Peter Jackson’s ambitious The Beatles: Get Back documentary series premiered on HBO in 2021. It had a total of three episodes, with eight hours of footage showing how The Beatles’ final album Let It Be was made. Much of Get Back‘s archival footage has been pulled (and restored) directly from Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s 1970 documentary about the album’s making. Originally conceived as a feature film, The Beatles: Get Back is now dedicated to Hogg’s original work, which forms the backbone of Jackson’s poignant documentary.
The documentary’s final cut covers 21 days in the studio with the Beatles as they rehearse for a forthcoming album, concert, and film project, that climaxes with their infamous full 42-minute rooftop concert on London’s esteemed Saville Row. Though director Peter Jackson dispels many Beatles rumors regarding the infighting and tension that plagued The Beatles in 1969 and 1970, The Beatles: Get Back does not shy away from the public belief that Let It Be was marred by tensions between the band members, all of whom were between the ages 25 and 29 during this era of the band’s history.
Born on October 19, 1940, John Lennon was 29 when he recorded Let It Be alongside the other Beatles members. Lennon’s focus when The Beatles: Get Back sessions were filmed had undoubtedly shifted away from creating music for the band, with his marriage to Yoko Ono and protests against the Vietnam War overshadowing his time working on Let It Be. This is perhaps why Lennon is often quoted as stating that he hated the album’s title track.
Lennon felt the lyrics of “Let It Be” were a message in direct opposition to his anti-war efforts and the band’s usual style. After Lennon left The Beatles, he and Yoko Ono began writing more anti-war songs, the polar opposite of the “Let It Be” style. He released his first album with Ono in 1970, the same year this album was in the works. He then released four more albums, took a five-year break to be with his family, and returned to music in 1980, only to be killed that same year.
Two years Lennon’s junior, Paul McCartney was 27 years old at the time of recording Let It Be, making him the second-youngest member of The Beatles. Footage of the then 27-year-old McCartney lecturing his fellow bandmates after a row during one of the Beatles documentary sessions has become synonymous with the group’s latter-year struggles as they came to terms with their changing individual ideologies. McCartney was also involved in a series of business disagreements with his bandmates during the Let It Be sessions.
These disagreements eventually became one of the primary factors in the dissolution of The Beatles in 1971. However, The Beatles documentary ended up making McCartney look better than most of his bandmates, as it portrayed him as someone who fought hard to keep everyone on the same page and working toward the same goal.
As the youngest member of The Beatles, George Harrison was just 25 years old during the tumultuous Let It Be sessions. While Harrison saw significant personal growth as a songwriter in the late 1960s, his compositional presence on Beatles albums remained limited to two or three songs, increasing his frustration and, according to sources closest to the band at the time, significantly contributing to the band’s break-up.
One of Harrison’s iconic last songs and soundtracks with the Beatles is likely to be featured in The Beatles: Get Back, when he, McCartney, and drummer Ringo Starr recorded his song “I Me Mine” for Let It Be. The documentary also saw Harrison tire of the troubles and quit the band during the Let It Be sessions. “It never came to blows, but I thought, ‘What’s the point of this? I’m quite capable of being relatively happy on my own and I’m not able to be happy in this situation,” George remembered. “I’m getting out of here.”
The joint-oldest member of The Beatles at age 29, Ringo Starr is consistently referred to as the most genial member of the group throughout their reign, despite a brief, little-remembered ten-day hiatus from the band. The other Beatles often put aside their differences when working alongside Starr, with George Harrison famously covering his drum kit in flowers as a welcome-back gesture before recording The White Album.
The Beatles: Get Back showcases this affable side of Starr, who recently released another EP 50 years after recording for Let It Be concluded. This also means that he is one of the least exciting members of The Beatles in this documentary, with Lennon growing discontented, McCartney taking control, and Harrison threatening to quit. Starr mostly just played the drums and wanted to make more music. Ringo Starr is one of only two surviving members of The Beatles, along with Paul McCartney.