Peter Jackson's "Get Back" Documentary Film Rises From the Ashes of "Let It Be" and Beatles' Fans Are Loving It

 

Screenshot via YouTube

Get Back, the three part documentary film, was made by world class director Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings trilogy) from the same film and tape elements that were used in the making of The Beatles last movie Let It Be and the Let It Be album. Even though the Let It Be movie played in theaters over fifty years ago, and even though it has disappeared from circulation, memories of that movie remain strong. The 80 minute run time was divided between The Beatles working in the cavernous Twickenham studio, the basement studio at Apple Headquarters, and the triumphant rooftop concert at the Apple HQ. Despite the good feeling of the final sequence with no narration, the overall effect of the movie was depressing, especially the first part. If you wanted a portrait of a band breaking up, this was it. It's no surprise then that this film did not receive home video distribution. For a short time, Let It Be was available as a rental only VHS title, but by the mid-80s it was completely off the market. 

The two films, Peter Jackson's Get Back and Michael Lindsay-Hogg's Let It Be couldn't have been more different, even though they were made from the same source material. Before we get into the Jackson film, there are some things worth knowing. Based on public reporting at the time (which was nicely fleshed out in Jackson's film), the project consisted of about two weeks of rehearsals, which took place in January 1969. The project was intended to culminate in two live concerts that were to be broadcast on TV and accompanied by a documentary film of the rehearsals directed by Lindsay-Hogg. The trick was that within the two weeks of rehearsals, the Beatles planned to write fourteen new songs. The short time frame was due to Ringo's start date for filming the movie The Magic Christian. At some point, the live TV concerts got scratched, but the Beatles soldiered on, continuing to write, record, and film. 

Ultimately, the live shows were replaced with plans for a live concert on the roof of the Apple HQ building. That conclusion of the plan took place on January 30, 1969 as nicely depicted in Part Three of the Jackson film. 

Engineer Glynn Johns (Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, among others) had been brought in to helm the live project. Johns pieced together audio from the month long project in accordance with the original concept presenting all new songs recorded live with an intentional "warts and all" sound (this meant leaving in mistakes and such). During an interview, that was part of a recent Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, Johns explained that they were going for an audio vérité documentary style. The proposed Get Back album was put together by Johns and an acetate was created. All four Beatles rejected it. If I might add, I've heard the acetate (it was widely bootlegged on CD) and the group made a wise decision. At that point, the Get Back project was shelved.

Later in 1969, the Beatles came together to record and release Abbey Road. Even though it was not the last album to be released, Abbey Road was, in fact, the last album they recorded together. Meanwhile, at the behest of John Lennon (according to Johns), the Get Back tapes were given to Phil Spector, who produced the album we know as Let It Be, released in 1970. The Spector production raised a bit of controversy, especially amongst purists. Even though it took some time, it was that controversy that prompted the release of Let It Be... Naked in 2003, a version that removed all of Spector's production. But, that's a story for another day.

Getting back to the Peter Jackson documentary film, Jackson explains in interviews that he found himself in London on another matter, and in a meeting with the current Apple Corp. brass he decided to ask about Let It Be outtakes. His timing couldn't have been better, as the executives wanted to know if there was another documentary film to be made from the never-before-seen outtakes. Jackson then spent a week reviewing the films; he volunteered on the spot. 

"...They just left me alone, and I watched [the footage]. And I was laughing, and I thought it was unbelievable—I can’t believe I’m seeing Paul compose ‘Get Back’! This is incredible… The guys were so funny, and it was so great; it was not what I had in my head for 30, 40 years… ” (Courtney Potter, D3, November 23, 2021)

Back in New Zealand, Jackson and his team went to work with over 60 hours of film that was shot under the direction of Lindsay-Hogg. Additionally, they listened to over 150 hours of audio tape recorded during the project. After watching and listening to all of this material, they carefully catalogued it in order to recreate the sessions chronologically. Jackson and his team meticulously edited it down into a new film. At that point, the decisions of what to leave in and what to leave out must have been brutal. The resulting 7 hour and 48 minute film (complete running time), divided over three parts, is a master work deserving all of the accolades it has received. 

There is no voice-over narration, just a text overlay that delivers the necessary facts. Part One opens with a nice history of the group using archival photos, films and recordings to set the stage for what's coming next. From there the film takes you day by day through the project in chronological order. At the start of each day's session, they show a calendar with the previous day marked off and they note which day of the project this is. As the sessions progress, they play many songs. You see them writing the songs that are now very familiar from the Let It Be album, as well as songs that wound up on Abbey Road, solo albums, and there are even a couple of unreleased songs in there. 

If you've ever wished that you could be fly on the wall during a Beatles' session (and who hasn't), this film is a dream come true. The familiar tunes fly fast and furious; you see all the visitors to the sessions, plus there is lots of conversation between the lads. In the first few days, being that it's early January, there are some New Year's greetings. Everyone is very polite to each other saying "Good Morning" and such. 

Without getting into a blow by blow description, we do indeed see (as Jackson observed) Paul McCartney writing "Get Back," literally from scratch. At other times, Paul is a veritable font of melody, playing piano on "Let It Be" and later on "The Long and Winding Road." Both songs are fully realized musically even though half the lyrics remain to be written. In the case of the latter, he rolls on with the piano melody to "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight," which we know from the second side of Abbey Road. 

There is some nice dramatic tension created (near the end of Part One) when George Harrison, rather matter of factly, states that he's leaving the Beatles now. This gets resolved in Part Two, but not before some hidden microphones capture a very revealing conversation between Paul and John. 

Part Three includes the famous rooftop concert in its entirety. I just love the way Jackson cut it to include street interviews and every step of the police attempt to shut it down. Even though we all know how it ends, even though they knew it would end that way (with the police station merely yards away), and even if you've seen this film before, you'll still get nervous about whether they'll get to perform all of the songs that we know they do.

For Beatles fans, this new film is a wonderful gift.