Peter Jackson’s Beatles Documentary Used Artificial Intelligence To Perform Restoration Magic
In August of 2020, Disney announced that the theatrical release of The Beatles: Get Back,Peter Jackson’s highly-anticipated documentary, would be delayed from September of 2020 until August of 2021.
The entertainment juggernaut hoped that the pandemic would be under control by then, allowing for a successful run in theaters. In 2020, I wrote the following: “It seems like a lifetime has passed since we could crowd into a movie theater without worrying about the public health crisis that could result from such brazen behavior.
Will we be ready for The Beatles: Get Back when it hits theaters a year from now?” We were not, in fact, ready. The documentary was ultimately released, not as a feature-length film in theaters, but as a 3-part docu-series on the Disney+ streaming service at the end of November, 2021. The series was celebrated by fans and critics alike, though some felt that the runtime of nearly 8 hours was a bit much.
Personally, I couldn’t get enough. Thanks to the wisdom and influence of my Baby-boomer parents, I’ve been a huge Beatles fan since before I started kindergarten. For me, watching them in such an intimate way, as they created musical masterpieces in a matter of days, was nothing short of mind-blowing. Having read a fair bit of the pre-launch press surrounding the documentary, I knew generally what to expect.
Using over 55 hours of raw footage originally shot for Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s 1970 film entitled Let It Be, along with over 140 hours of unreleased audio recordings, Peter Jackson lovingly stitched together what he hoped would be a more complete narrative of the 21 days of rehearsals and recording sessions that would eventually result in the Beatles’ legendary rooftop concert in 1969, and the group’s final studio album in 1970.
While Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s film depicted the high-running tensions of a band on the verge of collapse, Peter Jackson’s more fleshed-out version of events provides context and counterbalance. Yes, there were disagreements and snarky comments.
There were moments of frustration and awkwardness. George Harrison famously quit the band (only to be convinced to return by his fellow Beatles). But there was also musical magic being made, and there was clear evidence of the affection, camaraderie, and mutual respect that allowed the group to ascend to such great heights in the first place.
John and Paul goofed off with an almost relentless, adolescent glee. George showed genuine interest and support as he helped Ringo write “Octopus’s Garden.” Paul playfully joked — in a moment of uncanny premonition — that 50 years in the future, people would say that the Beatles broke up “because Yoko sat on an amp.” Amazingly, most of this footage sat locked away in a vault for over 50 years before Peter Jackson was given the green light.
I am really happy that Peter has delved into our archives to make a film that shows the truth about The Beatles recording together. The friendship and love between us comes over and reminds me of what a crazily beautiful time we had.
As a Beatles fan, I was utterly rapt from the first frame. (And as a wannabe songwriter, I was positively infuriated to watch Paul write the song “Get Back,” almost as if by accident, in a matter of minutes. George wrote “I Me Mine” while watching TV!) As I mentioned earlier, I generally knew what to expect in terms of the content of the documentary, but I was not at all prepared for the stunning picture quality of the decades-old footage, nor for the you-are-there realism of the sound. How can I describe it? It was as if the Beatles were right there. Still in their 20s, looking real and alive and accessible, as if the footage had been shot yesterday.
