legacy of the iconic foursome," according to an original news release. It appears to have achieved just that.
"In the end, 'Get Back' is better than good," concluded Gleiberman. "It’s essential, an extended love letter to everything that made the Beatles real."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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