Beatles fans have been waiting almost a year for the Peter Jackson-directed documentary on the band, which takes hours of previously unseen footage and stitches it together into a whole new experience. The documentary finally hit streaming services this weekend, and the reaction was overwhelmingly positive, with fans of the band doubling down on their exaltation of the perceived genius of these four young men. Today, Jackson even let fans know he thinks there was a way the Beatles could’ve been preserved as a band, though part of their legacy is probably due to the fact that they called it quits so early.
As far as Yoko Ono is concerned, the documentary is positive because it helps showcase the fact that she had nothing to do with tensions in the group, and their eventual ending. But, some of the more positive moments in the film have to do with the sheer musical talent these men possessed, particularly Paul McCartney. One clip from the film that keeps making the rounds on Twitter features a young McCartney messing around on his guitar, trying to make something out of nothing. And then he actually does — turning nonsense vocals and sorta riffs into the bare bones of the song “Get Back” (which the documentary is named for) in about two minutes. Even if The Beatles aren’t your thing, it’s still fascinating that this bit of songwriting magic was captured on film, check it out below.
I’ve never seen anything like this on film before. Paul really has nothing at the 30 second mark—but 45 seconds later he’s got the makings of a hit single. pic.twitter.com/kvGOp1yuZs
— Ted Gioia (@tedgioia) November 28, 2021
Read our review of The Beatles: Get Back right here.