It’s a good time for Beatles fans right now. Last week saw the release of Paul McCartney’s trilogy-capping solo album McCartney III, Saturday brought a TV special with the legendary singer being interviewed by Idris Elba, and now we’ve got our first look at Peter Jackson’s upcoming Beatles documentary. The filmmaker has long been working on The Beatles: Get Back – trawling through hours and hours of unseen Fab Four footage from the recording of their final studio album Let It Be, to tell a different (and reportedly much more positive) version of the final days of the band. The film isn’t due to arrive until August next year thanks to the Covid pandemic, but for now Jackson has shared a first look at some footage. Watch the five-minute reel here:
As Jackson explains, this isn’t a trailer or even a sequence from the film. “It’s like a montage of moments that we’ve pulled from throughout the 56 hours of footage that we have, and it just gives you a sense of the spirit of the film that we’re making,” he says. “Hopefully it’ll put a smile on your face in these rather bleak times that we’re in at the moment.” Energy and spirit is definitely it – with joyous footage of the band jamming, recording, and pulling together some of their most iconic songs. Of course, the tail end of the Beatles’ time as a group has largely gone down as a fractious period between the four, but Jackson stated early on his aim to show a fuller picture of their last sessions, which were reportedly more harmonious than the history books would have it.
Jackson reveals that he’s currently halfway through the edit on the film – his second documentary following They Shall Not Grow Old – and that it’ll be completed for release on 27 August. It’s set to arrive in cinemas, and also looks to be coming to Disney+.