Get Back: The Rooftop Concert – a Nick Scott Review

Most New Zealanders know the story of how Peter Jackson found 60 hours of unseen Beatles footage and decided to use it to make a documentary about the Fab Four.

The completed movie was six hours long so the parts of it showing at Cinemas are going to be sections of the original. This part dealt with the rooftop concert on top of the Apple building in London. It is towards the end of the Beatle’s history coming just before the Let It Be album and then the break up of the group.

The footage is extraordinary, very close up and intimate, which is why the full effect of the film would only be appreciated at the Cinema or on a big screen television with a superb sound system. The sound is also a highlight. The sound and images making the viewer understand just what excellent musicians they were, always being able to rely on one another musically. One knowing look telling another member to start or finish their part.

The rooftop concert is definitely noticed by all the locals, if not enjoyed by all of them. There is a minor sub-plot involving the police and annoyed neighbours.

This movie is bound to be treasured by those who grew up in the sixties but for the rest of us it tells the story of an incredible band and their music in the 1960s. For those born well outside of the sixties, there is a nice montage at the beginning, introducing the audience to this era and the history of the Beatles.

Nick Scott Nick Scott has a B.A from The University of Waikato where he studied film under Sam Edwards. Nick has retained a keen interest in cinema. He studied Te Reo Maori at Te Wananga O Aotearoa part-time for 3 years and then from 2014 to 2016 Nick collaborated in writing “The Traveller’s guide to Maori Place Names”. Nick is a regular Film Reviewer on ARTbop and has contributed an episodic novel “Temple’s Job”. Check out his recent short story Doppelganger Nick and his creative’s Q&A on ARTbop