Unavailable to the public (unless you count ropey pirated VHS copies) for some 50 years and received on its release in 1970 with the enthusiasm usually reserved for a ferocious bout of norovirus (the sting of the band’s recent breakup had something to do with it, as did issues of tone, pacing and a Macca-skewed focus), Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s documentary is finally served up to audiences once again, via Disney+. Some, but not all, of this film about the making of the Beatles’ final album will be familiar to those who watched Get Back, Peter Jackson’s nearly eight-hour three-part series – assembled from footage shot by Lindsay-Hogg for this film. We see the formative stages of now-classic songs; a chipper Paul, rattling on to fill the silence; John looking so bored he’s on the verge of tears: at the very least it’s a fascinating historical document. However, the fly on the wall songbook approach is draggy and repetitive – this remains a flawed and slightly frustrating music documentary.
