The Beatles ‘Get Back’. Directed By Peter Jackson
What is The Beatles Documentary Series: Get Back about?
This is my Beatles documentary review of Get Back. It was the acclaimed 2021 release — and yes, I know it’s a few years old now. I may as well have been on Mars not to have watched it earlier. Still, better late than never.
What Is The Background
The documentary follows the Beatles as they write a new album in the lead-up to a small TV concert featuring all their fresh material — famously culminating in the rooftop concert. I haven’t finished it yet — I’m about two-thirds of the way through and plan to watch the rest tonight, but that’s beside the point.
Hours and hours of footage were originally filmed back in 1969 for a planned documentary. Decades later, director Peter Jackson (yes, of Lord of the Rings fame) went through all of it and shaped it into a docuseries — and one of the best entries in any classic rock documentary series — about how the album and the concert came together.
Is Get Back good? Is it worth watching?
I thought it was terrific. There’s an incredible amount of unseen Beatles footage, and it’s genuinely impressive watching these musicians conjure songs out of thin air. At one point, Ringo Starr and one of the A&R men chat while Paul McCartney noodles away on the piano in the background, working out what would become “Let It Be.” The A&R man remarks that he could listen to Paul jam on that piano all day — and Ringo agrees.
Paul has said these tunes simply run through his head. How do you write “Let It Be”? Or “Hey Jude”? I don’t know — but I do prefer Paul’s “granny songs” to John Lennon’s material, so take that as a biased Paul-fanboy opinion.
Yoko Ono and the Yoko jam sessions
Yoko Ono comes across as a fun, warm presence rather than the negative caricature the press often paints. The band would occasionally do what they called a “Yoko jam,” where Yoko Ono would sing or improvise and they’d build the music around her. She’s kooky, but likeable — a refreshing look at Yoko Ono’s portrayal in Beatles history, and one of the most surprising parts of watching Get Back.
Paul McCartney: not quite the saint
The best comparison I can offer — and apologies to any Paul fans reading this, is entirely subjective is Glenn Hoddle as a football manager. The fact that
Hoddle was a brilliant footballer but a far less effective manager. This was largely because he got frustrated that his players couldn’t match his own ability and he was unable to reach the ideal game.
Paul shows a similar streak when arranging songs, chasing the perfect flow. It creates friction, because the others can never quite hit “Pauls level.” and he got frustrated.
Though I say “Paul level”, there’s also a “John level”. Each Beatle had his own kind of genius. I would say Lennon also wrote plenty of good songs. However, I am a Paul fan.
As a kid, I thought Paul was the greatest pop star who ever lived — practically a saint. This documentary brought him back down to earth. He’s human, and at times, he’s a bit of a prick. Just a childhood illusion, gently popped.
Overall impression: does Get Back debunk Beatles myths?
Watching this made me realise how much the popular narrative around the Beatles’ breakup has been exaggerated and mythologised over the years. Yes, there’s friction — George Harrison even walks out of the band at one point — but there’s also a huge amount of joking around and genuine warmth.
It wasn’t the toxic “black cloud” atmosphere that’s often portrayed. It feels more like young men who’d simply spent too much time together. George, in particular, seems worn down by constantly being overruled or overlooked by John and Paul. Lennon and McCartney were the gold standard of the band. Also all four had girlfriends and lives pulling their attention elsewhere.
Whether the Beatles would ever have reunited is impossible to know. John Lennon was assassinated by Mark Chapman, who is in prison to this day. Still, across their individual and solo careers, all four went on to create a huge amount of work.
This Beatles documentary review only scratches the surface — Get Back is well worth the watch for any fan wanting to see the band at their most human, and a strong addition to any classic rock documentary series watchlist.
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