Lord of the Rings impresario Peter Jackson unearths never-before-seen Beatles footage for three-part six-hour docuseries, The Beatles: Get Back, airing on Disney Plus over Thanksgiving.
The footage captures the band’s famous January 1969 recording sessions leading to their last live performance on the roof of the group’s Apple Corp. headquarters on London’s Savile Row. Jackson and his team spent the last three years restoring the footage, which was shot over 21 days and directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, as well as combing through more than 150 hours of previously unheard audio.
During those three weeks, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr wrote an entire album of 14 songs and planned a live show. Harrison also quit and rejoined the band during that time. And while at times it looked like the group wouldn’t be able to pull it off, in the end such iconic songs emerged as “Get Back,” “Let It Be,” and “Long and Winding Road.”
The collaboration between The Beatles and Jackson is presented by The Walt Disney Studios in association with Apple Corps Ltd. and WingNut Films Productions Ltd. The Beatles: Get Back is directed by Jackson, produced by McCartney, Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon, Olivia Harrison, Jackson, Clare Olssen (They Shall Not Grow Old) and Jonathan Clyde (Eight Days a Week), with Apple Corps’ Jeff Jones (Eight Days a Week) and Ken Kamins (The Hobbit trilogy) serving as executive producers. Jabez Olssen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) serves as the film’s editor, the music supervisor is Giles Martin (Rocketman), Michael Hedges (The Adventures of Tintin) and Brent Burge (The Hobbit trilogy) serve as the series re-recording mixers, and the music is mixed by Giles Martin and Sam Okell (Yesterday).
The Beatles: Get Back will be released Nov. 25, 26 and 27 on Disney Plus.