well, i have been waiting for this for a long time, and i finally got to watch the finished product when it debuted over the weekend. originally scheduled to be released in movie theaters about this time last year, the schedule was changed a number of times due to covid and other editorial reasons. directed by peter jackson, they eventually settled on a three part documentary to be available for streaming in three episodes.

the original premise was to revisit the 55 hours of footage taken of the recording of the ‘let it be’ album, which had been in a vault for 50 years untouched. the filming was used to create a documentary to coincide with the release of the album, which eventually did happen in 1970. although i have not seen that in a long time (and i could not find a current version on any streaming services i have), there is some thought that the way the material was presented for that version gave support to the theory that yoko ono was one of the drivers of the band breaking up soon after the album was released. i also recall that it gave the impression that the sessions were full of tension.

paul and ringo, as well as the surviving spouses of john and george (yoko and olivia), gave full support to the project, and gave jackson full latitude to present it as he saw fit. i get the impression from interviews that they all disagreed with the premise of the first one, and were hoping to have the world see it for how it really was. and maybe they succeeded.

so here are a few of my takeaways after watching all three episodes:

1. it is a lot of material, with the whole thing clocking in at 8 hours. this is the main criticism it has received, and i think that it is warranted if you are only a casual and curious beatles observer. however, if you are a student of the band’s history, it gives significant granularity to what happened during this critical era. nearly all of it had to be presented to show the true dynamics between the band members, and the pressure of the situation they were under. maybe it could have been trimmed an hour or so, but i was fine with the length. i watched one each night.
2. as opposed to the aforementioned tension, it seems clear to me that they were still great friends, but sometimes cracked under pressure. the original project was to write and record fourteen songs in about three weeks, perform a live concert immediately after that, and have the film and album released that summer. they were disciplined in the studio, and got through the stress by constantly joking around. that is a constant throughout all three episodes. sure, george quits the band at the end of the first episode. but he was trying to make a point and eventually they came around to him.
3. usually lennon gets the blame for the tension in the studios, but the footage presented here shows that it might have been mccartney. their previous manager died unexpectedly, and paul was trying to assert himself to keep things going. when pushed back on this, he said something to the effect that they needed a leader, and he was only doing it because no one else would. but i also think that he is the creative leader for this portion of their career, and the shots of them writing songs from scratch show that. others may see it differently.
4. as for yoko, she may get a little vindication here. it is pretty annoying in the first episode when she is sitting in a chair between john and paul all the time while they are playing. but she certainly isn’t intervening – she just sits there and writes or sows. as the episodes move on, she is barely involved or seen, and indeed linda eastman (later mccartney) is around a lot more. maybe yoko was more involved in the abbey road sessions, which were recorded later that summer, but she seems pretty benign here.

all in all i learned a lot. and i will probably watch it again in the not to distant future, to see if i pick up things i missed before. i would encourage you to at least watch the two trailers to get a feel for it. the first one here is from peter jackson from last year, explaining why the movie was being delayed, and the second is the official trailer for the final release.

enjoy.