WATCH THE TRAILER FOR THE RESTORED AND EXPANDED BEATLES ANTHOLOGY DOCUSERIES:
The Beatles Anthology was a landmark multimedia history of the Beatles that included the original eight-episode documentary, a four-volume set of double albums, and a book. It was first premiered in November 1995, and the documentary contained new interviews with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison along with archival interviews with John Lennon. The newly restored version will expand the eight episodes into nine, with Oliver Murray directing the final one. The previous eight were directed by Geoff Wonfor, Bob Smeaton, and Matt Longfellow.
To expand the doc, previously unreleased footage of the then-surviving Beatles putting together Anthology will be included. Footage restoration and sound mixing was overseen by Apple Corps and done by the technicians at Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post in Wellington, New Zealand. Jackson had previously restored and directed The Beatles: Get Back.
Disney+ will premiere the docuseries in batches of three episodes for three days straight. The first trio of episodes will drop on Nov. 26, with episodes four through six out on Nov. 27, and the final three out on Nov. 28. Anthology rounds out a slate of Beatles films and series that are available on Disney+, including Get Back, Let It Be, and Beatles ’64.
The trailer looks great; the interviews shot on film in the early-to-mid ‘90s of the then-three surviving Beatles have been blown up to widescreen 16X9 proportions, as have some of the film elements of their past projects. It looks like material shot for television, such as John Lennon’s 1970s interviews, have been kept in their original 4X3 format, which seems wise. I’ll be curious to see how much heretofore unseen footage is in the new last episode: