Peter Jackson gives fans sneak preview of upcoming Beatles film The Beatles: Get Back

Peter Jackson gives fans sneak preview of upcoming Beatles film The Beatles: Get Back
Peter Jackson.
PHOTO: Reuters

The hotly-anticipated documentary, which features 56 hours of never-before-seen footage of the iconic Liverpool band, is set to hit cinemas on Aug 27, 2021.

And ahead of its release, which was pushed back from this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the director has shared a five-minute taster of the movie, which will "take audiences back in time to The Beatles' intimate recording sessions during a pivotal moment in music history".

In the preview, Jackson explained that they are "halfway" through the editing process.

He said: "This film was due to be finished around about now but like the rest of the world, it has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The only good thing really is that we are editing the movie in New Zealand and now that our country has largely stamped out the virus, we were able to come back into the cutting room and carry on with the editing that we are doing.

"So here we are, we've got 56 hours of never-before-seen Beatles footage and it's really great stuff. And we are, I would say, halfway through the edit now."

It then cut to footage of the late John Lennon and George Harrison and surviving members Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr in the studio.

 Jackson said in a statement: "We wanted to give the fans of The Beatles all over the world a holiday treat, so we put together this five-minute sneak peek at our upcoming theatrical film The Beatles: Get Back. We hope it will bring a smile to everyone's faces and some much-needed joy at this difficult time."

The film follows the band's recording of their final 1970 album Let It Be, and McCartney, 78, recently admitted the upcoming flick "reaffirmed" for him that he wasn't to blame for their split in April of that year.

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He said this month: "It was so reaffirming for me. Because it proves that my main memory of the Beatles was the joy and the skill.

"The proof is the footage. I bought into the dark side of The Beatles breaking up and thought, 'Oh God, I'm to blame.' I knew I wasn't, but it's easy when the climate is that way to start thinking so.

"But at the back of my mind, there was always this idea that it wasn't like that, but I needed to see proof. There's a great photo Linda [his late ex-wife] took, which is my favourite, of me and John working on a song, glowing with joy. This footage is the same. All four of us having a ball."

Hailing Lord of the Rings filmmaker Jackson's work on the flick, he added: "I love it, I must say because it's how it was. It just reminds me of - even though we had arguments, like any family - we loved each other, you know, and it shows in the film.

"It's a very warm feeling, And it's amazing just being backstage with these people, making this music that turned out to be good."

Watch the preview clip on TheBeatles.com and Disney+ now.

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