‘Some will say it’s too lengthy, however I could have done with eight more hours’
As a youthful Beatles fan who grew up with the concept that the band had been falling aside in January 1969, Get Back was a pleasure. My fast thought was how vibrant and vibrant every little thing appeared, in contrast with the graininess of the authentic Let It Be movie. It could have been shot yesterday – aside from the outfits and hairstyles. Whereas not precisely an enormous revelation for these of us who by no means believed that Yoko Ono broke up the Beatles, it’s nice to see that her presence right here didn’t upset Paul, George and Ringo practically as a lot because it appeared to upset commentators. We see completely no proof of her “interfering”, as has been claimed over the years, and I liked McCartney’s prescient comment that in 50 years’ time folks can be saying the Beatles broke up “as a result of Yoko sat on an amp”.
The documentary is like being in the room with them. Seeing the artistic spark between all 4, and the unbelievable approach the complete temper lifts when Billy Preston joins the periods, was particular. And seeing the rooftop live performance in its full 42-minute glory was great.
I discovered myself noticing little moments I hadn’t earlier than, similar to John and Paul grinning at each other for a couple of seconds, utterly overtaken by the pleasure of creating music. Some will say it’s too lengthy, however I could have done with eight more hours. I got here away feeling fairly emotional, however glad that new generations of followers will watch Get Back and see that, regardless of every little thing, they actually did love one another.
Sarah Stacey, 29, freelance radio and podcast producer, Eire
‘Christ alive, it’s lengthy’
My dad made me watch it with him. It’s good, I suppose, and he’s having the absolute time of his life – I can’t go 20 minutes with out him saying how superb it’s to see them make all this music. However Christ alive, it’s lengthy. I’ve misplaced so many hours of my life to watching these 4 males and a few random different folks speaking over the high of some calmly strummed guitar. We’re lastly on the rooftop live performance, and actually I’m so glad the finish is in sight. Why was one a part of the sequence nearly three hours lengthy? I actually relate to Yoko Ono every time she screams into the microphone.
Amy, 24, illustrator, Kent
‘It made me choose up the guitar once more’
As a rusty guitarist, the finest praise I could give the documentary was that it made me choose up the instrument once more for the first time in months. It’s fairly unbelievable how music made more than half a century in the past can nonetheless encourage in that approach. Like many, I have at all times thought-about myself to be fairly well-versed on the Beatles’ music. Having learn and watched a lot about the band earlier than Get Back, I felt as if there wasn’t a lot left to find. I used to be proved flawed.
As an enormous fan of John and George, I have at all times moderately reluctantly acknowledged Paul’s genius, however it’s on full show right here. I left with a lot more respect for his position in the band than I had earlier than. A management freak he apparently was – nevertheless it does make you wonder if these final albums would have been made if it wasn’t for his willpower. The part the place he wells up at the prospect of the band breaking apart, and the subsequent hidden-mic-in-the-flower-pot dialog with John on how they’re going to get George again, was nearly uncomfortable in that you simply felt you had no proper to be listening in. Additionally, Paul had nice jumpers.
James, 35, working in communications, Walthamstow, London
‘A gradual burn’
Get Back is a gradual burn and considerably meandering, however to see the 4 of them of their prime, at their artistic finest, is a privilege. Watching Paul come up with the first few riffs of Get Back after which to see it morph into the track we all know and love 50 years later was a pleasure. The “repay” rooftop live performance at quantity three, Savile Row (two doorways down from my outdated workplace) was superb to see in its entirety – from the musicianship, the pleasure the band had after they merely performed collectively, to the vox pops with the folks on the avenue under. It was a window into a unique time and a London that’s unrecognisable now.
Ashish Burman, 46, funding banker, London
‘The little issues on this footage shine by means of’
I needed to maintain reminding myself that this was filmed after I was 10 years outdated as a result of I’m so used to grainy movies and pictures of the 60s. I keep in mind watching the rooftop footage on TV with my dad. He had been a Beatles fan and used to purchase sheet music to play on his guitar. Sadly, by 1969, my 35-year-old dad thought they’d gone too far with their lengthy hair and hippy existence. This documentary was a reminder of their genius enjoying and writing, but in addition the corny 60s humour. In distinction, a few of the lyrics had been surprising – similar to wishing a girlfriend useless moderately than she exit with one other man. The little issues on this footage shine by means of, like Harrison asking Billy about piano chords, McCartney experimenting with totally different surnames in the track Get Back, and all the smoking.
Belinda Forbes, 63, funeral celebrant, Bracknell Forest
‘There are priceless moments for an outdated fan like me’
Born in 1946, I used to be lucky to see the Beatles at the Cavern Membership in Liverpool very often round 1961 earlier than they made their Parlophone recordings. I used to be in a bunch at the time, enjoying chart covers and instrumentals by the Shadows. After I first noticed the Beatles, one moist Wednesday lunchtime, my musical world modified without end.
I’ve simply completed watching episode three and I see all that was good or nice about the Beatles: the music, the personalities, the reality John Lennon could be one among the funniest folks you could ever see on stage – so totally different to how he’s usually portrayed by the media and by actors. The sense of enjoyable and camaraderie continues to be there inside the group, who had all taken on totally different personalities on account of marriage, commitments, ego, over the earlier 10 years. But there are priceless moments for an outdated fan like me when these years simply disappear, leaving 4 younger lads determined to “to make it in the rock’n’roll world”.
Dennis Conroy, 75, Liverpool
‘It has made me see the Beatles in a brand new mild’
It has given me a better respect for Paul McCartney specifically. Over the later years of his profession, I really feel that maybe he has developed a form of lame fame. I’d been beneath the impression that Lennon was the expertise and Paul largely benefited from John’s unbelievable talents. This isn’t how Get Back depicts issues in any respect. Right here, Paul is the driving drive. It has made me see the Beatles in a brand new mild. Now, if Peter Jackson could discover some footage and do the similar for Led Zeppelin, I’ll be actually blissful.
Alan, 47, HR supervisor, Manchester confirmed
‘It’s simply 4 younger males playing around’
There have been moments after I felt fatigued watching it, however this lovely movie allowed me to be the fly on the wall I’d at all times wished to be. Though the band are effectively conscious they’re being filmed, there are occasions when it appears they overlook about the cameras. You actually achieve a really feel for his or her course of, in which there’s apparently no methodology. It’s simply 4 younger males playing around – and from that they discovered the surprising, the wondrous and the magnificent.
I usually learn the description of the Beatles as being “two and a half geniuses and Ringo Starr”. I disagree. They’re 4 unusual males from working-class Liverpool propelled to fame, with a novel musical connection. The highlights for me are these moments between Paul and John, the place they give the impression of being into one another’s eyes and appear to know instinctively the place the different will place their subsequent chord, and the place they’ll take their hodgepodge jam subsequent. The superbly restored footage makes this documentary one among the finest items of tv I’ve seen this yr.
Jackson, 24, PR guide, Glossop
‘Very a lot a documentary for the followers’
It’s very a lot a documentary for the followers. I’m unsure there’s something notably revelatory in it; anybody who watched the Anthology documentaries from the 90s or has learn any of the gazillion books and biographies might be effectively conscious of the how the Let It Be periods unfolded. Nonetheless, it was nonetheless fascinating viewing. Seeing how these guys put collectively an album beneath such (self-inflicted) strain – in full HD and encompass sound – was a pleasure.
Highlights included Paul arising with Get Back whereas George and Ringo look utterly uninterested, even yawning; John pining for Clapton when George leaves the band; and Ringo and George working on Octopus’s Backyard round the piano with such enthusiasm. Then there’s the Paul/John relationship, which simply oozed cohesion regardless of some friction at occasions.
Robin Smith, 38, building employee, Edinburgh
