The original Let It Be is a film with an agenda. Released in the midst of The Beatles’ breakup, it purports to capture their disintegrating relationship, implying that nothing could be done to salvage the partnership. Dozens and dozens of hours of footage were shot, yet the final film clocks in at a whopping one hour and twenty minutes. Thus, it always seemed likely that there was some “selective editing” employed for narrative purposes by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg (More on him later).
Enter Peter Jackson, who painstakingly reviewed ALL of the footage, with his goal being to tell another, more balanced, side of the story. The result is Get Back, a near-8-hour behemoth of a docuseries that is now streaming on Disney+.
When I first heard about Jackson’s intentions, I was skeptical, particularly because of Disney’s involvement. My concern was that we would receive a “sanitized” portrait of the band, ignoring any and all ugliness in favor of showing them as the goofy caricatures they have become to the casual fan (think the original Yellow Submarine film). This isn’t the case though. What we get instead is a fascinating fly-on-the-wall look at the writing and recording process for what were to become songs from the Beatles’ final two albums, Let It Be and Abbey Road.
The film makes clear that, contrary to unfair public opinion, any infighting had little, if anything, to do with John Lennon’s relationship with Yoko Ono, who largely sits silently during sessions, thumbing through books of sheet music. At one point, McCartney prophetically jokes that “in 50 years, people will say Yoko broke up The Beatles because she sat on an amp.” Even though he doesn’t seem to have hold any personal vendetta, he recognizes how little control he, or anyone else, truly has over the media narrative, as evidenced by readings of multiple contemporaneous news stories claiming that that the group had “come to blows” in the studio during the sessions. Being that we have just watched the sessions referenced, and given the band’s amused reactions to such stories, it can be surmised that they are… stretches of reality.
Rather, an undercurrent of tension is constant, stemming largely from a lack of discipline and authority in the aftermath of the death of manager Brian Epstein. While Epstein died several years before filming for this special took place, his presence looms large as it seems that he was the only one capable of getting Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison to put their egos aside in favor of collaborative efforts.
What is left is Paul McCartney stepping into a leadership role which does not particularly suit him, as he struggles to keep things on track. This is combined with a creatively frustrated George Harrison who only wishes to be allowed to contribute more of his output to the record and a disinterested (and likely stoned) John Lennon who seems to be more interested in making jokes than anything else. Ringo Starr is also present, seeming very happy to be there.
Get Back is also, at times, as bizarre as it is interesting. With the Beatles at the height of their power, every request is immediately granted. George Harrison stops playing, mid song, and asks that an assistant go fetch him “one of those string ties, like a cowboy.” This is done. No one bats an eye. Paul McCartney, working on “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” is walking out of the studio to go to lunch and casually requests that an anvil be brought to the studio before he returns. This is done. No one bats an eye.
And on the topic of the bizarre, I would now like to discuss the presence of Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who was responsible for the film project. This man is a character from This is Spinal Tap who crawled out of the film and traveled back 15 years to mess with the Beatles.
I've been reading about him and he seems like an interesting person. He's largely credited with inventing the concept of music videos, and he is also maybe the illegitimate son of Orson Welles.
Early on in the film, he makes this suggestion that they go do this show in Libya "torchlit in the desert, surrounded by 2000 screaming Arabs". This is quickly vetoed by Paul McCartney, who says he doesn't want to leave the country, and George Harrison, who very openly doesn't want to associate with any of these people anymore. But the idea just keeps fucking coming up like once every 20 minutes, in this 8 hour documentary.
Later, it's pointed out that their fan base are primarily British and American. Undeterred, the idea becomes to load up a boat full of fans in London and just ship them off to Libya for this goddamn show in the desert that everyone is opposed to, except John Lennon who is down for literally everything.
Other highlights by this guy include suggesting that they do a concert film at an orphanage or a hospital "not for really sick children, but for children with broken legs" and also planting a hidden microphone in a flowerpot to record conversations between John and Paul during a period when it seems that George has quit the band.
I remain convinced that the Beatles broke up just to get away from this dude.
Anyway, I’ve seen this called “essential viewing” and I’ve seen it called “too long and boring.” The truth is that both are true with caveats. It is “essential viewing” IF you are a Beatles obsessive. It is “too long and boring” if you are not. I personally feel that I’d be capable of watching all 60ish hours of footage, but I’m also not dumb enough to think I’m in the majority here.
There is some really cool stuff here that I would encourage everyone to check out; the iconic rooftop concert is present in its entirety, you get to see a number of great songs being written from start to finish, and you get to see the wild and crazy antics of Michael Lindsay-Hogg, history’s first confirmed living cartoon character. There’s just a LOT of other stuff in between that is considerably less interesting. If you’re a super fan, maybe try to watch the whole thing. Otherwise, you can probably do without.
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Let us know in the comments which Beatles member you think each of the staff here at channel.WAV are most like!
- Slone
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