Beatles fans anticipate Peter Jackson's documentary movie 'Get Back' on Disney+, premiering on Thanksgiving

Anticipation is building among Beatles fans for "The Beatles: Get Back."

The three-part documentary shows the band as they worked to write songs in January 1969 they planned to perform in just three weeks, with no concert venue decided upon.

They eventually settled on the roof of their London headquarters.

Directed by Peter Jackson, who directed the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, the three two-hour episodes will stream Thursday, Friday and Saturday on Disney+.

One fan who will be watching is Dennis Hodo, 71. A Columbia musician, Hodo was in the audience for one of the Beatles' final concerts on Aug. 21, 1966, in St. Louis.

He was in Vietnam when the "Let It Be" album and film came out, and by the time he had returned home, the Beatles had broken up.

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"Get Back" uses previously unused footage filmed for the "Let it Be" film.

“It’s forever tainted by the fact The Beatles were breaking up when it came out,” Jackson said of the original 1970 movie.

In this era, the Beatles had abandoned psychedelic music and classical instruments to return to their roots as a guitar band playing rock and roll, Hodo said.

"I enjoyed everything they did," Hodo said. "Their last couple of albums, they were back to being a guitar band. I really enjoyed that final phase of their time together."

Hodo tried to find "Let it Be" on video, but it proved fruitless, he said. After reading that the film showed a lot of tensions in the band and was a document of the group breaking up, he said he's kind of glad he never saw it.

"I have a really high interest in seeing this," he said of the new documentary.

Even if he has to pay for a streaming service he doesn't currently have, he will see it, Hodo said.

"Whatever I have to do. I will get Disney+," he said.

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He knows there were tensions in the band, which is to be expected, he said. He was in a band for just a few years and there were tensions.

"You cannot spend that much time together working on music without some conflict," Hodo said.

Another Beatles fan anticipating the film is Pete Zambito, assistant teaching professor of music at the University of Missouri.

"As I continue to explore their opus, I'm continuing to be impressed with their amazing output," Zambito said. "There was no precedent for what they were doing."

He said the "behind-the-scenes" view of the creative process and the dynamic among them is intriguing to him.

He's looking forward to the documentary for other reasons, he said.

"The thing that I've seen and read in interviews is that this is supposed to provide a view of this time that they still loved each other and enjoyed playing music together," Zambito said. "There are lots of moments of joy. They still created great music together. Of all the things I look forward to most, it's the moments of fun."

Jackson's documentary is meant to counter the narrative of doom and gloom surrounding this era of time for the Beatles. In segments screened for USA TODAY, the publication's Kim Willis reports, John Lennon and George Harrison laugh when engineers pause recording to announce Paul McCartney’s bass is out of tune. Ringo Starr chummily shares a piece of gum with Yoko Ono, who does needlework at Lennon's side. Arms are thrown around shoulders and lunch plans are made.

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It's understandable that there would be tensions and conflict, Zambito said.

"They were all kind of realizing they had their own things to say, without the others," he said.

Lennon and McCartney had been together in bands since 1956, with Harrison joining in 1958. They had been the Beatles with Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr since 1962.

Lennon died in 1980 and Harrison in 2001.

Another fan is Ken Michaels, host of a syndicated radio program about the Beatles "Every Little Thing" heard on MU's KBIA 91.3 at 9 p.m. Saturdays. He has a website, kenmichaelsradio.com.

"I know for a fact we're going to see a lot of footage of the Beatles we've never seen before in the studio," Michaels said.

Originally planned to be a two- or three-hour film in theaters, the movie is now six hours on the streaming service — unsurprising for Jackson, whose most famous work, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," has a 201-minute runtime. His "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, in fact, takes up three of the five slots for the longest-running blockbusters of all time.

"The greedy side of me wants as much of the Beatles as I can get," Michaels said. "I would love to see it on the big screen, but as far as I'm concerned, I want as much as possible."

It's an interesting period, just after the Beatles finished their album commonly known as the White Album for its white cover. The formal title of the 1968 album is "The Beatles."

"The whole month there, it's a fascinating period," Michaels said. "They were really starting to drift apart, but they were still extremely prolific. Even during a time they were struggling as a band, they were never at a loss for new material."

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In the sessions were versions of songs that would end up on solo albums a few years later, he said. Those include "All Things Must Pass" and "Hear Me Lord" and "Isn't It a Pity" from Harrison, a rough version of Lennon's "Give Me Some Truth," and "Back Seat of My Car" and "Teddy Boy" by McCartney.

There also was material that ended up on "Abbey Road," which they recorded last, though "Let It Be" was released later.

There were two brilliant songwriters in Lennon and McCartney and a blossoming songwriter in Harrison, Michaels said.

They wanted to make this happen in three weeks, because Starr was scheduled to be in a film, "The Magic Christian," with Peter Sellers.

"Who else but the Beatles would do that to themselves?" Michaels said of the deadline. "They had just finished the White Album. They could've performed material from that. It's extraordinary they were able to pull it off."

The color in the documentary looks crisp, he said.

"The quality of the film is beyond stunning," Michaels said.

He's interested in watching the creative process on film, he said. It won't ignore moments of tension, including Harrison walking out for a few days, but it also will include great music and wonderful performances.

"It's more of a balanced view of that month," Michaels said.

rmckinney@columbiatribune.com

573-815-1719

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Beatles fans anticipating 'Get Back' documentary by Peter Jackson