Peter Jackson’s documentary about the Beatles will finally see the light of day as Disney have confirmed it’ll be released later this year.
The Beatles: Get Back will take fans inside the legendary British band’s recording sessions for their final album Let It Be, using 55 hours of unreleased footage of the group filmed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg in 1969.
Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Oko Lennon and Olivia Harrison are previously said to have cooperated with the film, so it’s expected the release has their blessing.
The documentary will premiere in the US and Canada on 4 September.
Disney executive chairman Bob Iger said while confirming the release: ‘The Beatles: Get Back is a front-row seat to the inner workings of the genius of those creators.’
Peter, 58, said in his own statement: ‘Working on this project has been a joyous discovery.
‘I’ve been privileged to be a fly on the wall while the greatest band of all time works, plays and creates masterpieces. I’m thrilled that Disney have stepped up as our distributor. There’s no one better to have our movie seen by the greatest number of people.’
In addition to the album sessions, The Beatles: Get Back will feature footage of the group’s final live concert, which took place on a rooftop on London’s Savile Row.
During their time recording Let It Be, the Beatles were said to be extremely unhappy and Lennon once described their last recording sessions as ‘hell’.
Peter, best known for directing the Lord of the Rings franchise, previously said of the film: ‘Watching John, Paul, George, and Ringo work together, creating now-classic songs from scratch, is not only fascinating – it’s funny, uplifting and surprisingly intimate.’
It’s all come full circle as The Beatles once tried to obtain the rights to Peter’s Lord of the Rings in the 1960s, with Lennon wanting to play Gollum and McCartney as Frodo.
The band initially had plans for Stanley Kubrick to direct the epic but Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien jumped in to hand the torch to Jackson.
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