Get Back on Blu-ray + DVD
Artwork pending. Photo via Amazon (UK)
In the USA, the Beatles Store lists Peter Jackson’s three part documentary series “The Beatles Get Back” on a three disc DVD set at $34.99, with an expected ship date of February 5, 2022. The blu-ray 3 disc retails for $44.99.
Of course, on Disney+, the documentary series is presented in 4K resolution, which a standard blu-ray disc is incapable of reproducing. So we are fully expecting a 4k UHD edition to be announced at some point.
A U.K. Amazon listing gives us a 28 February release date for the Blu-ray in Great Britain. It also brings preliminary artwork, and a list price of £30.00, for which there is an Amazon pre-order Price Guarantee. HMV is also listing the U.K. release.
Box front. Image via Amazon (UK)
The front of the box describes nearly 8 hours of video, meaning there is nothing extra, compared to the TV series. Although we are saying DVD and Blu-ray as per yesterday’s press release, there is no DVD listing on Amazon UK as of now.
DVD as listed on The Beatles Store (U.S.A. edition).
Director: Peter Jackson
Executive Producers: Jonathan Clyde, Peter Jackson, Jeff Jones, Ken Kamins, Clare Olssen
Creator: Peter Jackson
Cast: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison
Special Packaging:
Rigid Slipcase
3-disc Softpack
4 Collector Cards
Audio:
English Dolby Atmos
English Stereo PCM
English AD 2.0 Dolby Digital
Run Time: Approx. 458 minutes
The BluRay and DVD are also on the official US Beatles store
Thanks!
What about the 1970 film? Is that the only way we will see anything from the final sessions on 31 January, including the definitive takes of Two Of Us, The Long And Winding Road and Let It Be? It makes me wonder why pages 218 to 222 were included in the companion book “The Beatles Get Back”.
Absolutely – the final day of filming was very poorly served in Peter Jackson’s film. That makes “Let It Be” essential viewing just for those three songs (and accompanying videos)…
Correct!
The omission of Two of Us and the Long and Winding Road had to be a commercial decision so as to brighten the prospects for people still wanting Let It Be whenever it shows up But good music in Get Back was often was chopped short….still trying to figure out why. On the final day, Take This Hammer/Wrong Yo Yo/Run For Your Life medly (or least an edited version of it) would have been fun but just a few seconds of it are shown.
“It was rare at Twickenham to capture whole song performances – something which would have a big effect on the edit later – mainly because there often were none. Says Parrott, “We shot whatever they did. And the times they would do a full runthrough at Twickenham was very few. Mostly, it was just playing around, putting up ideas. We didn’t roll all the time – it just didn’t seem to make much sense. That was rehearsal time.” “Sometimes, we would track a song from starting to rehearse,” says Lindsay-Hogg, “like, ‘Let It Be,’ Paul would start to rehearse the song, and then stop in the middle, and they’ll play Tamla Motown for half an hour. We were shooting from 10 or 11am until 6pm. If there wasn’t much going on, we’d shut the cameras down for a while, and then just turn them on if something was happening”. From https://www.soundandvision.com/content/making-beatles-let-it-be-and-peter-jacksons-get-back-filming-let-it-be At Apple, it was a different story: “By the time we got to Apple, the camera and sound would start when the first Beatle arrived, and we wouldn’t stop shooting until the last Beatle left. If a Beatle was there, we were filming.” From https://www.soundandvision.com/content/making-beatles-let-it-be-and-peter-jacksons-get-back-move-apple
Quite so, but this doesn’t explain why Peter cuts so many of the Saville Row takes mid-song, given that he had the film footage and no time limitations to worry about…
I assume that January 31st was largely omitted from Get Back simply because Peter wanted to keep the timeline accurate; the rooftop concert has to be the climax. Michael dealt with this by swapping the dates, which worked very well, but Peter’s film is more specifically chronological.
Unfortunately, this is to the new film’s detriment, because the final day of filming is so important – it should never have been a footnote in the film.
The Let it Be film actually takes you up on the rooftop. It’s like you’re there and not down on the street.
Îm french , subtitles french ?
Thank’s
No idea. But we have seen pirate Blu-rays with subtitles in several languages, so we would expect that from the official release as well.
The first release of many versions of this series I’m sure. Over the next few decades we’ll see directors cuts, anniversary editions etc etc
I just placed my order from there. Thanks
But it doesn’t look like the 4 cards will be included with the DVD set. Oh well
Not these “collector cards” again….I proudly bought the 3 blu-ray bootleg set back in December and have downloaded hours of bonus features [interviews/red-carpet interviews] (via youTube). I’ll wait for the double-dip release when the inevitable Peter Jackson director’s-cut is released just in time for the xmas ’22 holiday. Sign-me up. I already bought the book, and three versions of the LIB50 SDE: vinyl/ROW/SHM.
Unless they include the original movie, the 31 January videos and the rooftop without all the happenings most people will just be ok with the boot versions already flooding the net. Even 4k is already available. So Apple give us the right package please.
I’ll wait for the 4K set, which usually gets paired with Blu-ray discs. I’m not counting on any bonus footage as Peter Jackson has already said that Disney has already shot down that suggestion saying that there is no longer a market for directors cuts anymore. (I disagree). I would love to see the complete roof top concert without the street interviews. Perhaps the IMAX showing of the concert will be free from the street interviews. We will know soon enough.
But at least $25 for 2 hours in the theaters? No thanks don’t care if it’s IMAX or not still too expensive for 2Hrs.
For the Disney+ subscribers, this boils down to £30 for 4 cards. To quote the Rutles; Ouch!
As far as I’m concerned, leave the original “Let It Be” off of this package and out of Disney’s hands! They’ve already vetoed an expanded edition of “Get Back”, and kept us from getting an audio version of the complete Rooftop Concert. Let Apple release “Let It Be” themselves, without Disney’s inrerference!
Are you suggesting that Peter Jackson was ordered to leave the final day of the Get Back sessions off the new film to encourage fans to buy the 1970 film? Who has the rights to release a CD of the entire concert and to re-release the 1970 film?
I don’t think that is the case – it was more a question of chronology, and unfortunately Peter clearly felt that he needed to finish the film with the concert. Such a shame.
Disney will have the rights to the rooftop, so we won’t see that on CD any time soon; thankfully they don’t have the rights to Let It Be, so hopefully we will finally see that (legally) shortly in high quality – and that is also why is won’t be on the Disney Blu-Ray.
Lindsay-Hogg: The Let It Be movie was semi-going to be released a lot in the last 20 years but it never was the right time in relation to the other things The Beatles were releasing, which was remasters, all their videos. The Beatles like to make hay when the sun shines. And Apple, they made about five in-house documentaries to go with Let It Be but it never quite was what everybody wanted. A friend at Apple three years ago said Peter’s interested in taking a whack it and I said, “What about Let It Be?” And he said, “Well, the plan is after Peter’s done it, (they didn’t know it would take three years because of Covid), and after Get Back has had its rollout, the plan is to rerelease in some form Let It Be.” To that end for the last two or three years, the director of photography Tony Richmond and I have been working on the print, so it looks totally different and Giles Martin has been working on the soundtrack. It’s a good movie and it’s only 80 minutes long. https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/the-long-and-winding-smoke
The sooner it comes out, the better, especially as it is now known it contains material deliberately left out of the new film.
I wonder whether the release of LIB would be a space to put complete song outtakes and even this rooftop concert, such as it is, without the interviews. It will not be anything to do with Disney. This would mean it’s possible Apple will take a different opinion about director’s cuts and extras.
A song filled deluxe of the original Let It Be, using Ron Furmanek’s restoration and with input from Michael Lindsay Hogg should be put out. With all the Disney grasping and the endless hype about Jackson’s largely song-less behemoth, it appears to have been forgotten that Furmanek restored a lot of footage from January 1969. Both for the Anthology and a possible Let It Be release. In fact, I wonder if the vetoed DVD release to coincide with Let It Be Naked is still in the can? For all the hype and the blabbering about ‘Look! We didn’t hate each other really’ that Jackson’s work is so keen to promote, the Beatles were about making beautiful music, right to the end. And that is what Beatles fans both want and deserve.
Largely songless? Does that (partly) explain why the performances of the three songs on 31 January were left out? I have not yet seen any of the new film, but do have the excellent Get Back book. I presume much of the dialogue in the book is in the film. I am still looking forward to seeing both films.
Finally. I’ve been waiting for it to be available. Thanks for getting it out so soon.
What Disney gets wrong is when they say there isn’t a market for extended cuts, it applies to their films. It’s more than apparent there is a market for a much grander home release on this project. Hard to think that Mr Jackson only did ‘8’ hours worth of footage. Someone has some explaining to do. The wrong cow is being milked in regards to the IMAX presentation..
Hard to imagine the late Neil Aspinall even talking to the likes of Disney when he was custodian of Apple Corps. He was always so protective of the Beatles legacy and always insisted on the highest standard of product when he was in charge. Sure, we have had more stuff during the modern era. And some great stuff, like 1+ and the Pepper and White Album box sets. But isn’t an overpriced and hardly definitive Let It Be box set and a DVD with no bonus features whatsoever lowering Apple’s once high standards somewhat?
The Beatles had ties to Disney also during Aspinall’s time at Apple. Remember the “Sgt. Pepper” special from 1992 on Disney Channel? Apple didn’t even mind that all the drug references were removed in the Disney edit, compared to the edit that was televised in Great Britain and elsewhere. Solo specials were also televised by Disney, like Ringo’s “Going Home” and Paul’s “From Rio to Liverpool”, which was also called “Going Home” by Disney, to make it look like a series of sorts.
So it sounds like Disney has made as much money form The Beatles as the have from Mickey, Minnie and the rest of the gang.
Thanks, Roger. I remember the 1992 Pepper special on ITV’s South Bank Show. I had no idea Disney were involved. To be fair though, I doubt that in the early 90s even Disney were as soulless and mercenary as they are now. The 1992 special was good, but Granada’s still definitive It Was Twenty Years Ago Today is ‘the’ Sgt Pepper documentary.
Number 1 seller on Amazon.US as of right now. Got my pre-order in! Now hoping the restored Let It be film comes out on DVD soon, too. AND with bonus footage!
I think that a restored release of Let It Be will include some extras. With MLH and Peter Jackson having been in communication during production of Get Back, I think that this is how extras can be released. I am guessing, but Disney wouldn’t have rights over the Let It Be film, and, therefore, any extras would have nothing to do with them.
The stupidity of those making decisions at Disney/Apple etc.. leaves one well….surprised. We want to watch an IMAX movie of Get Back they say at Disney – a film most Beatles fans have now seen at least 6 times and documented key moments, but we don’t want to get the extended cut of Peter Jackson’s 17? hours of footage. Anyone can be an executive of these companies these days obviously. I could put a monkey in charge and they would make better decisions.
How about an album as well – Get Back I don’t care that some of these are just snippets – art doesn’t always have to be ready formed in a neat package. Here are some easy suggestions:
Greasepaint on his Face…I laugh every time I hear it. Makes Ian Dury look like an amateur.
Palace of the Kings and Birds
Dehra Dun
Child of Nature
Give Me Some Truth
New Orleans…. I love that delay when George gets them into gear and it kicks out.
Back Seat of My Car
Because I Know You Love Me So
fast version of Get Back
fast version of Two of Us
etc etc
it’s a pity, the original “let it be” film won’t probably been issued. I just I watched it ( from a bootleg dvd) and the sequences are different. The roof top performance, is better as it’s only one camera – and not several camera’s as on the “Get back” dvd