I may be the last Beatles fan in the world to have seen Peter Jackson’s groundbreaking Get Back documentary. At eight hours, I wanted to view it in two or three satisfying chunks, rather than losing the impact in dribs and drabs. But life kept getting in the way. Finally, I got so tired of feeling left out that I said “F*ck it” and managed to carve out the time. I’m glad I did. Here are my impressions:
1. The video and audio quality is astonishingly good, like nothing I’ve seen before. The film looked like it was shot yesterday, not 50 years ago. Jackson and his team are indeed geniuses.
2. I was never bored, not once. If anything, it could have been longer.
3. I found the creative process to be an endless source of inspiration and fascination. Having a front row seat to witness the song Get Back come to life is something I could watch every day for the rest of my life.
4. Billy Preston was truly the Fifth Beatle. The album and live performance would be very different — and not nearly as good — without his contributions.
5. Paul’s working class work ethic made things happen. Without him, John sleeps in till noon every day and nothing gets done.
6. John may not be the hardest working man in show business, but nothing gets done without him either.
7. George has every right to feel butt hurt. But he shouldn’t have bluffed quitting the band unless he meant it. That being said, I’m sure happy he stuck it out.
8. Ringo’s a man of fewer words and not nearly as happy-go-lucky as we’ve been led to believe. But he never misses a beat.
9. Rather than breaking up the band, Yoko mainly sat there, tending to her knitting. The boys don’t seem annoyed by her in the least.
10. Without toast, tea and cigarettes, everyone starves to death.
Please feel free to add your own.