Throwing Copper

The last two responses above this are spot on. It’s both things.

It also sucks that we hear 10 seconds of a song and that’s it. And on to the next snippet. Not that we need full versions of anything but damn.

Mike86

Cripes I didn’t realize how long this was going to be. I’m a big Beatles fan, but I don’t know if I’ll dedicate that much time to watching this. I feel like a condensed version that was like three hours max would be a better option.

TomOpus

The thread about this over at blueray.com can only talk about how his use of DNR turned it into a smear-fest. They think he ruined it.

TomOpus

Is this where I quote a George Harrison song?

Toddarino

I’m going to have to listen to people blather on about this all weekend when the band gets back together. That will make me not want to watch it even more. I’m sure I’ll check it out eventually. I respect the Beatles and their undeniable talent and influence, but I always liked The Who, Kinks & Stones more.

Why So Blu?

They say it's a DNR smear fest.

JZ1276

This is really awesome. The footage looks so good as if it was filmed recently.
I wish there was more footage of the arguments between them that lead to George temporarily quitting as it seemed very abrupt.
I know part 3 hasn't streamed yet, but is there any footage from 1969's Let It Be that isn't included on this?
When George agreed to return, I wonder why one of his conditions was to move into that dingy basement as opposed to that huge open space at Twickenham.
I hope this ends with the the entire unedited rooftop concert.
By the way, for all who are saying it's too much and too long, remember the Anthology from 1995? That had a running time of almost 10 hours !

rocket1312

The difference is that Anthology had the structure of a traditional documentary. It had a very clear narrative drive as it moved through the history of the band.

Get Back is like 7 hours of deleted scenes. Jackson gave it a structure by tying it to the calendar and really pressing the ticking clock nature of the rehearsals. It's actually fairly brilliant on his part, but I feel like the clips are far too fragmentary to really support the conceit. Just when you start to get a real glimpse of what was going on behind the scenes, it cuts to another 2 minutes of the band fiddling around with "I've Got a Feeling".

Again, the footage is FASCINATING. I'm so glad to have the chance to see it. There's more than enough transcendent moments to absolutely make it worth sitting through for anyone who considers themselves a fan. However, as a television show or documentary, I just don't think it totally works. The caveat to all of this is I've still only watched the first ep. I reserve the right to flip flop completely after watching the rest.

Why So Blu?

Just watched the first 20 minutes of Part 1 and yeah, the DNR is horrid. It's really evident when they sit down to rehearse and jam in the scenes in front of the grey back drop.

rocket1312

The DNR doesn't really bother me because a.) knowing Peter Jackson's m.o., it was 100% guaranteed this was how it would be and I had plenty of time to come to terms with it, and b.) this is essentially a new product. If they had rereleased the original Let it Be with this amount of processing, I'd be far more annoyed.

Of course I'd rather have Let it Be in any form than nothing at all. Is that still a thing that is happening? Or was this the band's excuse to bury it for good?

david12

Y’all are nuts. This is fantastic and fascinating, self reflective, funny and beautifully made. If you care about song craft, then this may be the pop music holy grail. If you care about the Beatles, this is the best thing you’ve seen in twenty years. The anthology was supposed to be the defining word…but this shifts that and offers more clarity. The level of access and control that they gave to PJ…my goodness. And if 8 hours is too much, imagine living the actual life…or editing it into a narrative. I am devouring it completely with joy. Enjoy it with me.

TomOpus

You're really gonna hate the part when they all jam together with Yoko on vocals.

Part 2 also have quick shot of Alan Parsons at a tape machine.

Another interesting thing to see was (can't remember which one) mentioned they should use 35mm cameras for theaters. They thought the quality wouldn't look good blown up. But another Beatle said depends on the film stock they were using with the 16mm cameras.

I'm into part 3 now. probably finish it tomorrow. I have to get to work soon.

Michael Corvin

... and tedious like a handful have mentioned. I watched just over half of the first episode and it's all the things you said, but it's also too much. If one is a musician I can see how seeing the entire creative process & recording will be endlessly fascinating but as someone who is not, it could definitely use some tightening up.

Also, Yoko sitting two feet from John all day every day in silence is so damn bizarre and creepy. After seeing this footage I can absolutely understand if Paul, George and Ringo got tired of that nonsense, hence the "Yoko broke up the Beatles."

TomOpus

Finished it. Great stuff. It was great seeing the actual performances that made it to record. Nice seeing the rooftop show. Damn bobbies.

Dr. DVD

Watching this right now and this is pretty much for either people who appreciate the art of music documentary cinema or hard core Beatle fans. I am a little bit of both, but will definitely have to break this down into parts and snippets, as so much of it is the group chit chatting and goofing around. That said, the picture quality is mind blowing considering what they probably had to work with, so I admire Jackson and his team for undertaking what must have been major painstaking process.

EDIT: While this technically isn't rated, is this Disney+ first offering that could truly be considered "adult content?" It has several F-bombs and quite a bit of smoking and alcohol consumption. I know it has a warning before it starts, but kids could easily turn it on with everything else....then again, most kids would probably find this boring and not bother watching, so no harm no foul I guess.

TomOpus

I would doubt most kids would be interested in The Beatles.

Rodney2187

I love the Beatles, and I was excited to watch this, but it's just a little too long for me. I don't think there's anything happening in it that's interesting enough to keep my attention for that long. I've only watched the first episode, but I'm sure I'll eventually watch the other two. I'd rather it have been edited down to maybe 3 hours total of the most interesting parts, but I can understand for serious die-hard Beatles fans this is probably amazing and it's made more for them.

Nesbit

For every 30 minutes there's 1 or 2 that I'm very happy to see. That still leaves 28 minutes of dicking around. As I said earlier in the thread I've watched the anthology at least 3 times and will probably watch it 2-3 more times before I die. It has been a struggle to get through the first half of this thing.

The highlight has been seeing people I've only really read about in the flesh such as Mal Evans.

DJariya

Never would I have ever guessed the people of this forum would complain that an extensive Beatles documentary from one of the best filmmakers in the last 20 years would be a slog to watch.

Scott Mantz, who is a movie critic and huge Beatles fan, has been tweeting that he absolutely loves this documentary.

Neil M.

Yeah I just watched the first part and I'm pretty much loving it. I'm not even a huge Beatles fan. I guess you have to be in the right mood for something like this.

Dr. DVD

One thing this series does do well is convey how this was the last year the group worked as a band. While they are still friends, it's plain to see that by this point they were all wanting to go their separate ways. They just had too many ideas individually to work as a group by this point.

rocket1312

Wait, Scott Mantz is tweeting about it? That changes everything!

Decker

While that's true.....did it take until the seventh hour for you to figure that revelation out?

I don't think the project is unnecessary, but the length is excessive (at least through the first part, which is all I've been able to get through so far).

cultshock

I've been enjoying the hell out of this, but have been watching it in more manageable chunks (around 90 minutes a pop), I'm halfway through part 2 so far. I'm a decent enough Beatles fan (quite a bit more than a casual fan but not quite an obsessive die-hard) and am finding the whole thing fascinating, even the parts where nothing much happens.

Shannon Nutt

I've said this to friends, so I'll say it here: If you're only a casual fan of the Beatles, chances are you're not going to like this doc (especially at its current length); however, if you're a die-hard fan, you're going to LOVE it.

That said, I loved it.