Peter Jackson Drops Sneak Peek of Beatles Doc ‘Get Back’

December 21, 2020

At long last, Peter Jackson has given Beatles fans a glimpse at his upcoming documentary, The Beatles: Get Back, due out August 27th, 2021.

Paul McCartney dropped a five-minute clip from the doc via his Twitter Monday morning that features Jackson introducing the snippet and sharing the news that the film is just about half done. Jackson stressed that this not a trailer for the doc, but rather a sampling of the 56 hours of never-before-seen footage it will feature. Scored by the titular song, the sneak peek features all manner of studio antics.

Featuring footage shot in early 1969 — including clips from the band’s legendary 1969 rooftop concert in London — the film promises to be “the ultimate ‘fly on the wall’ experience that Beatles fans have long dreamt about — it’s like a time machine transports us back to 1969, and we get to sit in the studio watching these four friends make great music together,” according to Jackson.

Get Back will build on 1970’s Let It Be — also shot during those sessions — but will present a much sunnier vision of the Beatles’ breakup. As Ringo Starr said in a release: “There were hours and hours of us just laughing and playing music, not at all like the version that came out. There was a lot of joy and I think Peter will show that. I think this version will be a lot more peace and loving, like we really were.”

Starr recently announced a new EP, Zoom In, set for March 2021. “I was disappointed that the pandemic got in the way of my two tours this year,” he told Rolling Stone. “And it gave me a couple of miserable days, because I want to play. So what happened, I made a EP. That helped — I made a record and did some painting.”

McCartney dropped his latest, McCartney III, last week — and also appeared on the cover of the latest issue of Rolling Stone with Taylor Swift as part of our “Musicians on Musicians” series. “I had no idea it would end up as an album,” he told Swift of his new record. “I’m very lucky because I have a studio that’s, like, 20 minutes away from where I live. We were in lockdown on a farm, a sheep farm with my daughter Mary and her four kids and her husband. So I had four of my grandkids, I had Mary, who’s a great cook, so I would just drive myself to the studio.”