DECEMBER 29, 2021 – For three evenings of distraction this week, my wife and I watched The Beatles: Get Back. It’s a recently released film about the lead-up to the Beatles’ 1970 album, Let it Be and their last public performance—a 42-minute show on January 30, 1969 atop their Apple Corps headquarters in central London.
Available on Disney, the film is an eight-hour, three-part series distilled from 60 hours of film footage and 150 hours of audio produced for the 1970 documentary, Let it Be. As described by its director-producer, Peter Jackson, Get Back is a “documentary about a documentary.”
One might argue that eight hours should’ve been condensed much further. I say, “No.” To gain a full perspective, you must endure the whole deal. Your patience will be rewarded handsomely.
As my wife aptly observed, the documentary “demystifies” the Beatles. They certainly weren’t super-human, and having spent lots of time around exceptionally talented and accomplished musicians (multiple genres), I wouldn’t classify the Beatles (namely John and Paul) as musical geniuses (they weren’t). But with the considerable help of their “handlers,” the Beatles were unequivocally a work of art; a work of collective genius, and I love the timeless music they produced.
What’s fascinating is how the group—and staff—could occupy their studio every day of that January over half a century ago . . . and not light the world afire in the jamming tradition of rock and jazz musicians but force the viewer to wonder, “How will they get their act together for a single song?”
Then George walks out.
And Ringo, you realize, is . . . Ringo. His sad eyes seem alert, but in contrast to Paul’s stream of intelligent consciousness, Ringo’s “script” contains 12 words, tops. One wonders if his thought process was as meager as his speech was laconic. In the film he looks neither bored nor impassioned; neither present nor absent.
John enjoyed a candid rapport with Paul—spoken and unspoken—and by this means (played out in an earnest conversation picked up by a planted mic in the studio cafeteria), they were able to pull George—his own man artistically—back into the fold.
The viewer’s bonanza comes at the end when the Beatles stage their rooftop performance. Get Back gets three takes (out of just five songs performed, two others with retakes), and the lunchtime crowd below soon realizes what’s happening. Not everyone is happy with the “disturbance,” however, and someone calls the police.
What ensues is hilarious film footage capturing a couple of young bobbies trying to figure out what on earth to do. The longer they’re held at bay, the funnier they appear. Imagine—the Beatles rocking away on the rooftop (to a growing audience on the street below and on surrounding rooftops), while two cops, chewing on their helmet straps fiddle with a house phone to summon “help” from headquarters.
If you love life, you’ll love The Beatles: Get Back. And when they finally get around to playing a song, life’s as great as it gets.
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© 2021 by Eric Nilsson
