81 min | XviD 720x544 | 1803 kb/s | 180 kb/s mp3 VBR | 29.97 fps | B-VOP | 1.1 GB + 3% recovery record
English | Subtitles: Spanish and Portuguese .srt | Genre: Documentary/Music | RS.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filmed on location at Apple and Twickenham Film Studios, The Beatles bang out songs and reminisce. Yoko Ono is a cloying presence as John Lennon's silent, somewhat useless appendage throughout the film's entirety. The final moments of film are the band's legendary lunchtime performance on the roof of Apple. It was the first time the band had played together in three years and would also be the last. Things go along quite nicely until the chief officer of a nearby bank calls in the cops and has the impromptu performance shut down. John closing the band's rooftop performance: "I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and I hope we passed the audition."
I believe this candid look inside the troubled world of the later Beatles is a good account of why the world's greatest musical force ultimately broke up. I wouldn't easily recommend it to a "casual" Beatles listener, and certainly not at all would I suggest it for clueless "non-fans". But for the serious fan such as myself, this is fascinating to watch.

Paul McCartney was the only Beatle at this point who was interested in trying to keep the band together; George Harrison was too busy getting fed up with Paul for telling him how to play his own guitar; Ringo Starr was lethargic and resigned to being the solemn background drummer; and John Lennon was so in love with Yoko Ono that he couldn't care less what the other three were doing anyway. So, it's this grim reality creeping into the once magical world of the Beatles' recording sessions that is tense and uncomfortable to watch here. But there is no denying that it's all frank, in-your-face, and well captured.

But it's not all ugliness. When Billy Preston is invited in for an inspired jam session, for example, everything seems like fun and games again. And the impromptu rooftop concert at the end of the movie displays The Fab Four at their best, playing great music together and having a lot of fun one last time as a unit, almost in spite of themselves.

Of course, even with all its warts, there's always the music. Classic songs like "Two of Us," "I've Got a Feeling," "Don't Let Me Down," The Long and Winding Road," "Get Back," and the appropriate title tune itself are always there to make us feel good again. IMDB comment

 

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