I couldn't wait to watch this documentary about a documentary, as director and producer, Peter Jackson so aptly described it. But as I began to watch, I felt a little buyer's (I rented Disney plus to watch) remorse. This was after all, derived from the same clips that movie "Let It Be" was created. That was probably the worst of the 5 movies that the group made, watching them argue while making a record, without the antics that helped make the band a complete package.
There was, however, a certain kind of charm that this series excluded that was missing from the movie as it showed the Beatles were not all angry with each other during the shooting of what became their last movie. The comradery was still there. There were some fun scenes throughout the movie of John Lennon and Paul McCartney horsing around as one would have imagined they would have done in the beginning years.
One thing this documentary does well is to add context. We find out when the shooting of the film starting, what the goal was, and the day-by-day trials and tribulations of putting the project together. Every day is logged by showing a calendar and marking off each date with an X.
What I think made this project work is the band itself. The great music, the songwriting process shown, the horseplay amongst each other and a certain intangible, the sort of down to earth personalities of the group. The show made me feel like I was in the studio with them, and I could join their banter.
The show is in three long parts running about 8 hours. The best way to watch is to break it up and watch little by little.
Thank you for the review Mike. What struck me was I cringe every time I saw Yoko Ono on the screen and it seemed obvious that Lennon was on the way out of the band as soon he met her. I enjoyed the back and forth banter too though in the shwo.
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