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Director Peter Jackson's long-awaited documentary The Beatles: Get Back finally has a confirmed home and release date. Today, Walt Disney Studios, Apple Corps, and WingNut Films Productions revealed that Get Back will not be released as a traditional theatrical film but rather will take the form of a three-part series, with each part clocking in at roughly two hours. Part One of the Academy Award-winning filmmaker's in-depth examination of the Let It Be period will debut on November 25 on Disney+, with Part Two premiering on the 26th and Part Three on the 27th. Jackson crafted the film from over 60 hours of unseen footage shot by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg for the original Let It Be film (as well as more than 150 hours of unheard audio) but promises that there's much more to the story.
"In many respects, Michael Lindsay-Hogg's remarkable footage captured multiple storylines," Jackson observed in the press release. "The story of friends and of individuals. It is the story of human frailties and of a divine partnership. It is a detailed account of the creative process, with the crafting of iconic songs under pressure, set amid the social climate of early 1969. But it's not nostalgia - it's raw, honest, and human. Over six hours, you'll get to know The Beatles with an intimacy that you never thought possible. I'm very grateful to The Beatles, Apple Corps and Disney for allowing me to present this story in exactly the way it should be told. I've been immersed in this project for nearly three years, and I'm very excited that audiences around the world will finally be able to see it."
Bob Iger, Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Disney, adds, "As a huge Beatles fan myself, I am absolutely thrilled that Disney+ will be the home for this extraordinary documentary series by the legendary filmmaker Peter Jackson. This phenomenal collection of never-before-seen footage offers an unprecedented look at the close camaraderie, genius songwriting, and indelible impact of one of the most iconic and culturally influential bands of all time, and we can't wait to share The Beatles: Get Back with fans around the world."
Fans can expect to see the Rooftop Concert of January 30, 1969 in its entirety as well as an in-depth look at the creation of the music featured on the band's final two albums, Abbey Road and Let It Be. While we wait for the inevitable announcement of a definitive Let it Be box set, Apple Corps and Callaway Arts and Entertainment will preview the documentary with the October 12 release of the 240-page hardcover companion book also titled The Beatles: Get Back. It will be published in nine international language editions around the world.
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Today also brought the news of superstar Diana Ross' first studio album in 15 years and first of original material in over two decades, or 22 years. Thank You will arrive from Universal Music Group's Decca imprint on September 10 featuring the inimitable voice of Miss Ross on 13 tracks including the lead single (and title track) "Thank You," released today to streaming and download services. The upbeat and rhythmic "Thank You," written by Amy Wadge, Christian Paul Wossilek, Nathaniel Ledwidge, Troy Miller, and Diana Ross, was produced by Miller and very much recalls her classic sound while keeping its production firmly rooted in the present day. Watch "Thank You" here on YouTube.
Thank You was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ross' home studio and was written and recorded by the artist together with a cadre of songwriters and producers including Jack Antonoff, Troy Miller, Triangle Park, Spike Stent, Prince Charlez, Amy Wadge, Neff-U, Freddie Wexler, Jimmy Napes, Tayla Parx, Fred White, and Nathanial Ledgewick. The album will be available in a variety of formats:
- Standard Black Vinyl 2LP;
- Pink Marbled Vinyl 2LP exclusive to Universal Music stores;
- CD;
- CD with slipcase exclusive to certain Amazon territories (including U.K. and Japan);
- Cassette (exclusive to Universal Music stores); and
- Digital download/streaming.
It's possible that other retailer exclusive color vinyl variants may be announced at a later date. You'll find pre-order links and the track listing for the album below. It's due from Decca on September 10.
Diana Ross, Thank You (Decca, 2021)
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Slipcased CD: Amazon U.K.
2LP (Black): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP (Pink Marble): Universal Music Store
Cassette: Universal Music Store
Various Bundles: Universal Music Store
- Thank You
- If the World Just Danced
- All Is Well
- In Your Heart
- Just In Case
- The Answers Always Love
- Let's Do It
- I Still Believe
- Count On Me
- Tomorrow
- Beautiful Love
- Time To Call
- Come Together
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So is the Apple + trilogy in addition to, or instead of, the announced August theatrical release of the film?
Instead of, at this point. Apparently, like his last few projects, Jackson wasn't able to tell the story he wanted in one theatrical film.
Question is, will we ever get DVD / Blu-Ray versions, or will it be streaming only?
No plans to get Disney Plus, ever
Diana on Decca? Come on. She should be back on Motown where she belongs. Its all under the same umbrella at Universal now so there is no excuse for her not to be on the Motown label.
Bad news about the Beatles on Disney+. Brings up questions. Will the steaming Let It Be be modeled on the streaming of Mulan and other? $30 extra charge? If so, will that be for all three chapters or $30 for each chapter? The latter sounds especially absurd to me. I hope it does to Disney, too. I'm an easy date, though, when it comes to the Lads, so I'll spring for it, no matter what, and then hope I live long enough to see a deluxe Blu Ray package with hours worth of goodies.
Happily, no "Premier Access" surcharges have been announced for GET BACK; in fact, I believe the decision to go to streaming was at least partially rooted in Disney's desire to bring more subscribers (and from a different segment of the viewing public) to the service.
So glad to hear this. Thanks for the inside scoop. Big fan of the Fabs. Am thrilled and will be there, front row center.
The release of the "Get Back" movie as a streaming-only entity, and the apparent cancellation or postponement of a "Let it Be" CD + Blu-Ray boxed set, makes it clear that Apple Corps has decided to jettison the first generation Beatles fans. Apple Corps knows that many or most first generation fans will never accept music rental. We are collectors of physical product, and to us streaming is a big nothing.
Professional bootleggers will find ways to record the stream, and most fans will see the "Get Back" film via bootlegs. Apple Corps and Disney will get what they deserve.
I wouldn't worry too much about the LET IT BE box set. Apple Corps isn't about to let the opportunity pass to tie in with the film debut. I would expect an announcement within the next few weeks, if not sooner...
And I hear you...I'm certainly a physical product guy all the way. But, especially after COVID-19 decimated the cinema audience (and it still remains to be seen how that industry will pick up the pieces), it appears that more - not fewer - fans will have access to the film on Disney+. Sure, I was looking forward to seeing it on the big screen, as I'm sure many others were. But Disney+ has well over 100 million subscribers; that's nearly one third of the entire US population. I'm sure a great many of those 100 million subscribers are first generation Beatles fans. I do hope the film eventually receives a physical Blu-ray release and perhaps even a theatrical run despite the length. But the move to streaming vs. theatrical - especially as movie theatres recover from the pandemic - is intended to maximize the audience, not minimize it. We'll see what happens. Thanks as always for sharing your perspective, Phil.
Paul Sinclair of the British website Super Deluxe Edition has stated that the "Let It Be" boxed set won't happen until 2022. Whether he is correct remains to be seen. I hope that he's wrong. To me, the original unreleased (but widely bootlegged) "Get Back" album and the Spectorized/Reworked "Let it Be" album are two separate entities, and should be treated as such. The reworked album is much more compatable with surround sound.
I suppose anything's possible, but I'm skeptical that they would pass up on the synergy of the docuseries and the coffee table book. We'll certainly find out soon.
I've listened to Thank You a few times and have grown to like it. Diana sounds fine, but it boggles my mind that it took so many people to compose a fairly simple song. I am looking forward to the album which hopefulfly will have recent photos an not the (probably) 20 + year old photo used on the single.
Six hours of Let It Be outtake footage sounds like at least three hours too many if you have heard any of the bootlegs from the period. What worries me more is the seeming attempt to change the narrative that they were still "best mates". No-one sane believes that for a second. For crying out loud they broke up for good a year later and were suing each other for almost a decade... C'mon Jackson do not patronise us, at least the original 'Let It Be' gave us some sense of that reality with Harrison arguing with Yoko Ono over a digestive biscuit!
I agree with your logic.
I look forward to Get Back when it gets a DVD Release I am not c razy about Disney Plus release but we have to live with it. I would love more than anything to see Peter Jackson's film. That film will be beter than the orignal Let It Be film. Those Vinyl LPs or Eps or Cds with books or cards I may not get those as a family had owned A dozen or so Beatle Vinyl Albums but too heavy to lift anyone going up stairs to my new apartment.
This justifies all pirate Tor copies that make it across the web. I hate Apple, no better than Disney for a money-grabbing exploitation corporation. Looking forward to cheating Apple by downloading the first available pirate copy.
i refuse to pay for disney+ for the money if will have to be released on blu-ray sooner than later. Hopefully in my lifetime.