The Beatles: Get Back - Jackson Still Has The Edge
The Beatles: Get Back
What a perfect Thanksgiving treat! I cannot stress enough how great music documentaries have been this year. The Beatles: Get Back was one of the top things on my most anticipated of the year list. I like The Beatles, and Peter Jackson is a director I like. I'm not a big fan of what he did with The Hobbit, but he crushed it with the LOTR trilogy, and I loved what he did with his first documentary: They Shall Not Grow Old. The Beatles are a band that I have a ton of respect for and adore some of their songs. They aren't always a band I love listening to, but the last couple of albums they did are some of my favorite albums of all time. It looked like it was going to be an incredible ride, and it was. The Beatles: Get Back is not going to be for everyone; I can say that right now. If you don't consider yourself a Beatles fan to any degree, I might not watch this. The length is real regardless of whether you enjoy this or not. It's a lot. I loved this so much though I could take a whole other set of episodes.
Jackson said that it's best to look at this as a documentary of a documentary. There was a documentary near the release of the "Let it Be" album, using some of the footage we see in this mini-series. Get Back has several moments where we see some of the awkwardness of filming a documentary like this, especially since it's filming such a vulnerable moment for this band on the brink of their break up. Jackson's level of skill won't be recognizable to everyone, and that's understandable. It feels so long and "unedited" that it might not be noticeable for some. However, when you think about the 150 hours of video that Jackson had to go through and narrowed it down to the level he did was pretty fantastic. I believe this was originally going to be a movie, and thank the Lord it wasn't because it would be no different than the documentary from the sixties. Get Back feels different from something like that. There are some pauses and awkward exchanges between the four, and they're pretty remarkable moments at times. Once you get more attached to these characters, you pay more attention to those quiet moments, and they can say a lot. Even though it's a documentary about real people, Jackson still makes it feel like a movie in a few ways. There is a goal our characters are building to, they have internal conflicts, and you grow to connect with each of the four characters. That's not to say that it feels like a movie even fifty percent because there are so many things about Get Back that make it feel very distinct from anything I've seen.
Jackson and his team have pulled off another great accomplishment as they did with "They Shall Not Grow Old." The restored footage is a marvel to watch. Jackson's team did a great job making the footage look fresh. However, it wasn't too modern. Jackson kept in the classic look of the film and didn't mess up some of the benefits film grain can bring.
Jackson doesn't often tamper with the footage. We'll occasionally get some subtitles when the dialogue can be muttered and hard to hear. There's also a calendar that pops up to remind you where the band is in their process. However, in the final episode where the band does their legendary rooftop performance, Jackson's skillful editing came into play the most. I cannot say enough just how much the rooftop performance resonated with me. The songs are incredible, and the footage looks unbelievable. The crew went around and asked different people what they thought of what The Beatles were doing as this was taking place. Yes, they were naysayers, and then there were those so enthused by hearing this great music, and it gave me such a great understanding of how much The Beatles meant to people back then. It moved me so much to see how their music lit some of these peoples' faces up. And then, just as a piece of history, I love The Beatles' move to perform live, unannounced on their Apple Studios roof.
Dune remains my favorite movie this year, but the three music documentaries this year have been a moving gift. My respect for documentaries has jumped exponentially this year. I have a newfound respect for The Beatles. Seeing their process near the end of their reign over the world of music. I said to someone, "Don't see this if you don't like more than four songs by The Beatles." If you're not at all interested in this group, then the long runtime won't be for you. It was for me, and I could have taken more. Props to Jackson for proving he still has the edge. He's crafted one of the best things of the year.
Strong Recommend
9/10
- Noah Newcomb
Comments
Post a Comment