Theroux, a celebrated documentarian of hard-hitting topics, interviewed some big names from the manosphere. There was HSTikkyTokky (HS), Sneako, Justin Waller, and Myron Gaines. Compared to these muscle-bound “alphas,” Theroux’s skinny frame and glasses scream “nerd!” And that’s his superpower. These boys didn’t stand a chance against Theroux’s signature style. He asks them hard questions and gives his subjects the space (and the silence) to explain themselves.

Behind their muscles, flashy cars, and (purportedly) insane body count, these influencers open up on fame, women, sex, conspiracies – and most importantly, themselves. Trying to follow their pretzel logic would require some impressive Double Think gymnastics. Heck, they even admit they don’t believe some of the trash they spout – it’s all for engagement and likes. 

Theroux’s gift is getting these boys (for boys they are) to show their inner selves. Unused to having an actual adult hold them accountable, as opposed to speaking to unseen fans behind a screen, they blab to Theroux. In so doing, they betray their hypocrisy and smallness. HS admitted his mum would slap him if she heard him talk. And it was pathetic seeing how quickly Myron Gains cracked. Seconds after declaring he wanted multiple wives, he backpedalled when his girlfriend Angie entered the room. 

What surprised me most was how deeply entrenched these influencers are in neoliberalism. For a bunch of guys who boast that they’ve taken the red pill, woken up from the Matrix, and now want to help other men “liberate” themselves from a corrupt system sucking them dry, they sure are huge proponents of a capitalist society. They all embody hustle culture; their entire online shtick is about monetising the attention economy, branding themselves, and getting rich. How hyper-capitalist is that?

I honestly wonder how people like Sneako and HS would react if someone pointed out that all their reference points for masculine liberation come from the Wachowski sisters, two transgender women. The fact that the Wachowskis left behind their privileged position of manhood to embrace their trans identities would probably make these guys sick. They’d have to do some serious Double Thinking to justify continuing to believe in anything from the Matrix franchise.

One thing I wished Theroux had done was take more time to ask these boys about their pasts. Considering that he was granted such rare access to these mainstream, media-shy influencers, it was a waste that he didn’t mine their psychological depths more. I was curious about their formative years. How did these guys become this way? Who were the men in their lives? What were their relationships like with their families? What do their parents think of them? And for Sneako, who converted to Islam recently, I would’ve liked to hear how his new faith holds with his worldview. 

HS was the only one whose parent got involved in the documentary. His mum appeared when Theroux visited him at home. Seeing her telling off HS (or Harrison, as she insisted) about his primitive views on women, was a revelation. It was so funny hearing him whining about “not wanting a juice, mummy!”, before his mum forced him to wipe a spill on the floor, in front of all his adoring viewers. Too bad she doesn’t make him clean the mess he’s made online.

After watching Inside the Manosphere, I thought about how Greg Jenner, a historian of celebrity culture, defined fame. One of Jenner’s criteria is that a truly famous person must saturate the cultural consciousness – basically, if your mum doesn’t recognise them, they’re not actually famous. The guys Theroux interviewed might not be known outside their demographic of young boys and men, but their power over that sphere is huge – as is their potential to cause damage by peddling poison.

That’s why documentaries like Theroux’s, that expose the manosphere to a wider audience, are critical. Theroux closes with this call to action: The Matrix is really the algorithmic prison these influencers create for their followers; it’s up to us to free those trapped inside.

Inside the Manosphere is now streaming on Netflix.

The post Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere – Small Men, Big Screens appeared first on Goggler.

In the documentary, we meet Shigeki, who charts his own path in practicing Ainu Puri (the Ainu way) as a way to rediscover his roots in Shiranuka, Hokkaido. We watch as he navigates his day-to-day while trying to stay true to his traditions. We also bear witness to his attempts at passing down various aspects of the Ainu culture – including the art of salmon fishing – to his son, Motoki. We follow Shigeki and his family as they endeavor to live as Ainu – with all that it entails – in modern day Japan.

The Ainu’s story is one that is reminiscent of indigenous people in almost every part of the world: lost land, language, culture, and rights. It is a story that Takeshi Fukunaga captures with a journalistic eye and cinematic ambition.

We caught up with Takeshi Fukunaga at this year’s edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival where we spoke to him about his deeply moving and profoundly human documentary.

*The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Umapagan Ampikaipakan: As a Malaysian, I knew very little about the Ainu before watching this documentary. How much awareness is there in Japan with regards to their story?

Takeshi Fukunaga: I can only speak from my personal point of view, but most people have recognized the term “Ainu,” and acknowledge them as indigenous people, but only few people know anything further. There was a very popular manga called Golden Kamuy, and that really helped introduce the Ainu to the general public. They know that there are these people in Hokkaido, and that they have their own culture, but there is still a lot of work when it comes to raising awareness and educating people.

UA: When did you first encounter this story and what made you want to tell it?

TF: I was born and raised in Hokkaido, so I was aware of the Ainu people. But there was no education at school about them. Just one or two sentences acknowledging their existence. I knew very little, and even though I had some Ainu classmates, we didn’t know how to talk about it. It was almost taboo. We didn’t know enough about our history, we didn’t know enough to be able to discuss it.

It was only after I move the the U.S. that I realized how little I knew. I felt ashamed. That’s how I started my own learning process. And it was making these films (both Ainu Mosir and Ainu Puri) that was a big education for me.

UA: Watching Ainu Puri made me think about the many uncomfortable parallels between the Ainu people and the Native Americans, and even the indigenous people in Malaysia. Watching this can’t help but change you. What does making something like this do to you? How did it change you?

TF: First of all, I now have an extensive knowledge about the Ainu. I have a good sense of who they are and the struggles they face in this day and age. But I think the biggest lesson for me was the sensitivity of making a movie about Ainu as a non-Ainu. It is something you can apply to just about anything, whether it’s an immigrant story, or one about the Korean-Japanese population, or any of the minority groups that are still very much underrepresented in Japanese society today.

I truly believe that art is something that can transcend those borders. That’s why I do it. That’s why I make films in the first place. But learning about that sensitivity was the biggest lesson for me as a person.

UA: Which brings me nicely to my next question which was about the mental notes you made while making this movie. Was there a list of things that you knew you didn’t want to do as an outsider to the Ainu?

TF: The very reason I made my second feature, Ainu Mosir, was to update the representation of Ainu in film.

UA: Which was the first time that an all Ainu cast was in a movie together?

TF: Yes. That is correct. It was the first time in history that there was an Ainu movie starring Ainu people. They have had very tiny roles in the past. But this is the first time it’s happened in a non-documentary film.

And so going into that, I was very careful not to impose my preconceived notions about Ainu, because the last thing I wanted to do is to enhance the stereotype.

That was my biggest mental note.

But despite knowing that, there are still many, many pitfalls that you can easily fall into. And it’s not just with the Ainu, but when you portray anyone who isn’t you. There is a danger in imposing your own ideas about who someone is. So even though I was careful while shooting it, in the editing room I realized that there were some choices that weren’t as fair as I wanted them to be.

UA: So as a documentary filmmaker, did you go into this with a plan, or did you just do in, listen, and see where the story took you?

TF: Well we had some plans. At least as far as what we wanted to focus on and prioritize over other things. And that was to humanize them and portray them for who they are, as they are, instead of something that is different or unusual.

As far as the story goes, I didn’t know what the core narrative was going to be when I started shooting. But as we went along I realized that this was going to be about that father/son relationship and how he passes on, not only Ainu culture, but his own knowledge as a person.

UA: I think that whole sequence of him taking his son fishing for the first time was really incredible. And the one thing that stood out for me was how cinematic your documentary was. A lot of documentaries don’t feel very cinematic. Can you talk to me about you process and why it was important for it to look the way it did?

TF: I agree. I feel like many documentaries focus on capturing the moment and the message, but not so much about how to capture it. And me and my cinematographer (Eric Shirai) had some discussions about how we wanted to make it as cinematic as possible without altering reality too much. The license we gave ourselves was to ask them to do something, or redo something, or wait until we had the camera in position. As long as we weren’t asking them to do something they wouldn’t ordinarily do. We weren’t shy about asking them to do something instead of just following them around.

UA: When you’re making something like this, I was wondering if “authenticity” is something that you strive for? Or is it irrelevant?

TF: Not so much. I don’t know really. Once we are there, as a camera crew, we are already changing their reality. They will say and do things in a different way from what they would without the presence of a camera. We can try and make it as authentic as possible, but at the same time it’s not reality, it’s a film.

UA: Questions of identity are very, very difficult to ascertain. In all of the time that you spent with the Ainu, did you get a better understanding of how they feel about national identity versus cultural identity? Where do they see themselves with regards to being Japanese?

TF: That’s a very tough question. First of all, seeing themselves as a Japanese person, or citizen, or anything Japanese, differs from individual to individual. A lot of it has to do with how they live, and how they speak, and the customs they grew up with. It isn’t something patriotic or nationalistic. It’s just the natural environment that they became most familiar with.

Ainu cultural practices are not a part of their daily life at this point. They do it because they want to keep it. But it’s not a part of the ecosystem of their lives. The practices, the prayers, the hunter/gatherer lifestyle is so far away from how they live now. So they have to make a serious effort to keep that culture alive.

So in a way, they choose to be Ainu. They are born with those biological and physical roots. But as far as a psychological identity, or cultural identity, they have to make an effort, unlike a regular Japanese person.

UA: There seemed to be a conscious effort on your part to not make this feel like an activist documentary. But were you ever tempted to be a little more political?

TF: No. Whether it’s fiction or documentary, for directors to use the medium to say what they want to say, treads a thin moral line. For me to make a political statement using this documentary didn’t feel right. I have my opinion, but the best I can do is to to be a medium for Shigeki to say what he wants to say. But if I pick and choose, and then edit the film to send some strong political message, that would not be who he actually is. The best thing I can do is to show people his position.

UA: I have to talk to you a little bit about your other work as well. Could you talk to me about how you maneuver between something like Shogun and Tokyo Vice and Ainu Puri. Because I’m assuming both those things are so totally different, right?

TF: Yeah. Very different. Very different. First of all, those other things let me pay my bills. Unfortunately, independent films don’t really pay the bills for me. And I’m so grateful for that financial stability.

Those big productions did help me grow as a director. On those sets, something always comes up. And when something comes up, it’s totally different when you have a 20 person crew or when you have hundreds of people waiting for your decision. Every minute costs a lot more money and it’s very nerve-wracking. So having done that has made me a lot calmer in those emergency situations. I’m a lot quicker when it comes to making decisions now. It was a great learning experience.

But also, my role in those productions is very different. Even as a director, you are basically serving the vision of the showrunner. And so working in that situation made it clear to me why I had to do these smaller, independent productions for myself. Otherwise why do this?

I am very thankful. I enjoy being able to go back and forth between two very different worlds. And I think each one gives me a very objective view of the other.

We caught a screening of Ainu Puri at the 2024 edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival.

The post Ainu Puri: We Speak to Director Takeshi Fukunaga appeared first on Goggler.

The Disney+ Earth Day special Explorer: The Last Tepui, from National Geographic, follows elite climber Alex Honnold (Free Solo) and a world-class climbing team led by National Geographic Explorer and climber Mark Synnott on a grueling mission deep in the Amazon jungle as they attempt a first-ascent climb up a 1000 foot sheer cliff. Their goal is to deliver legendary biologist and National Geographic Explorer Bruce Means to the top of a massive “island in the sky” known as a tepui. The team must first trek miles of treacherous jungle terrain to help Dr. Means complete his life’s work, searching the cliff wall for undiscovered animal species. The one-hour special is the newest installment of National Geographic’s long-running Explorer series. This Earth Day, learn why the tepuis – much like the Galapagos – are a treasure trove of biodiversity worth protecting.

We also spoke to Free Solo‘s Alex Honnold about his role in this expedition, legendary biologist Dr. Bruce Means about what could be his last expedition to the tepui, the directors of The Last Tepui, Taylor Rees and Renan Ozturk, and expedition leader Mark Synnott.

Explorer: The Last Tepui is out now, exclusively on Disney Plus Hotstar and Disney Plus.

The post Explorer: The Last Tepui – We Speak to Biologist and Climber Fuco Pisani appeared first on Goggler.

The Disney+ Earth Day special Explorer: The Last Tepui, from National Geographic, follows elite climber Alex Honnold (Free Solo) and a world-class climbing team led by National Geographic Explorer and climber Mark Synnott on a grueling mission deep in the Amazon jungle as they attempt a first-ascent climb up a 1000 foot sheer cliff. Their goal is to deliver legendary biologist and National Geographic Explorer Bruce Means to the top of a massive “island in the sky” known as a tepui. The team must first trek miles of treacherous jungle terrain to help Dr. Means complete his life’s work, searching the cliff wall for undiscovered animal species. The one-hour special is the newest installment of National Geographic’s long-running Explorer series. This Earth Day, learn why the tepuis – much like the Galapagos – are a treasure trove of biodiversity worth protecting.

We also spoke to Free Solo‘s Alex Honnold about his role in this expedition, legendary biologist Dr. Bruce Means about what could be his last expedition to the tepui, and the directors of The Last Tepui, Taylor Rees and Renan Ozturk.

Explorer: The Last Tepui streams on Earth Day, Friday, April 22, exclusively on Disney Plus Hotstar and Disney Plus.

The post Explorer: The Last Tepui – We Speak to Expedition Leader Mark Synnott appeared first on Goggler.

The Disney+ Earth Day special Explorer: The Last Tepui, from National Geographic, follows elite climber Alex Honnold (Free Solo) and a world-class climbing team led by National Geographic Explorer and climber Mark Synnott on a grueling mission deep in the Amazon jungle as they attempt a first-ascent climb up a 1000 foot sheer cliff. Their goal is to deliver legendary biologist and National Geographic Explorer Bruce Means to the top of a massive “island in the sky” known as a tepui. The team must first trek miles of treacherous jungle terrain to help Dr. Means complete his life’s work, searching the cliff wall for undiscovered animal species. The one-hour special is the newest installment of National Geographic’s long-running Explorer series. This Earth Day, learn why the tepuis – much like the Galapagos – are a treasure trove of biodiversity worth protecting.

We also spoke to Free Solo‘s Alex Honnold about his role in this expedition, and legendary biologist Dr. Bruce Means, about what could be his last expedition to the tepuis.

Explorer: The Last Tepui streams on Earth Day, Friday, April 22, exclusively on Disney Plus Hotstar and Disney Plus.

The post Explorer: The Last Tepui – We Speak to Directors Taylor Rees and Renan Ozturk appeared first on Goggler.

The Disney+ Earth Day special Explorer: The Last Tepui, from National Geographic, follows elite climber Alex Honnold (Free Solo) and a world-class climbing team led by National Geographic Explorer and climber Mark Synnott on a grueling mission deep in the Amazon jungle as they attempt a first-ascent climb up a 1000 foot sheer cliff. Their goal is to deliver legendary biologist and National Geographic Explorer Bruce Means to the top of a massive “island in the sky” known as a tepui. The team must first trek miles of treacherous jungle terrain to help Dr. Means complete his life’s work, searching the cliff wall for undiscovered animal species. The one-hour special is the newest installment of National Geographic’s long-running Explorer series. This Earth Day, learn why the tepuis – much like the Galapagos – are a treasure trove of biodiversity worth protecting.

We also spoke to Free Solo‘s Alex Honnold about his role in this expedition. You can check out that interview here.

Explorer: The Last Tepui streams on Earth Day, Friday, 22nd April, exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar and Disney+.

The post Explorer: The Last Tepui – We Speak To Legendary Biologist, Dr. Bruce Means appeared first on Goggler.

The Disney+ Earth Day special Explorer: The Last Tepui, from National Geographic, follows elite climber Alex Honnold (Free Solo) and a world-class climbing team led by National Geographic Explorer and climber Mark Synnott on a grueling mission deep in the Amazon jungle as they attempt a first-ascent climb up a 1000 foot sheer cliff. Their goal is to deliver legendary biologist and National Geographic Explorer Bruce Means to the top of a massive “island in the sky” known as a tepui. The team must first trek miles of treacherous jungle terrain to help Dr. Means complete his life’s work, searching the cliff wall for undiscovered animal species. The one-hour special is the newest installment of National Geographic’s long-running Explorer series. This Earth Day, learn why the tepuis – much like the Galapagos – are a treasure trove of biodiversity worth protecting.

Explorer: The Last Tepui streams on Earth Day, Friday, April 22, exclusively on Disney Plus Hotstar and Disney Plus.

The post Explorer: The Last Tepui – We Speak To Oscar Winning Climber Alex Honnold appeared first on Goggler.

A Whole New World

Welcome To Earth feels like a new breed of nature documentary. Not one that is told to audiences by experts or academics. But rather by a celebrity who is himself experiencing and seeing these things for the first time. Say what you want about Will Smith and his current obsession of over sharing on the Internet, but his enthusiasm and curiosity always shines through in this series.

This series is a breath of fresh air at a time when streaming content feels like it is mostly caught up in the seedy side of humanity, with Netflix pumping out Tiger King sequels and spinoffs, or special “limited series” murder whodunnits. A series like Welcome To Earth is a welcome change of pace and a timely reminder of how little we know about this little blue marble of ours.

Of course it helps that the series is created and executive produced by enigmatic filmmaker Darren Aronofsky. (Which also happens to be his second time working with Will Smith and National Geographic after 2018’s documentary series One Strange Rock, in 2018.)

The other thing about Welcome To Earth is the absolutely beautiful cinematography we’ve all come to expect from a National Geographic production. Sweeping aerial shots of a bellowing volcano. Slow motion footage of an explosive festival in South America. Bright blue bioluminescent creatures in a lake. Disco neon purple squirrels. Dizzying lights 700 feet under water. And that’s just from the first two episodes! No one does it better than a National Geographic camera crew.

Go the Distance

The one downside in Welcome To Earth is that it each episode feels a little too short. A 30 minute run time means that not enough detail is there. There isn’t an explanation as to what that festival in South America was about. Or how those blue bioluminescent specks in the water happen. Or why those squirrels looked bright purple under UV light. Or what those dizzying lights 700 feet under water means.

There is, however, an opportunity there. My recommendation is to watch this series with an open and curious mind, and maybe even a pen and paper. Write down the questions that your inner curious child (or your actual external child) might have, and look it up. Use each episode as a jumping off point. God knows that’s what I did. 

It’s the same complaint I had with the first season of Jeff Goldblum’s series. Sure it was fun hanging out with Jeff Goldblum and listening to him talk about ice cream, and RVs, and sneakers. But the series never felt like it went past a surface level discussion. It never felt like it would actually indulge the audience in any of the research it found. It was as if they were scared they would stumble out of “magazine show” format and into “documentary” territory.

But man that National Geographic camera crew sure makes a difference in Welcome To Earth.

Reflection

Welcome to Earth is a great watch and Will Smith is the absolute right person for the job. He is funny, warm, curious, engaged, and self reflective. All the things you want in a host that isn’t an “expert” in a subject. Why? Because there is a certain level of humility that is required when hosting a show like this. You need to be able to admit that you don’t know anything about the subject but that you’re willing to learn about it and experience it.

The series is emotional, funny, and absolutely beautiful to watch. It really does remind you that despite being in the 21st century, there is still so much left to learn about this place we all call home. Like how New York moves up and down up to 14 inches every day because of the moon. I know right? It blew my mind too.

The post Welcome to Earth is National Geographic For the TikTok Generation appeared first on Goggler.

We spoke with ‘Twas The Fight Before Christmas director Becky Read about her documentary, her compelling subject, and what she hopes the audience will take away from it.

‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas follows the story of a North Idaho neighborhood turned upside down by one man’s obsession with bringing Christmas cheer to all, through the biggest community Christmas event America has ever seen. Christmas-loving lawyer Jeremy Morris’ plan hits a snag when the home owners’ association informs him that the event violates the rules of the neighborhood. A contentious fight over the festivities erupts and things snowball out of control. As the situation escalates, the film asks the question, who wins when different rights and interests collide?

Director Becky Read pieces together the polarized perspectives in this quirky Christmas tale about freedoms, with a message about differences and tolerance at its heart.

‘Twas The Fight Before Christmas is now streaming on Apple TV Plus.

The post ‘Twas The Fight Before Christmas: We Speak to Director Becky Read appeared first on Goggler.

The year was 1969 and the Beatles hadn’t performed live since their world tour in ’66. The band commissioned a director, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, to shoot their journey in putting together a new album and their eventual return to the stage. This footage was part of a three pronged comeback strategy that included the album release, a TV special, and their first public performance in years. But by the time Lindsay-Hogg’s work finally came out in 1970 – after numerous delays and alleged meddling by the band members – the end result was more of a cinéma vérité installation than an actual documentary.

Making things worse was the fact that the Beatles had just broken up. This layer of finality meant that Let It Be was long perceived as a work that was gloomy and grim, and forever cursed to be looked upon only with hindsight, with all of the baggage that comes with the breaking up of the Beatles.

And that was that. Or at least it was for the last 51 years.

Enter lifelong Beatles fan Peter Jackson who, along with his crack team of movie magicians, has spent the last few years squirreled away in some editing suite, painstakingly plowing through nearly 60 hours of film and 150 hours of audio, watching, editing, and restoring everything that Michael Lindsay-Hogg shot in order to give us the truest possible reflection of who the Beatles were in their final days as a band.

The result of which is The Beatles: Get Back, an epic, eight hour spectacle that drops over three nights on Disney Plus Hotstar, and a completely new take on something we all thought we had closed the book on.

Almost Famous

Umapagan Ampikaipakan: I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a review or just an unrestrained stream of emotion. Watching The Beatles: Get Back had me in tears. I had to keep reminding myself that these weren’t actors playing the Beatles, that it wasn’t a reenactment, that it was all real.

Now don’t get me wrong. I understand the science and skill that goes into such a restoration. I have a pretty good idea of how it all works. And yet, watching it, I couldn’t help but think of it as being something magical. I couldn’t believe that this is something that exists.

There’s a finite amount of imagery that we have of the Beatles at their prime. As fans, we’ve seen all of it. The newsreel footage. The interviews. Their appearance on Ed Sullivan. All of it. But we’ve never seen them like this. Not like this. Not in high-definition and in living colour. We’ve never heard them like this. Candid. Unrehearsed. Their voices crystal clear. Not drowned out by guitars or screaming fans. This is lore made new. This is sublime.

Bahir Yeusuff: I knew there would be tears coming into this, but I really wasn’t expecting how I would be so completely moved even the most mundane things. You’re right, this is probably the most intimate we’ve ever been able to see this band of rock gods. The way George Martin would have seen them. The way the engineers and roadies would have seen them.

All of this was (obviously) before the age of social media and the honesty, and just the absolute reality of it all, is laid bare for us to see. And it is so fascinating. I get it, social media is just as curated and designed as a live performance, but it feels like there is even less of a facade here. The Beatles aren’t hanging out with strangers. They aren’t trying to look cool and composed. This is just them rehearsing and writing songs without the need to put up walls in order to protect themselves from the public.

The big thing that Peter Jackson did here was to provide a narrative structure to the footage, which is something Michael Lindsay-Hogg never did in Let It Be. Here there is a bigger narrative arc: the band have got this thing they want to do, they have a limited time to do it in, and they don’t have all the pieces in place yet. There is a timeline, and there is tension, and there is drama. All the perfect ingredients of a great piece of fiction. Only it isn’t.

Context Is Everything

UA: After a 10 minute prologue, a brief history of the Beatles if you will, Get Back begins the exact same way as Let It Be, with shots of their road manager, Mal Evans, setting up the soundstage before the band arrives. The difference being that there is context here. Jackson uses title cards to introduce us to the various players as well as set the scene. It’s still very fly-on-the-wall, but there is not this narrative device that guides us through the piece.

Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s Let It Be was an avant-garde piece of observational filmmaking. Peter Jackson’s Get Back has a plot. (The first part even ends on a cliffhanger!) He approaches this as a storyteller. Before this, I didn’t know that the guy in the maroon jacket was their road manager, Mal Evans. Heck, I didn’t even know that the jacket he was wearing was maroon!

BY: And that context makes all the difference. You realize that this band is so much more than just the Fab Four. Mal Evans was helping write the words to songs as Paul and John were pulling them together. He was no longer just the random guy hitting the anvil with a hammer in Maxwell’s Silver Hammer. That context that Peter Jackson put back into the footage helps the audience really get into it. God knows, it certainly helped me.

I also was not expecting to see (and hear!) so much of Lindsay-Hogg in the footage. 

UA: Which highlights just what Peter Jackson was trying to do with this restoration. Yes, it is an unvarnished look at the creation myth behind the Beatles’ last album. Yes, it is a character study of the dynamics behind these musical geniuses. But by including Michael Lindsay-Hogg, by making him a part of this movie, it is also an insiders take on the making of his documentary. Which feels like an attempt by Jackson to vindicate Let It Be by showing us just how impossible it must have been at the time to make something that appeased everyone and every interest.

Searching For Good Times

UA: The Beatles: Get Back shows us just how important time is. Because we need time to tell a good story. But we also need time to be able to look back and reflect on our past and our memories.

The documentary confirms what we long suspected. That the allegedly tense moments between the band – one exchange between McCartney and Harrison is often highlighted as being predictive of their imminent demise – were in fact the kind of familiar bickering that is commonplace in a family. That tense moment between Paul and George, when given time to breathe, when played out in its entirety, feels like the kind of open and honest creative conflicts that occur when artists collaborate. There is an end to that conversation that we don’t get to hear in Let It Be. And it will completely change your perspective.

BY: Get Back also had a lot of moments of genuine joy in that rehearsal space. And quite a few of them included Yoko Ono! After watching that first episode, I no longer saw her as the villain she’s been made out to be.

Watching this, I couldn’t help but compare it to Let It Be. I found myself constantly thinking about the editing decisions that Lindsay-Hogg must have had to make in order to get it all down to his 80 minute runtime. I also couldn’t stop myself from thinking about what I know happens later as Lindsay-Hogg and the band discuss what form the film would take, or what they would do as their big performance to cap the film. 

There are also many moments that would only be of interest to us all these years later. Like how the Apple Records publisher comes by to show the band the publishing rights that they’ve gotten. Or when John Lennon is discussing the concert set design with a designer. They seem mundane, but it really goes to show that there really was a lot involved in being a Beatle, and that it was all on them. 

It’s those small moments, that would normally have ended up on the cutting room floor, that I found the most fascinating. Lindsay-Hogg pitching to the band about performing in Libya. Or how the recording equipment was loaned to the band from George Harrison’s home studio. Or the fact that Eric Clapton’s guitar abilities were being discussed. There are just so many little tidbits of interesting things that had me constantly reaching for the rewind button.

Get Back Jojo

BY: And then there were these moments of pure, honest-to-God magic. Like when Paul McCartney pulls the song “Get Back” from the ether. I had goosebumps. I had to pause, and go back, and rewatch that several times. To see a song so iconic just happen in front of your very eyes was astounding.

UA: That moment with Get Back, when they’re under pressure to come up with enough music for an album, is not something you can ever hope to recreate. It is genius captured on tape. For history. For posterity. It cannot be explained. It cannot be described. It just happens. You needed to be there. And we were. For that alone, I am forever grateful to Peter Jackson.

But I want to go back to what you were saying about just how involved the band was in every aspect of their brand. After Brian Epstein’s untimely passing, the four boys took on managerial duties themselves. And they were boys. Here they were – aged between 25 and 28, having already lived full lives, with wives and ex-wives, through death and scandal, and very well aware of their influence – not just creating revolutionary music, but also moving the needle on the business of music. 

With Get Back, we get more than just a glimpse of that. We get to see them at work. We see why the Beatles were lightning in a bottle. Why this combination of these four individuals worked in a way unlike any band before or any band since. 

BY: There is so much here to savour if you are a fan of the Beatles. But I will admit that it is long. Besides being a marathon of emotions, an eight hour documentary is just extraordinarily long. I won’t go so far as to say that watching it was boring, or a slog, but it really does require some stamina on your part.

I understand how, as a super-fan, Peter Jackson may have found everything precious, but at the same time, I wonder if there isn’t just a little bit of fat in here that could be trimmed out to get it to a more palatable runtime. I only say that because I want people to get into this, because I know it’ll be hard to convince someone to sit down for two and a half hours at a time to watch a band pull together an album and a performance.

You’re going to disagree with me because you want all 60 hours of footage right?

UA: Oh no. I agree with you. The reason this works so well is because it has authorial intent. 60 hours of raw footage doesn’t mean anything unless it’s been constructed to tell a story. Which was the problem with Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s version. Given all the restrictions placed on him at the time, Let It Be was less of a movie and more of something that captured a mood.

That said, it feels a little unfair comparing the two movies because Michael Lindsay-Hogg just didn’t have the creative freedom, time, and hindsight that Jackson had. 

The Beatles: Get Back is a movie that could only exist now. 

BY: Enough time has passed that we’re no longer coloured by the infighting and the negativity that followed the end of the band. As fans, we are at that point where we can look back, acknowledge, and enjoy the genius of these four guys, without being swayed by all the ugliness that came after. At least that’s where I find myself. These three episodes will allow me a look into a very specific moment and enjoy it for what it was and for what it is.

UA: I also want to make a case for why this is an important watch. Even if you aren’t a fan of the Beatles, I believe that this is time well spent. That it is a commitment worth making.

We’re always trying to get to the heart of what makes a genius. For decades, there have been movies and documentaries, books and journalism, that have been dedicated to trying to explain what it is, how it works, and whether or not it can be replicated. 

Watching this might be the closest thing we have to experiencing genius at work. It doesn’t have any of the artifice that Ron Howard needed to create in a movie like A Beautiful Mind. It doesn’t need to use metaphor as a way to explain it to the rest of us common folk.

Here, we are allowed to bear witness to how their brains work. They aren’t just messing about in a room when they come up with “Get Back.” They’re painting, building, inventing the sonic landscape of our lives as they allow their mouths, hands, and legs to channel everything they think and feel into sound and music. 

I said it before and I’ll say it again. You just need to be there. And for the first time, we’re given that opportunity. To be there. To stay as long as we like. To take in all of this wonder. To be moved and inspired.

I’m always lamenting the fact that I was born too late and therefore missed out on so much greatness. I never got the chance to see Queen at Wembley. Or the Rolling Stones at their prime. Or experience the Beatles for the first time at their first time. Watching this made me feel different.

So, forget The Lord of the Rings, and The Frighteners, and King Kong, and those infernal Hobbit movies. Peter Jackson’s legacy lies with both They Shall Not Grow Old and The Beatles: Get Back. The function of cinema is to entertain, enlighten, and influence. It serves to direct us as a society. And what he has accomplished with both of these documentaries is nothing short of miraculous. They eliminate the gulf between then and now, between past and present, showing us the world in a fresh light and teaching us something new about ourselves.

Click here to check out our review of Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s Let It Be.

The Beatles: Get Back will stream on Disney Plus Hotstar over three days on November 25, 26, and 27.

The post The Beatles: Get Back Is an Unqualified Triumph appeared first on Goggler.