Photo: Getty Images Europe
The groundbreaking Beatles documentary series Get Back left the Emmy Awards this past weekend with five trophies.
Director Peter Jackson and producers Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, Olivia Harrison, Clare Olssen and Jonathan Clyde were recipients of the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series award.
Jackson also won Outstanding Directing for a Documentary or Nonfiction Program. The series also won for best picture editing, sound editing and sound mixing.
The three-episode, seven-and-a-half hour Get Back was cut from footage shot by Michael Lidnsay-Hogg for the Beatles' original 1970 documentary film Let It Be. While Lindsay-Hogg's film seemed to show the downfall of the biggest pop group of all time, Jackson's film has garnered praise for its more balanced portrayal of the Let It Be album sessions.
"I'd just like to thank everyone who worked on this film, especially our family back home and our second family in London at Apple Corps," Jackson said in his acceptance speech. "[A] big shout out to the Beatles. ... Your music is so profound and I think it's actually embedded in our DNA."
Jackson's biggest challenge in making Get Back was organizing the 57 hours of video footage and more than 100 hours of audio. The discrepancy made syncing the video and audio a massive challenge, not to mention determining what scenes should be included.
To aid them, Jackson's teamed employed a revolutionary new technology to enhance the band members' voices, so conversations could be heard over loud drums and guitars. The technique allowed Get Back to use footage that would have been useless in Lindsay-Hogg's original film.
Jackson is also discussing another Beatles project with the band while pushing for an extended cut of Get Back.