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  1. #1

    Get Back directed by Peter Jackson on Disney+

    I watched the first part of Get Back (Friday afternoon, waiting for the Gonzaga game). I remember going to see Let It Be with my best friend in 1970 when I was 14, and this Peter Jackson documentary brings back those memories. The video footage and sound are spectacular. Almost all sequences are just candid Beatles, knowing in the back of their minds that the Beatles are over, but trying one last time. In fact, George quits toward the end part one.

    Watching Paul figure out Let It Be is an amazing sequence.
    Ditto for watching George figure out I Me Mine.

    They all seemed to get along (even with Yoko) and have fun, albeit some tension. Ringo trying to be peacemaker. Yoko and John's relationship. A lot of funny scenes where all of them must have been high, especially John. All the big execs trying to control a very uncontrollable group of musicians.

    There were some pretty amazing parts, but overall a little too long. I could not binge the whole thing at one time. But I will find the time to get through the whole thing.

    Ugh. I blame posting this on the wrong board on lack of sleep.
    Last edited by rthomas; 11-27-2021 at 09:31 AM.
    ~rthomas

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by rthomas View Post
    I watched the first part of Get Back (Friday afternoon, waiting for the Gonzaga game). I remember going to see Let It Be with my best friend in 1970 when I was 14, and this Peter Jackson documentary brings back those memories. The video footage and sound are spectacular. Almost all sequences are just candid Beatles, knowing in the back of their minds that the Beatles are over, but trying one last time. In fact, George quits toward the end part one.

    Watching Paul figure out Let It Be is an amazing sequence.
    Ditto for watching George figure out I Me Mine.

    They all seemed to get along (even with Yoko) and have fun, albeit some tension. Ringo trying to be peacemaker. Yoko and John's relationship. A lot of funny scenes where all of them must have been high, especially John. All the big execs trying to control a very uncontrollable group of musicians.

    There were some pretty amazing parts, but overall a little too long. I could not binge the whole thing at one time. But I will find the time to get through the whole thing.

    Ugh. I blame posting this on the wrong board on lack of sleep.
    The Beatles are my all-time favorite band (The Rolling Stones, awesome as they are, are a distant #2). I have found over the years that a lot of people who like The Beatles — which seems to be almost everyone — mostly know the songs that have been played a lot on the radio, which admittedly are quite numerous. However, I think more than half of their very best songs are the ones that you only get to know by listening to all of their albums start to finish.

    Anyway, “Get Back” is a fascinating and insightful look at the band in the studio. And based on that documentary, as well as the many Beatles books I have read over the years, people have gotten it 100% wrong when they think they broke up because they hated each other. That is anything but the truth. These guys truly cared for one another even through all of the squabbling (which was actually relatively minor in the big scheme of things) and tensions of being in the most famous band that has ever existed. They just could not continue to withstand the searing white-hot spotlight that had been on them for seven long years.

    I highly recommend “The Beatles: Get Back” for hardcore Beatles fans as well as for anyone who enjoys great music.

  3. #3
    I've watched the first two episodes and here are my impressions.

    Get Back is a very long, winding road of a documentary. Like the music making process, it is painstakingly slow at times but is so worth the trip. Simply amazing restored footage - puts you right in the room with them as they live and create the iconic Let it Be album right in front of your eyes. The living part is messy - lots and lots of bickering. In some ways it is high school all over - Paul and John are besties (Paul is clearly in love with John) despite John's wish to go in new directions. Ringo is mellow, has the patience of a saint and has accepted the Paul/John decide everything arrangement. But George is miserable because he feels neither loved nor appreciated. He is begging to be included in the creative process "like back in the day" but Paul is clearly done with him.

    Paul is basically running the entire show since Brian Epstein died and he is both brilliant and bossy. Paul's bossiness seems to come from both pragmatism and his personality - he is a perfectionist with a vision who wants to get things done and feels others are lazing around. He mostly wants things done his way and listens little to anyone other than John. He clearly feels George isn't carrying that weight. And to be fair to Paul, George is overly negative and much less productive than the Paul/John combo (who wouldn't be?) but Paul doesn't help matters as he swings between patronizing George, mocking him and putting him (and his music) down in front of the band and crew. When George presents his beautiful "I, me, mine" to the band Paul asks him "Do you even know what we do?" or something to that effect. But Paul suffers the most. George wants to move on to a band that will value him. John wants to take his music in more avant-garde directions with his soulmate Yoko. Paul is the only one who is really wishing for things to go on as they have. "And then there was one."

    But forget the drama - being in the room and watching these guys write music and lyrics in real time is an amazing privilege. Hearing the sometimes cringey rough drafts ("Jo Jo Martin/Jackson/Daphne/Carter left his home in Tuscon, Arizona") gradually morph into the songs you've loved from childhood is incredible. If you like the Beatles at all, set aside the time to watch this incredible documentary.

  4. #4
    Not related directly to the movie, except that it is Lennon. The Song Exploder podcast released in October breaks down Lennon's iconic song, God, how it was written and put together. The podcaster, Hrishikesh Hirway, was called by Lennon's family and allowed him access to audio archives from when he formed the Plastic Ono Band. It includes interviews with Lennon and his band, including Ringo, Billy Preston and Klaus Voormann.

    It's worth a listen if you are a Beatles fan.

    https://songexploder.net/john-lennon
    ~rthomas

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    New Orleans, Louisiana
    Quote Originally Posted by rthomas View Post
    There were some pretty amazing parts, but overall a little too long. I could not binge the whole thing at one time. But I will find the time to get through the whole thing.
    Sounds like a Peter Jackson movie.

    I saw The Fellowship of the Ring before giving up on that series, so I guess I can try one episode of Get Back.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by brevity View Post
    Sounds like a Peter Jackson movie.

    I saw The Fellowship of the Ring before giving up on that series, so I guess I can try one episode of Get Back.
    I am not a LOTR fan, but PJ did a fantastic job on They Shall Never Grow Old. The British War Museum gave him access to archival films, and he put together an incredible film about what it was like to be a typical WWI soldier. It is outstanding, I highly recommend for those who have not seen it.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by OldPhiKap View Post
    I am not a LOTR fan...
    What???

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15 View Post
    What???
    Yes, I am a terrible person.

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Vermont
    David Remnick's New Yorker article about the documentary (and his visits with McCartney) was absolutely terrific.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15 View Post
    What???
    Thanks MtnDevil. I didn't want to be the one to call that out. Shame. Shame.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by fidel View Post
    Thanks MtnDevil. I didn't want to be the one to call that out. Shame. Shame.
    I'm not into shame. More WTF.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15 View Post
    I'm not into shame. More WTF.
    Am I on the block list now?

  13. #13
    Join Date
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    Raleigh, NC
    I've only watched the first episode but what stands out to me is the incredible burden they had being THE BEATLES, the sheer weight of expectations. They come in with a vague, half-formed idea of a concert of some kind. Then McCartney reminds them they can't just half-I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this. this. They have to come up with a set list, rehearse like crazy and be prepared to put on the concert of their lives.

    The enthusiasm starts waning. Perform "Tomorrow Never Knows" in concert?" Um, maybe not.

    Later on the brain trust is discussing doing something never seen before, a spectacle, an extravaganza. Because they are THE BEATLES and they just can't show up and do The Who Live at Leeds or Get Your Ya-Ya's Out.

    The whole thing was just crushing the life out of the group.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by jimsumner View Post
    I've only watched the first episode but what stands out to me is the incredible burden they had being THE BEATLES, the sheer weight of expectations. They come in with a vague, half-formed idea of a concert of some kind. Then McCartney reminds them they can't just half-I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this. this. They have to come up with a set list, rehearse like crazy and be prepared to put on the concert of their lives.

    The enthusiasm starts waning. Perform "Tomorrow Never Knows" in concert?" Um, maybe not.

    Later on the brain trust is discussing doing something never seen before, a spectacle, an extravaganza. Because they are THE BEATLES and they just can't show up and do The Who Live at Leeds or Get Your Ya-Ya's Out.

    The whole thing was just crushing the life out of the group.
    The depressing barn they set them up to rehearse in didn’t help. Hope its not too much of a spoiler to note things get better after they move to Apple and get more realistic in their plans.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by rthomas View Post
    I watched the first part of Get Back (Friday afternoon, waiting for the Gonzaga game). I remember going to see Let It Be with my best friend in 1970 when I was 14, and this Peter Jackson documentary brings back those memories. The video footage and sound are spectacular. Almost all sequences are just candid Beatles, knowing in the back of their minds that the Beatles are over, but trying one last time. In fact, George quits toward the end part one.

    Watching Paul figure out Let It Be is an amazing sequence.
    Ditto for watching George figure out I Me Mine.

    They all seemed to get along (even with Yoko) and have fun, albeit some tension. Ringo trying to be peacemaker. Yoko and John's relationship. A lot of funny scenes where all of them must have been high, especially John. All the big execs trying to control a very uncontrollable group of musicians.

    There were some pretty amazing parts, but overall a little too long. I could not binge the whole thing at one time. But I will find the time to get through the whole thing.

    Ugh. I blame posting this on the wrong board on lack of sleep.
    I also went to see this in the theater in 1970... and really enjoyed it. Since the internet, I've been looking for this online, and never found it. Did you look? Any ideas?

    One of my vivid recollections is "The Long and Winding Road". Song has a melancholy feel, tired feel... and along with "Let it Be", really seemed like The Beatles had just about enough, and was ready to move on.

    I'm looking forward to watching this new documentary...

    edit: Well, just found this blurb on the "Let it Be (1970 film)" Wikipedia page... "The Beatles: Get Back, a 2021 documentary[3] utilising footage filmed for Let It Be, will be followed by a remastered re-release of the original 1970 film [4]".
    Last edited by gep; 11-27-2021 at 11:03 PM.

  16. #16
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by gep View Post
    I also went to see this in the theater in 1970... and really enjoyed it. Since the internet, I've been looking for this online, and never found it. Did you look? Any ideas?

    One of my vivid recollections is "The Long and Winding Road". Song has a melancholy feel, tired feel... and along with "Let it Be", really seemed like The Beatles had just about enough, and was ready to move on.

    I'm looking forward to watching this new documentary... Well, just found this blurb on the "Let it Be (1970 film) Wikipedia page... "The Beatles: Get Back, a 2021 documentary[3] utilising footage filmed for Let It Be, will be followed by a remastered re-release of the original 1970 film [4]".
    The Beatles never authorized the movie for release on VHS, DVD or Blu-Ray, supposedly because its negativity cast them in a bad light. IIRC, it may have been available on Laser-Disc for the 15 people who adopted that format. There's also much speculation that Yoko Ono isn't a fan of the movie because it suggests people didn't much care for her.

    But time and anniversaries and dollar signs have a way of changing things.

  17. #17
    Thanks, Jim. I recall negativity towards Yoko at that time. And the overall vibe that they appeared to becoming tired of each other.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    New Jersey
    Quote Originally Posted by gep View Post
    And the overall vibe that they appeared to becoming tired of each other.
    I'm only halfway through the first episode, but have heard a bunch of McCartney interviews, and I think it would be more accurate to say that the others were becoming tired of Paul and Paul was tired of taking on the "mother hen" role left by the void of Epstein's death.
    Rich
    "Failure is Not a Destination"
    Coach K on the Dan Patrick Show, December 22, 2016

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
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    Dur'm
    Quote Originally Posted by OldPhiKap View Post
    I am not a LOTR fan, but PJ did a fantastic job on They Shall Never Grow Old. The British War Museum gave him access to archival films, and he put together an incredible film about what it was like to be a typical WWI soldier. It is outstanding, I highly recommend for those who have not seen it.
    I can't spork, but thanks for the rec. It seems pretty intriguing to someone who isn't nearly as familiar with WWI as WWII. And way more interesting to this non-Beatles fan than the original thread topic. Which probably makes me more likely to be shunned that not being a LOTR fan.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Phredd3 View Post
    I can't spork, but thanks for the rec. It seems pretty intriguing to someone who isn't nearly as familiar with WWI as WWII. And way more interesting to this non-Beatles fan than the original thread topic. Which probably makes me more likely to be shunned that not being a LOTR fan.
    Congrats - you have earned the prized double-shun.

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