“The Beatles: Get Back” director Peter Jackson’s gargantuan feat of compiling 60 hours of never-before-seen footage of the Fab Four’s “Let It Be” recording sessions — as well as new interviews with Paul McCartney and others who were at the scene 52 years ago — actually began as a different project altogether.
Interview with The Guardian last week, Jackson said he was sought out by Apple Corps – the company which has handled The Beatles’ business affairs since 1968 – because of his interest in virtual and augmented reality technology. At one point, there may have been an idea to create an interactive museum.
But when it came to The Beatles, Jackson’s interests were elsewhere: in the footage that director Michael Lindsay-Hogg shot during the six weeks they recorded their 12th and final studio album release, “Let It Be,”This film was made in 1969 and became the movie of the same name.
When Apple Corps acknowledged the existence of unseen footage of Lindsay-Hogg’s controversial film in 2000, there were many attempts by many people to retrieve it. But, until now, it has not been possible to retrieve the footage.
“I just can’t believe it exists,”Jackson said this to The Guardian. “But then I can’t believe any of it – that The Beatles let Michael shoot all that footage, that it sat in a vault all this time …”
After Jackson committed to the project, he began interviewing McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon’s son Sean Lennon, Dhani, George Harrison’s son, as well as Lindsay-Hogg. While researching the period, Jackson also visited Savile Row Rooftop where the band performed and spoke with officers who shut down the performance.
Jackson had to wait four years before he could edit the six hours worth of footage. A team of four spent four years fixing the footage frame by frame. Due to the sheer volume of footage, Jackson estimates that the original cut took 18 hours.
“The Beatles: Get Back”It is streaming right now on Disney+