The Lord Of The Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson has revealed footage of his much-anticipated documentary The Beatles: Get Back, which is slated for an Aug. 27, 2021 release.
Jackson says he’s “halfway through editing” in New Zealand, going through “56 hours of never-before-seen Beatles footage.” He emphasizes that this is “not a trailer, it’s not a secret, it’s like a montage of moments that we’ve pulled to give you a sense of the spirit.”
And that spirit, from the 1969 Let It Be sessions, is jolly and loose. Scenes show several false starts in the studio while recording “Get Back,” with Yoko Ono sitting in front of John Lennon. All the members, Paul McCartney — in his full beard era — George Harrison and Ringo Starr, are shown goofing around.
Linda McCartney is also in control room scenes, along with the integral playing of pianist Billy Preston in the studio.
Watch the Get Back footage below, which Jackson says will hopefully “put a smile on your face in these rather bleak times.”
There will also be a companion book, The Beatles: Get Back, a 240-page hardcover that tells the story of the creation of 1970’s, Let It Be, in their band member’s own words. It’s the first official standalone book to be released by The Beatles since 2000’s The Beatles Anthology.