Here are 8 facts you need to know before watching The Beatles: Get Back
Peter Jackson, the only one in 50 years to access the archive material
Acclaimed New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson, known for the Lord of the Rings trilogy and most recently for his World War I documentary They Will Never Grow Old, is the only person in fifty years who had access to the audiovisual material stored in the vaults Apple Corps., the company that handles all of The Beatles’ creative and business interests.
It consisted of 60 hours of film material and more than 100 hours of audio material, captured during three weeks in January 1969, at Twickenham Studios and at the Apple Corps office studio, both in London. The footage had been recorded to produce a live television special that never came out and was filmed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, author of the 1970 documentary Let It Be. After receiving the tapes, Jackson was extremely impressed with what he saw, and took advantage of the isolated context of the COVID-19 pandemic to immerse himself fully in the material and find a narrative thread that would structure the story.
The project was a dilemma for Jackson
Jackson says that, while the material he discovered in the Apple Corps tapes was fascinating, the project placed him, as a fan of The Beatles, in a great dilemma. The opportunity to see and work with the only extant substantial footage of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr composing in the studio was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but I had qualms about being part of the “separation movie.” of the band, considering that the group disbanded a few months later. However, the images alone led him to make the decision to accept the project.
The footage closely showed the band working together at a seminal moment in their career. It was entertaining and showed the group members warm and jovial with each other, and their interactions were lighthearted, emotional, and often silly and playful. “I don’t think there is another three-week period in Beatles history that is more prolific and creative than this,” says Jackson. So instead of seeing it as the sad breakup moment for The Beatles, which resulted in bad recordings, it’s actually one of the most hectic writing, rehearsal and recording periods they ever had. “
The selection and restoration process took 4 years
The Beatles: Get Back is the result of unprecedented technical restoration work. Jackson and his team worked on the material for 4 years, painstakingly analyzing every second to optimize the image for unique sound quality. The restoration of the film material was carried out at Park Road Post Production in New Zealand, with a team of 14 specialized technicians.
The cleaning of the sound, meanwhile, was worked in a millimetric way, taking the original recordings made in mono and paying special attention to the separation of the dialogue fragments between the members of the band in order to highlight what they were saying. “Our work with the audio revealed conversations that were previously impossible to understand, allowing us to present with greater precision and detail the ‘Get Back Sessions’ from January 1969,” says Jackson.
The Beatles had not performed live in almost 3 years.
At the time of entering the studio for the sessions portrayed in the series, The Beatles had not performed live for almost three years, so they were eager to reunite to record. They missed the connection they had as a group and hoped to recapture the energy of their early live performances in Hamburg and the Cavern Club. By this point in the career, gigs had become difficult for the band as it was difficult to hear each other above the screaming fans, so they had stopped touring in 1966.
The series includes the complete rooftop concert
In addition to the band’s songwriting and recording sessions at Twickenham Studios and Apple Corps, The Beatles: Get Back includes, for the first time, the full 42-minute Beatles concert on the Apple Corps rooftop on January 30, 1969, their last live performance as a group. It was an impromptu concert for friends and colleagues, a free performance, not scheduled or promoted, heard by anyone within three or four blocks of the vicinity.
You see the intimacy of the band
In addition to capturing the creative process of the band, The Beatles: Get Back allows fans to peek into the family intimacy of John, Paul, George and Ringo. The material reveals the presence in the studio of Yoko Ono and Linda Eastman, who a few months later would become wives of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, respectively. You can also see some special participations, such as that of the musician Billy Preston, and tender and funny moments that involve little visitors to the studio, such as Heather McCartney, Linda’s biological daughter and Paul’s adopted daughter who at that time was just 6 years old.
Iconic song recording process revealed
Thanks to the extraordinary restoration of sound, Beatles fans have access to “the kitchen” of some of the legendary songs of the Liverpool quartet. Among others, you can see how the band writes “Get Back” and “Something”, revealing like never before the songwriting dynamics and creative process of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr.
Paul and Ringo were shocked by what they saw
The new documentary series moved even Paul McCartney himself. The artist comments: “As I looked at it, I thought: ‘What a fertile period that was.’ It was a very fruitful period for me. It was great for me to see it. It’s like looking at old photos. And the fact that Linda (Eastman McCartney) is taking photos obviously makes it even more special to me. It’s extraordinary. Those aspects of that whole situation are great memories, is to look at the family photo album again. There I am composing, just for fun. He was definitely going through a good musical period at the time. ” Ringo Starr, for his part, says: “I’m very excited for people to see it. Peter is extraordinary and it was great to see all that footage. There are hours and hours of us laughing and making music. There is much joy and much more peace and love, as we really were ”.
The Beatles: Get Back premieres on November 25, 26 and 27, exclusively on Disney+, with a new episode every day.
Source From: Ambito
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