The Beatles: Get Back

[Prometheus]

Anyone who has ever talked with me about music at any length knows that I am a HUGE Beatles fan. I have been waiting for Peter Jackson's documentary since it was announced. I waited for all three episodes to be downloadable before watching. I didn't even read articles about the episodes. I just wanted to experience them all at once without bias.

FUCKING AWESOME!

Of course, I had seen some of the footage before because it had made its way into the "Anthology" series and other shows about The Beatles, but this was soooo much better.

Jackson had a daunting task in distilling 60 hours of footage and 150 hours of audio into a cohesive and meaningful narrative. I was impressed - especially since he's more well known for taking a 300-page children's book and turning it into a nearly 8 hour trilogy.

But I digress.

In "Anthology," Ringo comments about how the filming of "Let it Be" was supposed to show how an album is made but ultimately showed how the breakup of a band happens. I'm betting that line is where Jackson got his idea.

Any Beatles fan knows that the members of the band had been at odds for quite some time and that the "White Album" was essentially made with all four men being in the same room together as little as possible, but "Get Back" shows us exactly how far down the road to the breakup the band actually was and the emotional strain it was actually taking on all of them.

Some of the most moving scenes for me were when all four were actually seen laughing and having fun during their rehearsals. There was a glimmer of hope. But history is history and we know what happened in the end. I also think that it was touching that the series was released close to the 20th anniversary of George's passing. And next week will mark 41 years since we lost John.

If you're not a Beatles fan, the series can probably feel a bit bloated and plodding. Even as a fan, there were times - particularly in Part 2 - that I just wanted things to move along. In the end, I think fans will enjoy the series more, but I think that anyone interested in The Beatles - or just the tropes about their breakup - will find it a decent-enough watch.

Hell, it's worth the time just to see Paul's adopted daughter watch Yoko scream into a microphone and then copy her.