Television Trailer for The Beatles: Get Back, new docuseries by Peter Jackson

[Kamusha]

 

For those who don't know Peter Jackson took all of the archival footage for original Let it Be documentary and edited for its own documentary. It was originally supposed to be a feature length but then eventually became a three part series. It's premiering on Thanksgiving on Disney +.

 

I have to say I got quite emotional watching this. Jackson uses the same restoration technology that he used for They Shall Not Grow Old and the results are amazing. It looks very crisp and vibrant. Definitely don't watch this trailer on your phone, wait to watch it on a monitor or something larger and you'll be blown away by how good this look.

 

Trailer for The Beatles: Get Back, new docuseries by Peter Jackson

[69los]

1 hour ago, Komusha said:

 

Peter Jackson ...It was originally supposed to be a feature length but then eventually became a three part series.

 

 

 

You don't say!

 

[TheLeon]

I'm not much of a Beatles guy, but I'll definitely watch this.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

As much as I REALLY dislike their music, I'll definitely give this a shot.

[Greatoneshere]

11 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

As much as I REALLY dislike their music, I'll definitely give this a shot.

 

I wasn't aware a person could not at least like The Beatles. A part of you must hate happiness.  

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

12 minutes ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

I wasn't aware a person could not at least like The Beatles. A part of you must hate happiness.  

 

While I do consider "happiness" to be a degenerate bourgeois liberal weakness, the main reason I can't stand their music is because it's so goddamned snore-inducing.

 

Give me the Stones over them any day of the week.

 

I fully recognize their immense talent and monumental contribution to rock n' roll and 20th century culture, but my God - hearing their songs is like nails on a chalkboard to me.

[Greatoneshere]

3 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

While I do consider "happiness" to be a degenerate bourgeois liberal weakness, the main reason I can't stand their music is because it's so goddamned snore-inducing.

 

Give me the Stones over them any day of the week.

 

I like The Stones more than The Beatles too, so I'm down with you on that one. I was mostly kidding haha.

[Keyser_Soze]

Thread title confused me. I though this guy must be like the bootleg Peter Jackson like Señor Spielbergo.

[Kamusha]

 

[stepee]

lol nice one Ringo. So weird to see them young but looking like it was filmed recently. Peter Jackson is really shaking up my perception of all history looking old and scratchy.

[SaysWho?]

I’ll be taking a big trip when it releases, but I will be watching this one for sure. I love the Beatles, and I got to see Paul in concert a few years ago and I was amazed, even though I expected it, at how you could find anybody from 5 to 105 in that place.

 

The Let It Be album doesn’t have their best stuff on the whole, but it’s still a fascinating time for them professionally.

[stepee]

I haven’t seen this yet but i didn’t realize it’s EIGHT hours. I mean it’s compiled from 56 hours of footage, it doesn’t sound like he worked very hard and cutting it. Should have just dumped the whole thing then let someone cut a 90 min flick. I love the Beatles but I’m not sure if I can actually watch 8 hours of this one particular part of them.

[SaysWho?]

I can’t wait to watch all three posts. On vacation right now but maybe one night we’ll warm up to Get Back.

 

Some of the coolest stuff is watching them figure out songs that would be on Abbey Road or their solo careers.

[Anathema-]

On 11/26/2021 at 2:12 AM, stepee said:

I haven’t seen this yet but i didn’t realize it’s EIGHT hours. I mean it’s compiled from 56 hours of footage, it doesn’t sound like he worked very hard and cutting it. Should have just dumped the whole thing then let someone cut a 90 min flick. I love the Beatles but I’m not sure if I can actually watch 8 hours of this one particular part of them.

 

It was actually amazing. When the rooftop concert began I almost started to cry. 

 

It's a brief recap of every day they spent creating the album and they did the whole thing from scratch in about a month. It's truly remarkable to see the process of one of the greatest and most prolific bands ever.

 

The thing that surprised me the most is how rough and unfinished everything they wrote was and how their process was just to noodle and tinker until the songs sounded good to their ear. I had always taken Paul and John to be these brilliant song writers when it seems like their brilliance comes from a process that's more like editing/ producing than writing. 

 

I'm also glad that Jackson played it straight. It's not a documentary about the last days of The Beatles. That's just coincidence, background. It's not without tension, that would be impossible, but it's a film about the creation of an album.  What he gave us is what Get Back was meant to be. 

[Anathema-]

Also I always find it weird when someone says they don't like The Beatles because their music is so wide ranging. "With The Beatles" doesn't sound like Help which doesn't sound like Rubber Soul which doesn't sound like Revolver which doesn't sound like Sgt. Peppers which doesn't sound like Abbey Road which doesn't sound like Get Back. Maybe okay you don't like "The Beatles" but they almost certainly have a half dozen songs you'll like (which is more than almost every band ever).

[SaysWho?]

5 hours ago, Anathema- said:

 

It was actually amazing. When the rooftop concert began I almost started to cry. 

 

It's a brief recap of every day they spent creating the album and they did the whole thing from scratch in about a month. It's truly remarkable to see the process of one of the greatest and most prolific bands ever.

 

The thing that surprised me the most is how rough and unfinished everything they wrote was and how their process was just to noodle and tinker until the songs sounded good to their ear. I had always taken Paul and John to be these brilliant song writers when it seems like their brilliance comes from a process that's more like editing/ producing than writing. 

 

I'm also glad that Jackson played it straight. It's not a documentary about the last days of The Beatles. That's just coincidence, background. It's not without tension, that would be impossible, but it's a film about the creation of an album.  What he gave us is what Get Back was meant to be. 

I’ve only watched about an hour since I’m on vacation and traveling, but I do like the structure of this. They go through each day, you know exactly which day they’re talking about, and you watch how everything evolves. You see why they play some of their very old songs and how One After 909 was chosen, you hear the earliest and roughest version of Get Back. You also get a little bit more of that Paul McCartney and George Harrison spat.

[Anathema-]

You also get to feel, truly feel, how much Yoko was cramping everyone.

[TheLeon]

I think this might be a little much for me. I'm pretty neutral on the Beatles. I don't dislike them, when some of their songs come on I might single along and enjoy myself, but when I'm looking for music to listen to I'm never picking them. And as it turns out, I'm not particularly interested in them as people or their creative process. I'm halfway through part one and I keep thinking 

 

 

And they warn you about it upfront, but it's really jarring to me every time the recorded dialog is obviously not matching up with the footage. 

[CitizenVectron]

On 11/28/2021 at 4:20 AM, Anathema- said:

The thing that surprised me the most is how rough and unfinished everything they wrote was and how their process was just to noodle and tinker until the songs sounded good to their ear. I had always taken Paul and John to be these brilliant song writers when it seems like their brilliance comes from a process that's more like editing/ producing than writing. 

 

So, interestingly, that is actually quite a bit like writing. I know there is someone else on this board who is a published author (self-published?) who has made money from books and they can chime in better than I, but a very common writing style is to just lay out a "vomit draft" (whether by rough outline or just freewheeling) and then go back after and do another draft to tighten, then another draft, then another, etc. There are certainly some authors who have basically published their first drafts with little editing (Asimov was one), but most books go through 3-10 drafts before being the works they end up being. To paraphrase a common saying, you can edit crap, you can't edit a blank sheet—just letting your subconscious create things (and then going back after and improving it repeatedly) is one of the most common ways to write.

[Anathema-]

6 hours ago, CitizenVectron said:

So, interestingly, that is actually quite a bit like writing.

 

Not to one-up you or anything but that's the process for all kinds of artistic creation

 

I think this tweet does a better job at emphasizing what I meant:

 

 

[Anathema-]

fucking 26 years old man what the fuck.

[TwinIon]

We watched part 1 and my dominant feeling is that I wish this was a movie and not an 8 hour series. I've never been really into the Beatles, their songs haven't ever been in my playlists, but I certainly don't dislike them. I can recognize and enjoy most of their hits, but that's about it. Still, it's impossible to ignore how significant their contributions were to music, and the set up for this doc seemed interesting enough.

 

There are the small, transcendent moments, like the one clipped above; little moments in time where you hear the making of something great. They're the kinds of sequences that music biopics wish they could accurately portray but always strive for. Those bits are wonderful, even for someone with such a casual understanding of the Beatles and their music.

 

The rest of the time, at least in part 1, is spent hanging out with the band. If you're a big Beatles fan, that may well be heaven. If you're not, it's hard to say how much you'll enjoy it. You do get a great sense of the band and their dynamic, but unless you have an intense interest in these guys, it might be hard to keep interest up enough to ensure you don't miss those more meaningful bits.

 

That said, I'll echo @Anathema-'s thoughts on the overall style of the doc. It's easy to imagine much of this footage being used in a more traditional documentary, with talking head interludes and context for each important bit. I'm glad Jackson didn't go that way, because it all does feel so natural and honest. When the band hits one of those recognizable melodies, it's all the more meaningful that we saw a true moment of creation.

[Kamusha]

It’s weird to see casual fans complaining that this one specific piece of media about the Beatles doesn’t cater to their level of interest. Like being able to hang out in a recording studio with the Beatles is a long time wish for hardcore fans, and this is the closest we’ll have ever get to that. I was in joy for the full 8 hours. Straight up joy. And some of y’all want to take away that experience from us by watering it down so it will meet your specific level of interest? For a band you admit only have a causal relationship with?

 

There are plenty of feature length films and docs featuring the Beatles so maybe check out one of those first. This project clearly isn’t made for you in mind and that’s okay. This thing is clearly making people very happy, so let us be happy. Hell, there is already a 90 minute doc pulled from the same sessions if you need something in a accessible package.

 

I’m glad that Peter Jackson stuck with his vision to make it long because I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a doc quite like this. I was skeptical about the length beforehand, but the length really works here!

[SaysWho?]

I love the length. I’ve been interested every second so far, though the beginning of part 2 has been most interesting. I can’t believe McCartney is 26 and is so clear eyed and mature about John and Yoko. He’s clearly nervous but he understands that John is making his own choice. The more I see of Paul, the better he is. Everything he said when he was older about how he didn’t view Yoko as the person who broke up the band is vindicated by this documentary, when even as a young lad he’s talking about Yoko positively, how this is a John decision, and how it’s not his (Paul’s) business to tell John not to bring her. It really seems like he wasn’t just making himself seem great in interviews; he really had a mature understanding of what John was going through.

 

If you want something shorter, wait for the remastered Let It Be film, though I feel like that makes Paul look worse the way it’s edited (don’t think it was intentional, more how the shorter length means not going more in depth). But this is fantastic so far and I haven’t even gotten to Billy Preston.

 

Apparently Peter Jackson wants to release all the footage for purchase and this as a standalone purchase, and I’d love to get all of it plus the let it be remastered film. We are very lucky to have all of this.

[TheLeon]

I wouldn’t want to take anything away from the real fans. I was listening to the latest episode The Big Picture podcast, and I wish I could enjoy anything as much as they loved Get Back. 

[Reputator]

3 hours ago, Komusha said:

I was skeptical about the length beforehand, but the length really works here!

 

2 hours ago, SaysWho? said:

I love the length.

 

Ok but how's the girth?

[SaysWho?]

29 minutes ago, Reputator said:

 

 

Ok but how's the girth?

 

More impressive than mine.

 

I mean, wait.

[Kamusha]

1 hour ago, Reputator said:

 

 

Ok but how's the girth?

I haven’t been able to stand in three days.

[Anathema-]

The thing about the length is that it's most in line with what the band wanted originally. They get into that more in part 3, but they were going back and forth between doing some kind of stand alone video like a movie documentary or a long(er) form kind of TV show. 

[Kamusha]

On 11/29/2021 at 8:33 AM, CitizenVectron said:

 

So, interestingly, that is actually quite a bit like writing. I know there is someone else on this board who is a published author (self-published?) who has made money from books and they can chime in better than I, but a very common writing style is to just lay out a "vomit draft" (whether by rough outline or just freewheeling) and then go back after and do another draft to tighten, then another draft, then another, etc. There are certainly some authors who have basically published their first drafts with little editing (Asimov was one), but most books go through 3-10 drafts before being the works they end up being. To paraphrase a common saying, you can edit crap, you can't edit a blank sheet—just letting your subconscious create things (and then going back after and improving it repeatedly) is one of the most common ways to write.

 

I write both prose and poetry and this documentary perfectly captures what the creative process looks like for a lot of us. Poetry and writing lyrics is very similar in nature and I could relate to Paul's process quite a bit. Some of my best poems were super rough and unpolished. I typically rewrite lines many times until I find one that clicks.

 

This is why creative people especially are really connecting to this documentary, I don't think there is any piece of media that accurately displays what the creative process looks like the way this doc does. Maybe it's because of the popularity of biopics but the average person seems to think artists come up with their best material on the spot but in reality it's a process. This lets us know that even the Beatles had to work hard to polish and fine-tune their material. It's both enlightening and assuring.

[SaysWho?]

My favorite process part wasn’t even Paul thinking up Get Back in 90 seconds, even though that was great. It was John and George adding their input, the verse chorus solo setup, when Paul and John will do their singing together, etc. John gave George advice as to how to sing what comes to his mind for Something. 
 

Even at a point in time when they writing a lot of things by themselves, you see that it really was a team effort, that these weren’t just songs one of them wrote and the other people try to play along with.

[SaysWho?]

Ringo says a thing in part 3 which took me by surprise. I thought, “What is happening?”

 

Also, I love how this handled the rooftop concert and give us so many more perspectives. Only thing I wish were had more of is the indoor recordings of stuff like Let It Be at the end. There’s the one in the original movie, but I would’ve loved to have heard the album version, or more specifically see them actually perform it in real time.

[SuperSpreader]

On 10/13/2021 at 9:44 PM, Greatoneshere said:

 

I wasn't aware a person could not at least like The Beatles. A part of you must hate happiness.  

I don't like or care about the Beatles, but I also didn't grow up with US-centric culture. 

[Kamusha]

On 12/3/2021 at 12:58 PM, SaysWho? said:

Ringo says a thing in part 3 which took me by surprise. I thought, “What is happening?”

 

Also, I love how this handled the rooftop concert and give us so many more perspectives. Only thing I wish were had more of is the indoor recordings of stuff like Let It Be at the end. There’s the one in the original movie, but I would’ve loved to have heard the album version, or more specifically see them actually perform it in real time.

 

Remind me what Ringo says. I watched parts 2 and 3 in one day, so parts of it are a blur to me.

 

Unfortunately making the rooftop concert as the climax means they have to end the film pretty much right after. So having the extra recordings during the credits was nice but I agree that more would have been nice to see. There just wasn't a way to put it all in without destroying the structure of the show. It would make for a nice special feature, though.

[Kamusha]

Peter Jackson Details How ‘Get Back’ Used Machine Learning to Restore the Beatles’ Sound and Footage (EXCLUSIVE)

VARIETY.COM

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'Get Back' director Peter Jackson on remastering The Beatles footage into 'Get Back's' ultra-smooth sounding (and looking) documentary.

 

I knew it was obviously restored but I didn't know to what degree. Seeing the before and after is astounding. There is a video in the link above that is well worth watching if you want to appreciate how this new technology was able to bring the Beatles alive. It's truly it's own kind of special effect. Fans wouldn't be having the same emotional connection if the restoration didn't work.