Over Thanksgiving weekend, the new Disney+ documentary about the Beatles, “Get Back” was released. PHOTO CREDIT: nj.com
The three-part documentary series, “The Beatles: Get Back,” about arguably (but not really) the most successful band of all time, was released on Disney+ on Thanksgiving, and I have a lot of thoughts.
“Get Back” documents The Beatles’ career in January 1969 as they begin writing and recording songs for their final two albums, “Abbey Road” and “Let it Be,” as well as their preparation for their famous final performance on the roof of Apple Corporation Headquarters in London.
I have been listening to The Beatles since before I could cognitively recognize what music was, thanks to my dad who is the biggest Beatles fan ever. Seriously, you think you know someone who loves the Beatles? They are nothing compared to my dad.
And, in turn, I not only love The Beatles (and always have—I was known as the Beatles-obsessed girl in elementary school) but I know a lot of information about them that most people probably don’t.
As soon as my dad told me about this documentary, I knew I needed to see it, so I subscribed to Disney+.
I’ve seen all of The Beatles movies from “A Hard Day’s Night” to “Let it Be.” “Get Back” is made up of the same footage as “Let it Be,” however, it is not a movie. Apparently over 60 hours of footage was recorded for the “Let it Be” film, but only 80 minutes was used (obviously, because no one is going to watch a 60-hour movie). The “Get Back” documentary just feels like director Peter Jackson taking as much of that footage as he could get away with and publishing three of the longest movies ever.
Personally, I really enjoyed watching this. However, as I said before, I am a Beatles lover. This is not a film that, like other Beatles films, can be enjoyed by casual fans. This one is for the hardcore fans only. Everyone else should just watch “Let it Be.”
Now, let’s talk about some of the best parts of the documentary. First of all, all my life I’ve been just a tad bit troubled by the very famous, very messy break up of The Beatles. It’s hard to see your favorite band, as well as four best friends, grow apart from each other in such an extreme way. Sure, they ended up friends again in the end, but they were always plagued by the fights they had at the end of their time as a band. That being said, for some reason, I was absolutely obsessed with seeing the four of them fight in this documentary. Maybe it was because I knew it was coming, but I was just so enthralled with the drama.
Next, we have George Harrison’s brief departure from the band. While it was upsetting to see the band so emotional and struggling when they thought George was out of the band for good, the short period at the end of episode one right after George leaves and the remaining three members are losing their minds (banging on the drums, playing different instruments, climbing around the TV set) was one of my favorite parts of the whole series. I think this is partially because it shows their youth—The Beatles were only 25 to 28 years old during this time period—and while I always look at their career and feel like they went from 18 to 40 in their 10 years as a band, it’s refreshing to see a younger side to them.
Speaking of losing our minds, Yoko Ono, ladies and gentlemen. At least once in all three episodes we got to see Yoko “singing.” I use that term very lightly because it was definitely not singing, but rather screeching, though apparently this is art (also used lightly). I’m not sure if that’s true, or what possessed Yoko to do this in front of so many people, but it cracked me up so I guess I’m in favor of it.
And, of course, there’s the in-depth showing of The Beatles’ final performance at the end of the third episode.
The closest I ever got to The Beatles rooftop concert was when I played “Dig a Pony” or “Get Back” on Beatles Rockband (10/10 would recommend, by the way), so being able to see almost the whole thing from start to finish was amazing for me. I never realized before how many times they played “Get Back” on the roof (three times), and I also never saw them get shut down by the police. The whole thing was pretty cathartic for me as a Beatles fan.
After they get off stage at the end of the film, the viewer is left to watch the band record songs for their final album “Let it Be.” The whole experience is very melancholy and based on how rehearsals went in the previous three episodes, it’s clear to both the band and the viewer 51 years later, that they won’t be creating any more music as the “Fab Four.”
The Beatles are timeless, even at their roughest of stages, and I think that “Get Back” captures this perfectly. Everything through their rehearsals up until the final performance was absolutely brutal, it’s amazing to see the pure talent that the four of them possessed and how they pulled together in the end as the band they were always meant to be.
If you have Disney+ and you are a Beatles fan, this is a must-watch. If you’re not a Beatles fan, I’d still give it a try, because to me, it was absolutely magic.