The Beatles Get Back documentary series directed by Peter Jackson

[editor]

Anyone else watching this? I managed to blag a Disney log in (the only place you can see it for now, sadly) and I've been blown away by the band's musicianship and camaraderie - and the incredible quality of the film.

 

[ska invita]

Saving it for xmas hols - looking forward to it

 

[Nanker Phelge]

Loved it.

 

[Supine]

Amazing. I’m about three hours in. Loving it.

 

[Yossarian]

I had my doubts about this because I thought Peter Jackson might have stretched it out into three parts when one would have done, but think I will check it out since it's getting so many good reviews.

 

[Supine]

I had my doubts about this because I thought Peter Jackson might have stretched it out into three parts when one would have done, but think I will check it out since it's getting so many good reviews.

The material he is using makes the length an important part of the series (no spoilers answer!)

 

[PursuedByBears]

We're watching it and it's great, it's like hanging out with the band

 

[editor]

I had my doubts about this because I thought Peter Jackson might have stretched it out into three parts when one would have done, but think I will check it out since it's getting so many good reviews.

I thought the same too but it's a compelling story and the novelty of seeing Beatles footage from over half a century ago looking so clear and 'new' rarely wears off. And it reveals what a truly talented group of individuals they were, taking on the ridiculous challenge of creating a whole new album in a stupidly short period of time.

 

[editor]

We're watching it and it's great, it's like hanging out with the band

I find Lennon far funnier than I expected, and when the camera switches to the drab, greyness of 1960s London it really does look like the band are from the future!

 

[danny la rouge]

I had arranged to watch at a mate’s, but now that I’m Covid positive I’m going to do a month’s subscription.

 

[skyscraper101]

I watched the first part and enjoyed it. Lennon is funny yeah. It’s also very notable how much of a charismatic leader McCartney was, quite likeable I thought. Nobody particularly seems to be arsed with Yoko being omnipresent all the time either, contrary to popular myth.

 

[editor]

I watched the first part and enjoyed it. Lennon is funny yeah. It’s also very notable how much of a charismatic leader McCartney was, quite likeable I thought. Nobody particularly seems to be arsed either about Yoko being there all the time contrary to popular myth.

I know the perceived wisdom before this film came out was that it was a dreadful time for the band, but I'd be fucking delighted to be in a band that works as hard as they do and yet still manages to have so much bloody fun together. I love it when they hark back to the Hamburg days too. They sure came a long way.

I also love how Billy Preston gets such a warm welcome. What a brilliantly talented young man he was (I looked him up on Wiki and it's sad that things went so shit for him at the end)

 

[Steel Icarus]

I hadn't even heard about this til tonight. Will be watching this over my timeoffmas.

 

[ska invita]

aking on the ridiculous challenge of creating a whole new album in a stupidly short period of time.

what album is it?

 

[SpookyFrank]

what album is it?

The abandoned album 'Get Back' most of which was remixed by Phil Spector and released as 'Let It Be' after the band's split.

 

[ska invita]

I find Lennon far funnier than I expected, and when the camera switches to the drab, greyness of 1960s London it really does look like the band are from the future!

theres a filmed gig of Bowie doing spiders from mars at the town and country club and it starts with footage from the punters outside the venue - i remember having exactly that same thought then - made Glam make a lots more sense to me somehow

Nobody particularly seems to be arsed with Yoko being omnipresent all the time either, contrary to popular myth.

The world owes Yoko an apology! 10 things we learned from The Beatles: Get Back

Peter Jackson’s eight-hour documentary on the Fab Four reveals Ringo is an amazing drummer, McCartney was a joy and their entourage were coolest of all

www.theguardian.com

The anti Yoko stuff always stank

 

[SpookyFrank]

I had my doubts about this because I thought Peter Jackson might have stretched it out into three parts when one would have done, but think I will check it out since it's getting so many good reviews.

It warrants the slow burn approach IMO. Some of the 'comedy' versions of the songs grate a bit but even they give you an idea of how they acted around each other and how the way they worked turned what were mostly simple tunes into magic.

The number of fags they get through though, fucking hell.

 

[skyscraper101]

I also enjoyed all the the non music bits like when the suit turns up from EMI and massively sucks up to them like a real life Arthur Daley.

 

[Supine]

I loved seeing the creative process. So far anyway. Still hours to watch!

 

[SpookyFrank]

Even Lindsay-Hogg being a cringey twat is great to watch, because of how the band (Ringo and George in particular) keep ever-so-sweetly cunting him off or just ignoring him completely.

 

[pesh]

its all about the hidden camera box in the lobby

 

[SpookyFrank]

its all about the hidden camera box in the lobby

Debbie at reception mugging off the idiot coppers during the rooftop gig is a particular highlight.

 

[editor]

It warrants the slow burn approach IMO. Some of the 'comedy' versions of the songs grate a bit but even they give you an idea of how they acted around each other and how the way they worked turned what were mostly simple tunes into magic.

You could also see how big an influence music hall was on the band too!

They also really, really knew their music - but then given the phenomenal amount of hours they put in over Germany, that's hardly a surprise:

Here is John Lennon, in an interview after the Beatles disbanded, talking about the band’s performances at a Hamburg strip club called the Indra:

"We got better and got more confidence. We couldn’t help it with all the experience playing all night long. It was handy them being foreign. We had to try even harder, put our heart and soul into it, to get ourselves over. In Liverpool, we’d only ever done one-hour sessions, and we just used to do our best numbers, the same ones, at every one. In Hamburg, we had to play for eight hours, so we really had to find a new way of playing.”

At first they played almost nonstop till twelve-thirty, when it closed, but as they got better the crowds stayed till two most mornings.

The Beatles ended up traveling to Hamburg five times between 1960 and the end of 1962. On the first trip, they played 106 nights, five or more hours a night. On their second trip, they played 92 times. On their third trip, they played 48 times, for a total of 172 hours on stage. The last two Hamburg gigs, in November and December of 1962, involved another 90 hours of performing. All told, they performed for 270 nights in just over a year and a half.

By the time they had their first burst of success in 1964, in fact, they had performed live an estimated twelve hundred times.

Do you know how extraordinary that is? Most bands today don’t perform twelve hundred times in their entire careers.

The Beatles, 10 years & 10000 hours

The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr—came to the United States in February of 1964, starting the so-called British Invasion of the American music scene and putting out a string of hit records that transformed the face of popular music. Lennon and McCartney first

www.linkedin.com

 

[editor]

George Harrison was only 25 when this was being filmed. 25!!!!

 

[seeformiles]

I’m waiting for the dvd - clips look amazing though

 

[editor]

Sort of related

 

[D'wards]

I believe this series will go down in history as the seminal portrait of a band at a certain time.

Its sublime

 

[bellaozzydog]

It’s incredible viewing.

I’m halfway through and really enjoying. Although the group dynamic struggling was sometimes a bit sad

 

[editor]

It’s incredible viewing.

I’m halfway through and really enjoying. Although the group dynamic struggling was sometimes a bit sad

They still have more fun in the studio than any band I've ever been in, ever!

 

[D'wards]

I was thinking what other band could they do an 8 hour portrait (18 directors cut) in the studio and it be as brilliant and fascinating?

No other band could. The Beatles are unique in that most people could name all members (though I'm not too sure about todays under 25s).

I got into them heavily at about 13 or 14. But even though I was born 5 years after they split they were always a presence for as long as I can remember.
I can recall in infant school me and me mates in the playground walking rings around this tyre pile climbing thing all singing Yellow Submarine.

I really can't think of any band or artist who comes close to their world notoriety.
Maybe only Elvis or Jackson.

It seems to me that every rock musician who came after them were heavily influenced by the beatles. Springsteen, ozzy, cobain etc etc all loved the beatles