Music fans and critics highly anticipate the Peter Jackson-helmed Beatles documentary mainly because the director is delivering a revisionist approach to how Michael Lindsay-Hogg presented the Fab Four in the 1970 release Let It Be. That film, famous for its rooftop concert and which won an Oscar for Best Original Song Score, was equally infamous for capturing bad vibes among the band members, the worst being George Harrison, during one of the jams, mockingly tell Paul McCartney, “Whatever it is that will please you, I’ll do it.”
The Beatles: Get Back, technically a revised edition of the classic film, is expected to portray the group “as they actually were,” or in the words of Ringo Starr, them “just laughing and playing music.”
The Lord of the Rings trilogy director uploaded a five-minute sneak peek last month drawn from more than 60 hours of unseen footage of the same sessions in January 1969. It thrilled fans seeing the four Beatles, especially John Lennon, goofing around and having a good time. Let them be!
Distributor Walt Disney Studios rescheduled Get Back’s release from Sept. 4 last year to Aug. 27 this year due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The new date will mark the 54th death anniversary of the group’s manager Brian Epstein.
Today, I’m giving you a rundown of nine other world-renowned directors and their films about or featuring music stars.
Bryan Singer (Bohemian Rhapsody, 2018): The director of some of X-Men movies and neo-noir The Usual Suspects admirably depicted the times of Freddie Mercury and the rest of Queen, climaxing with the band’s legendary performance at Live Aid in 1985.
Jonathan Demme (Justine Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids, 2016): This concert film is the final feature of the Silence of the Lambs director.
Clint Eastwood (Jersey Boys, 2014): Based on the jukebox musical of the same name, it tackles the tale of The Four Seasons.
Taylor Hackford (Ray, 2004): The Devil’s Advocate director guided Jamie Foxx to Oscar glory portraying Ray Charles.
Oliver Stone (The Doors, 1991): Val Kilmer portrayed Jim Morrison in this biopic by a director known for movies about the Vietnam War and the American presidency.
Milos Forman (Amadeus, 1984): This gem from the Czech-American icon who also directed One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest won eight Oscars.
John Landis (Thriller, 1983): Described by the Library of Congress as the “most famous music video of all time,” this short film features Michael Jackson with the much-parodied dancing zombies. It was actually accompanied by a documentary of its making.
Martin Scorsese (The Last Waltz, 1978): This film advertised as the farewell concert of The Band was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2019.
Richard Lester (A Hard Day’s Night, 1964): The man behind Superman II and III starred by Christopher Reeves sat on the director’s chair for two movies starring The Beatles, including this one created at the height of Beatlemania, and a concert film, also titled Get Back, featuring McCartney in his 1989-90 tour.