The Beatles landmark TV series restored for Disney+ with new episode and unseen footage
The Beatles' Anthology TV series is set to his our screens in a nine part series with previously unseen footage – 30 years after originally aired on ITV
The Beatles’ landmark ‘Anthology’ TV series and albums from 30 years ago have been restored and remastered and will be available for fans around the world in November - with extra unseen footage.
Disney+ announced The Anthology, originally shown on ITV in 1995 and also released as a three part music collection, will now return in its “ultimate form”.
On screen it will become a nine part series, as well as a four volume music collection, and in print there will be a new book.
The Anthology featured John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr candidly telling their own story, with all its complexities and contradictions with new interviews from three of the fab four, with Lennon having died in 1980.
It traces the legendary journey that began in Liverpool and Hamburg and soon captivated the world. Rare archival footage of their live performances and rehearsals also featured in the series.
READ MORE: Phil Collins health update after fake AI Paul McCartney hospital visit storyREAD MORE: Foo Fighters unveil famous new drummer who fans will recognise after brutal axeAnd it introduced The Beatles to new generations of viewers and listeners and marked the start of a creative and commercial afterlife that continues to this day.
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.
The series is also credited with reinventing the music documentary. Instead of a standard treatment, it centred on an outside narrator and talking heads.
The restoration of the doc has been overseen by Apple Corps’ production team, working with a filmmaker Peter Jackson production team along with Giles Martin, who has created new audio mixes for the majority of the featured music.
The musical side of The Anthology Collection, originally curated by George Martin, has now been remastered by his son Giles, in the form of three double albums of rare material, a shadow story to the one told in the documentaries.
They are an insight into the early development of songs that became the recorded masterpieces.
It also has an important new element. Anthology 4, newly curated by Giles, includes 13 previously unreleased demos and session recordings and other rare recordings. It also includes new mixes of The Beatles’ Anthology-associated hit singles: “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love,” given new life by their original producer, Jeff Lynne, using de-mixed John Lennon vocals.
It will be available to buy as 12 LP Vinyl, 8CD and of course available to listen to digitally.
ITV originally screened the Anthology as a six part series before it was released in eight parts on VHS video and later on DVD. In the US it was released in three feature length parts on ABC.
* The Beatles Anthology will be streaming exclusively on Disney+ Beginning November 26. The Beatles Anthology Music Collection will be out November 21 and a book on October 14.