Peter Jackson's Beatles Documentary To Be Released On 4 September

Peter Jackson's much-anticipated Beatles documentary is to be released in cinemas on 4 September.

Unlike the director's epic The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, there hasn't been millions spent on CGI and an A-list cast for the film. Rather, The Beatles: Get Back is culled from 55 hours of unseen studio footage and tells the story behind the recording of the band's final album, Let It Be.

PA

It has been well documented that the recording of the album was marred by divisions and tensions within the band, with George Harrison once describing it as 'the low of all time'. But Oscar-winning director Jackson said reviewing the footage revealed that the recording process wasn't as hostile as some thought.

According to the BBC he said: "I was relieved to discover the reality is very different to the myth.

"Sure, there's moments of drama - but none of the discord this project has long been associated with.

"Watching John, Paul, George and Ringo work together, creating now-classic songs from scratch, is not only fascinating - it's funny, uplifting and surprisingly intimate."

Speaking about the film last year, the 58-year-old director described it as the 'ultimate fly on the wall experience'.

He said: "The 55 hours of never-before-seen footage and 140 hours of audio made available to us ensures this movie will be the ultimate 'fly on the wall' experience... it's like a time machine transports us back to 1969, and we get to sit in the studio watching these four friends make great music together.

"After reviewing all the footage and audio that Michael Lindsay-Hogg shot 18 months before they broke up, it's simply an amazing historical treasure trove."

PA

Weirdly enough, this is not the first time there has been a crossover between the band and The Lord Of The Rings. Back in the wild old 60s, The Beatles attempted to obtain the film rights, with John Lennon wanting to play Gollum and Paul McCartney fancying himself as Frodo. But the author of the books, J.R.R. Tolkien, was having none of it.

Now, if you're calling bulls**t, I totally understand, but Peter Jackson himself confirmed it in a 2002 interview with Wellington's Evening Post.

According to the BBC, he said: "It was something John was driving and J.R.R. Tolkien still had the film rights at that stage but he didn't like the idea of The Beatles doing it. So he killed it."

You can't help but feel we all lost out there. Perhaps they could have incorporated some of their songs into the film.

Paul 'Frodo' McCartney: "Help! I need somebody. Help! Not just anybody. I need Samwise Gamgee!"

Then again, maybe Tolkien was right.

Topics: TV and Film, Music, TV and Film, Music

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey