Peter Jackson's forthcoming documentary series, The Beatles: Get Back, has been so completely praised by surviving Beatles Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, that some fans are beginning to wonder if the long-awaited recut of the Let It Be documentary is actually The Beatles' attempt to rewrite their own history.
For what it's worth, Jackson says that's not the case.
"Everyone sort of thinks it's a 'whitewash' [because of the band's cooperation]," the Oscar-winner told the New York Times. "But actually it's almost the exact opposite. It shows everything that [Let It Be director Michael Lindsay-Hogg] could not show in 1970. It's a very unflinching look at what goes on."
Lindsay-Hogg's film is best remembered for depicting moments of excruciating tension within the Fab Four during the recording of their Let It Be album. Speaking of Jackson's film in recent years, both McCartney and Starr have criticized the original documentary for its fraught portrayal of those album sessions.
Lindsay-Hogg himself recently fired back at Starr, insisting Let It Be is not the breakup movie it's been made out to be. He further suggested that the drummer probably hadn't seen it in 50 years and probably didn't remember much.
The Beatles: Get Back makes use of nearly 60 hours of footage that couldn't fit into the original documentary. Jackson assured the NY Times that the surviving Beatles gave him no direction when it came to editing.
"There's no villains, there's no heroes. It's just a human story," Jackson said. "...You see these four great friends, great musicians, who just lock in and develop these songs, and you see it all onscreen."
The Beatles: Get Back debuts on Disney+ on November 25.
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