The footage is a study in the juxtaposition of four friends/bandmates who clearly had a unique relationship while displaying the rift that sits awkwardly between them.
As Elvis Presley was gyrating on stages and televisions all over the county, four English young men created a band they called "The Quarrymen". They later changed their name to The Beatles and suddenly, Beatlemania overshadowed Elvis the Pelvis. Over a period of four years, they earned quite the following, and after signing with EMI Records, they released their first single, "Love Me Do". A mere two years after that, they became international stars with both critical and commercial success.
The band officially broke up in 1970 after more than a dozen studio albums but before the group was dissolved, they filmed a documentary entitled Get Back. Director Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) has taken archival footage to present a video and audio experience different from what we have seen previously called The Beatles: Get Back. (Please note: The movie was originally supposed to launch on Blu-ray in February 2022 but was delayed several months due to an undisclosed audio issue. The delay caused Disney to hold the review embargo even though screening copies had already been sent out. They reissued a fresh screener with the audio issue apparently fixed and with the addition of an LPCM 7.1 uncompressed track that was not on the original release).
The Fab Four, as they were once known, was made up of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. For a decade they were prolific songwriters, musicians, and bandmates. They were cute, talented, and generally seemed to have pleasant demeanors, even as the whole world was churning around them like a tornado. As one could only imagine, this constant chaos, pressure, and isolation, took its toll on them so they took a break before heading back into the studio. That hiatus lasted longer than expected and when they did come back together, it was to perform a television special.
The Beatles: Get Back is a video diary of the preparation, innovation, and perspiration it took to put together the album and the (in)famous rooftop concert. The film offers fans an intimate view as the four men brainstorm, work, and formulate new ideas to stimulate the creative process. The cameras captured the cracks in the fragile façade that was the best-selling band of all time while poorly concealing the awkwardness and tension that hung in the air like a smelly fart inside a crowded elevator.
Unlike other restored films, The Beatles: Get Back is raw and somewhat untouched. The result, unfortunately, is a video with poor quality that can distract the viewer from the content. The details are somewhat "fuzzy" and the overall picture does not take into consideration the weightiness of the subject matter.
Presented in Dolby Atmos, the audio is at least a little better than the video quality. While the sounds sit mostly in the forward speakers, the movie has some terrific moments in terms of songs and dialogue. There are also 7.1 LPCM and 2.0 LPCM tracks that are cleaned up to showcase the wonderful musical abundance throughout the recording. Sadly, there aren't any extras included except for photo cards (think postcards) and the housing for the three-disc set,
The footage is a study in the juxtaposition of four friends/bandmates who clearly had a unique relationship while displaying the rift that sits awkwardly between them. For example, as the gentlemen sit in a circle while writing, rehearsing, and recording the songs, John Lennon's wife Yoko Ono sits with them, as if she was the "fifth Beatle". Knowing some of the band's history, this causesd some tension as nobody wants to address one of the many elephants in the room.
The footage is amazing, the songs are incredible and just watching the band members interact and create together is particularly special. Beatles fans should own this set so be sure to run out and add it to your home video entertainment collection.
Purchase a copy of Beatles, The Get Back from Amazon.com
Grade: A-
