Lord of the Rings and King Kong director Peter Jackson gave Beatles fans an early Christmas treat this week with the release of footage from his new Fab Four documentary, The Beatles: Get Back. The New Zealander unveiled a joyous 5 minute preview of the film online and via Disney+ yesterday, with never-before-seen clips of the band rehearsing the titular track at the Apple Studio in London in January 1969. The documentary will be released in UK cinemas in late August 2021.
Step inside Peter Jackson’s edit bay to get an exclusive first look at some never-before-seen footage from his documentary feature, The Beatles: Get Back. See the film when it comes to theatres August 2021 #TheBeatlesGetBack
For more visit https://t.co/mEYbvbTDfk pic.twitter.com/WnAQEEnCUW— The Beatles (@thebeatles) December 21, 2020
Jackson is no stranger to documentary filmmaking, having secured a BAFTA for his acclaimed World War One film They Shall Not Grow Old. For The Beatles: Get Back, Jackson and his creative team scoured through more than 60 hours of footage (all filmed by veteran Beatles and Rolling Stones video director Michael Lindsay-Hogg) and over 150 hours of unheard audio track, all of which has been expertly restored for this project.
The upcoming documentary will depict the legendary Liverpudlian quartet planning their first live show in over two years whilst writing and rehearsing of 14 new songs, originally intended for release on an accompanying live album. The film will also incorporate the band’s last-ever live performance as a group – the iconic rooftop gig at their 3 Savile Row headquarters in Mayfair.
In a statement accompanying the new teaser trailer, Jackson said “We wanted to give the fans of The Beatles all over the world a holiday treat, so we put together this five-minute sneak peek at our upcoming theatrical film ‘The Beatles: Get Back’. We hope it will bring a smile to everyone’s faces and some much-needed joy at this difficult time.”
The release of the new trailer caps an exciting month for Beatles fans, with Paul McCartney’s new LP McCartney III hitting shelves last week. The new album – a spiritual sequel to McCartney’s eponymous 1970 and 1980 albums – is currently on course to become his first UK chart-topping record since 1989’s Flowers In The Dirt. Rolling Stone has hailed McCartney III as “the warmest and friendliest of quarantine albums” and “Macca at his most playful…not sweating about being a legend, a genius, or a Beatle.”
The first single from the new album is the rich, Wings-esque Find My Way. The track was released last week with an accompanying video which sees McCartney demonstrating hismulti-instrumental musical dexterity by dabbling on acoustic, electric and bass guitars; keyboard; piano and drums.
In an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe posted on YouTube yesterday, McCartney spoke about his favourite moments from The Beatles’ extensive back catalogue. He said “I would say probably ‘Let It Be’ … It’s the most ubiquitous. It sort of got everywhere. Ubiquitous. I always say, ‘You Know My Name (Look Up the Number),’ which is a zany, zany little B-side that nobody knows, but we had such fun making it. It’s like a little comedy record. And I just remember the joy of making it…But there’s a lot of songs that I love of the Beatles. I think ‘Strawberry Fields’ is a great song; I think ‘Hey Jude’ worked out great. I’ve got a lot of favourite songs. ‘Blackbird’ I love. ‘Eleanor Rigby’ I love.”
In an interview with actor Idris Elba screened on BBC One last weekend, McCartney had also singled out the classic ballad Here, There and Everywhere from Revolver as a career highlight.
