•
Rating: Well yes, the Beatles also won the Oscar. They received it with this film in the category “Best Original Score” in 1971. The Oscar,perhaps, made the breakup a little less bitter.
This film was McCartney's idea. After a difficult period at the end of 1968,which he would talk about in “Let It Be” (“My Times of Troubles”), Paul,revived thanks to his partner Linda, went to find his three companions, who didn't want to do anything anymore (as diplomatically put by Ian McDonald). With his enthusiasm that – for better or worse – never abandoned him, Paul told them:“Guys, we can't just sit here doing nothing. We are the Beatles!” He pestered them so much that they eventually gave in. They accepted the new project:a new album.
But Paul's enthusiasm didn't stop there. The idea occurred to him to make a film of the rehearsals that would lead to the new album. In hindsight, the idea is brilliant; at the time it was crazy. I've never understood why the other three accepted. Filming began on January 2, 1969. Michael LindsayHoggwas chosen as the director.
The result is a masterpiece (of sincerity). I can't define it as anything less than a masterpiece. It is truly a schizophrenic testament (very sad and very sweet) of one of the most beautiful collaborations in music history– “our sad slow-motion death” (as Lennon said).If I were a director, I would make a remake of this film with real actors. Perhaps that way, this film could be known by everyone. For me it would be a worldwide success. The script has already been written by the Beatles, and as a drama it has few equals.
If the greatness of an actor is seen by how well they“don't act”, then the Beatles are among the greatest actors in film history. Probably Paul thought that, with the cameras in front of them, the four would behave as theyshould, and not as they had done during the “White” sessions. He was very wrong. The Beatles had the courage to quarrel without any restraint and shame – like spoiled little brothers. Lennon defined the sessions of “Let It Be” “the most miserable ever done, a hell”; “none of us were interested in the rehearsals and in the film, you can see”. If in this hell and in this lack of interest, the Beatles managed to produce an almost-masterpiece, this says, once again, how miraculous their union was.
Even George Martin – one of those English gentlemen with a bowler hat who doesn't say “ouch” even when he gets a hammer on his finger – faced with yet another wild argument, raised his voice: “Enough! I'm leaving! I don't want anything to do with them anymore!”. Ringo said: “At that time, I think nobody could stand us anymore. Instead of making songs, they were spending time in endless discussions. John wanted to do one thing,Paul another, George another. It was a general disintegration”.
In the film, there are very beautiful moments, when they're not arguing but playing. My favorite moment is when John and Paul work on“I've Got a Feeling”. Paul tells John how to do the progression with the guitar. John performs immediately. Then Paul tells him to lower it. John understands right away and Paul nods his head to say it’s good. Those two understood each other with a glance. As one of EMI's sound engineers said: “When they worked together, it was as if each one knew what was in the other's mind. Theirs was musical telepathy. And we were enchanted by it”.
Unfortunately, these moments go hand in handwithunpleasant moments.
The first is the famous argument between Paul and George,just 4 days after filming began. The song is “Two of Us”. Paul is not satisfied with George's work. He starts acting like a schoolteacher and with the bass indicates the notes for him to play. George plays the chord. Paul keeps talking too much,and George says to him: “Are you implying that I'm incompetent?”. Paul replies: “I'm not implying anything. You're the one being strange”. A few more words, andfinally quiet George said a phrase famous as the most
celebrated Beatles songs: “Okay, I'll play whatever you want, or I won't play anything, if you don't want. I'll do whatever you want”. Ringo is shown with his sad eyes. John, who without cameras would probably have defused the tension with one of his jokes, remains silent and his face shows pain. Perhaps, despite arguments in previous years, it had never come to this. 4 days later,George said he had decided to leave the group. This scene was not included in the final cut. George, a few days later, changed his mind.
The second sad moment, for me worse than the previous one, is the recording of “Let It Be”.Paul sings at the piano andJohn plays the bass. John's eyes are filled with bitterness,andhe expresses his anger by deliberately playing the wrong notes.Ian McDonald, a man of extraordinary discretion, would definethis action byJohn as “frightening”. I'll refrain from saying how I would define it …
The saddest moment,however, remains when Paul speaks to John (probably about how to develop a song).John, cigarette in hand, politespan>idy looks at him,but his eyes ooze disinterest and almost disdain for his companion. John never counted to ten before speaking,andcould be cruel and sharp like few others with Paul. But this was a sign of affection for his friend:one doesn't argue and insult those one doesn't care about. Seeing him so icy and rational said only one thing: to John, Paul didn't matter to him any more.
These three scenes are filmed, but this is stuff for debutantes. In the final cut, the wilder arguments, with vulgar insults, were left out because it was decided to make a “ polite film” . Ringo and Paul denied consent for the full release on DVD …
The atmosphere became so tense that,after a month, none of them thought any more about completing the record, and none of them thought of the Beatles as a group. As McCartney recounts in the Anthology: “In the end, someone got the idea to go and do a concert on the roof. And then all go home”. “And all go home” means: to announce the end of the group.
And came the famous rooftop concert at Apple on Saville Row. As Ringo said: “When there was the music, the nonsense (jealousies, rancor, and quarrels) flew out the window”. Andthe nonsense really flew away. A splendid concert.
The most beautiful scene is when Lennon sings “Don’t Let Me Down”. In the third verse, John forgets the words and says something like: “And this abbrai that as and blue jey go”. Ringo bursts into laughter. Then John smiles looking at Paul, and Paul returns the smile. They still loved each other. That’s how I want to remember them.
At the end of the last song “Get Back”,John,who really plays his part very well,says: “I want to thank you on behalf of the group, and we hope we've passed the audition”. And everyone laughs. It wasan audition that lasted7 years(1962-1969),brilliantly passed. After the breakup.
But why all these arguments and then the breakup? Experts have various answers: Lennon's mad love for Yoko (“which made me realize the Beatles were a trap”, as John said), and George’s bitterness for always being sidelined (“before listening to one of my songs, Paul wanted me to listen to 59 of his”). But it wasn't just that.
Mark Hertsgaard understood it: “Those arguments were also their way of releasing tension from the terrible personal pressures they felt as the Beatles. Every album of theirs was received and celebrated wildly by the public and critics, and they felt compelled to make an album each time bigger than the previous one. They had lost the serenity and joy in making music”. As George Harrison said in a 1979 interview: “People gave us success, money, and fame. We had to give people our nervous system. We needed to end that Beatles madness, to find the space to breathe, and regain a more human dimension”.
For John(and for George), the end of the Beatles was liberation. Paul, however, experienced it terribly. As he said in a 1990 interview: “I stopped shaving. I didn’t get out of bed anymore. If it weren’t for Linda, I would have ended up on heroin”. He was very intelligent and knew that, without the collaboration of his friends, he wouldn’t do anything at the same level as the things done with the Beatles. As he prophetically sings in “Carry That Weight”, one of his most beautiful pieces:
“In the middle of the celebration you broke down. Boy, you’re gonna carry that weight. Boy, you’re gonna carry that weight for a long time”.
Loading comments slowly
