After several years of unprecedented access, which he spent sifting through a treasure-trove of previously unseen footage, Peter Jackson’s much-anticipated The Beatles:Get Back finally gets an official release date of September 4, 2020 to theaters in US and Canada, as announced by Disney executive chairman Bob Iger (who is stepping down as CEO of the media giant) at the company’s annual shareholder-meeting/Chernobog-sacrifice in Raleigh NC Wednesday morning.
With Disney now as the distributor, the Lord of the Rings director brings this long and/or winding project home, after having pored over nearly 55 hours of unused archival footage (and 140+ hours of audio recordings/sessions) originally shot in 1969 by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, for what eventually became the (in)famous Let It Be documentary, noted for its stressful depiction of the late-era, pre-breakup Fab Four.
It’s being rumored that The Beatles: Get Back is taking a more balanced approach to the conflict-riddled, morose recording sessions shown in the Lindsay-Hogg film, supposedly revealing the lighter side of the Beatles that still existed at the time, having some Beatle-y laughs and good vibes in the studio as they work through their (admittedly difficult) creative process.
Much of the film that Jackson is unveiling (originally shot on 16mm) has been carefully restored/preserved, a skill that the filmmaker honed while making his WWI documentary, They Shall Not Grow Old, where he brought century-old war footage back to life using colorization and adding dialogue/sound effects to the silent, B&W reels.
It’s not known if Jackson will take a similarly bold and impressionistic tack to this Beatle (and surviving families)-approved project, but it might provide a fresh approach that would set it apart as something completely different from the original Let It Be film (which will have a soon-to-be-announced, first-time digital release this year).
Stay here with The Movie Sleuth as we find out more!