Now Playing! The Beatles: Get Back, a 3-part documentary on Disney+ streaming service, is a documentary using studio footage to show the making of their “Let It Be” album.  

Music Documentary Rushmore! 

The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, The Beatles: Get Back, Quincy, and The Sparks Brothers.  
 

The Beatles: Get Back – The Short! 

The Beatles: Get Back is 3 episodes ranging in length from over 2 hours to almost 3 hours each. That may seem like a lot, but when your subject for the documentary is The Beatles it’s nothing but greatness. This epic documentary from director Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) shows the legendary band in ways we’ve never seen.  

The Long:  

Am I writing this review while listening to my Beatles records? You bet I am! I feel like I must start this review by addressing the 7 hours and 48-minute runtime. Look at it this way, the hit Netflix show Squid Game is just over 8 hours. So, think of The Beatles: Get Back as more of a tv series. The documentary is directed by Peter Jackson who had to do tons of heavy lifting watching and listening. Jackson sifted through over 56 hours of footage and over 150 hours of audio for his documentary. Bravo to the team of Jackson’s Weta Digital on their beautiful restoration.  

Ranking The Fab Four! 

This is based on my personal preference for their music catalog. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison.  

The Beatles: Get Back

As a Beatles fan, I was already familiar with the bad times for the band during this time period. So, I was expecting fights and drama in this documentary. However, this documentary is a story about four friends who love each other and love making music. The documentary shows Paul, George, and Ringo having fun while also sharing why they are creative geniuses. Seeing a deep dive into their creative process is something, unlike any other artist. One unexpected great aspect of the documentary was getting to see The Beatles play some of their favorite songs in between recordings. As well as, seeing that they are just like everyone else, people who love music.  

I compare the storyline of the documentary to the story arch for the Marvel films Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. Like those three Marvel films, this documentary tells a story arch of a band coming to its end and how it will forever change them. You see a side of the band that even this fan had never seen before, and my Beatles universe was expanded. In the first episode, we meet the band on a time crunch and their relationship is showing its cracks. This leaves the viewer with uncertainty. In the second episode, the band is brought back together, but the creative and time challenges force them to change their overall plan. The final episode is their “Endgame”. The band must assemble to create a musical experience that would go on to be legendary.

Now For The B Side (My Final Thoughts) 

Who is the documentary for? Is it for The Beatles or music fans only? Beatles fans will absolutely love this documentary. Music fans will be fascinated by it. I think The Beatles have been thought of so highly for so long because they have a gift for entertaining so many and for different reasons. This documentary powered by The Beatles will entertain all. 

If you need to watch more Beatles I recommend A Hard Day’s Night, The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years, George Harrison: Living in the Material World, Yellow Submarine, and McCartney 3,2,1. Also, If you need more Beatles music, I recommend listening to Let It Be (Super Deluxe). 

Stay Tuned to That Hashtag Show for more reviews!