It’s long and winding but Beatles’ film is captivating
Ihave been totally captivated by something on the streaming service Disney + and it’s not Mickey Mouse or even Star Wars. It’s a documentary, with no narration, of three, two-hour episodes roughly edited together and recorded in a film studio at Twickenham in 1969.
There is some occasional text to tell you what is going on, but generally it’s just the rough footage and sound, luckily filmed in cinema-quality 16mm film.
It’s more a fly-on-the-wall documentary than a movie, but the shoot’s original purpose was to create a movie for the greatest band of all time – The Beatles.
The film studios were hired with the plan to write a new album, rehearse the songs and perform them live, all in the space of two weeks.
These films were shot during all the rehearsals.
The original producer wanted the band to perform a live concert in Tripoli, Libya, in an ancient amphitheatre under torchlight with fans taken to it on the QE2! The band were having none of it.
Although six hours long, there are moments of pure joy and genius.
Such as… as Paul McCartney waits for John Lennon, who was running late – again, he jams on his bass guitar and the beginnings of the track Get Back are created.
The band split soon after the Let
It Be and Abbey Road albums were released and many a story highlights the disharmony in the band and the supposed fights during these rehearsals. More of the truth is laid bare in these films.
Yes, there are moments of tension but only between McCartney and George Harrison, who quit the band during those sessions only to being persuaded to rejoin later.
What you do see clearly is the love Lennon and McCartney really had for each other as musicians. As we remember Lennon – yesterday was the 41st anniversary of his murder in 1980 – it’s such a shame those two never played together again.
You realise how this great band lost their way after the death of their manager Brian Epstein in 1967 and how important strong management is to bands, just ask Coldplay.