Directed and shaped by filmmaker Peter Jackson—based on footage shot by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg for the little-seen 1970 “Let It Be” documentary— perhaps no piece of pop culture has reignited Beatlemania like the documentary “Beatles: Get Back,” save for maybe the “The Beatles Anthology” docu-series in 1995. Released last fall to much acclaimed, Jackson’s gargantuan six-hour, three-episode long series put the band in a whole new light for a whole new generation, recontextualizing previously unseen footage of the band writing, practicing, and recording their final album before their infamous breakup.
You can imagine how much footage wasn’t used, and it’s already been reported that Jackson could potentially make an extended cut. However, during a chat with THR journalist Kim Masters on The Business podcast, while Jackson said there’s still a huge treasure trove of unseen and unused “Beatles: Get Back” footage that could be turned into something more, the filmmaker admitted he’s not really sure an extended version will ever happen, and he’s “fighting” with Apple and Disney for it to happen.
Asked at the end of the interview, what’s next, Masters said, “I know you’re doing an expanded version of ‘Beatles: Get Back,’ to which Jackson immediately responded, “I’m not, no.” he quickly replied.
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The filmmaker further explained, “I’m fighting to, Kim, help me. Disney and Apple are reluctant because they say — and they might be quite right—that there’s no market anymore for extended cuts,” he explained. “But I know that there’s five or six hours of fantastic material that we didn’t include, and I don’t want it to go back into the faults for fifty years. So, let’s just say that it’s a conversation that’s happening, but it’s not necessarily a definitive one at this point.”
This isn’t terribly shocking given that Disney isn’t known for being huge advocates for extended/director’s cuts with their feature films. There are also rising complaints when folks have tried to screen 20th Century Studios films at various theaters, or special screenings have come up against Disney trying to squash those plans, refusing access.
The Disney vault is very much real, and it sounds like Apple is being just as stubborn. Hardcore Beatle-philes will surely be aghast at the idea of all that footage going back into the vaults, but one has to wonder, how much different could five or six hours of recording that same album be? Perhaps to the die-hards, any glimpse of the musical gods is a gift, and to be fair, that’s hard to argue. You can listen to the full The Business podcast conversation with Peter Jackson below. Fingers crossed that someone allows Jackson to keep tinkering.