Peter Jacksonstill hasn’t had enough of The Beatles. While Sam Mendes messes around with his fictionalized event movie, Jackson’s tapped into the real stuff, straight from the source. Jackson’s production company has restored and remastered the 1995 documentary series The Beatles Anthology (after previously restoring the doc Let It Be and making his own docuseries with footage from that period, Get Back). The newly cleaned-up doc will premiere on Disney+ November 26, and will even feature a brand-new ninth episode.
The Beatles Anthology doc reunited the three living Beatles at the time (Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the since-deceased George Harrison) to reflect on their time in the band and to work on some “new” songs (at the time, “Free As A Bird” was released as a single; since then, Jackson helped put together “Now And Then,” the “final Beatles song” that was cobbled together from the same Anthology sessions). “The series’ original eight episodes trace the legendary journey that began in Liverpool and Hamburg and soon captivated the world. They bring to life the timeless stories—of Beatlemania, the band’s groundbreaking arrival in the USA, their role at the forefront of the 1960s counterculture, their spiritual exploration in India, and their eventual breakup. And through it all, the constant thread: the music, always the music,” a description from the band’s website reads. “There is now a completely new Episode Nine, including unseen behind-the-scenes footage of Paul, George and Ringo coming together between 1994 and 1995 to work on The Anthology and reflecting on their shared life as The Beatles.”
In addition to the docuseries, the group will also release a 25th anniversary version of The Beatles Anthology book on October 14 and a restored version of the musical Anthology on November 21. The expanded collection features a new, fourth volume which “includes new mixes of The Beatles’ Anthology-associated hit singles,” per the website. “The GRAMMY-winning ‘Free As A Bird’ and ‘Real Love’ have been given new life by their original producer, Jeff Lynne, using de-mixed John Lennon vocals. Both singles’ new mixes are placed alongside the band’s most recent UK No. 1 hit single, 2023’s GRAMMY-winning ‘Now And Then,’ the last Beatles song. All three singles were created from rudimentary home demos John recorded in the 1970s, later completed with vocal and instrumental parts recorded by Paul, George and Ringo.” The fourth volume also “includes track notes written by Kevin Howlett and an introduction compiled from 1996 interviews recorded with The Beatles’ close friend and adviser Derek Taylor.” If you’re a Beatles nut like Peter Jackson is, you’ll surely be excited about these new treasures.
