While we're just a few years away from Sam Mendes' four Beatles biopics, Disney+ has dropped Anthology, a remaster of the documentary series from 1995, to celebrate the Fab Four's legacy. This comes a year after the release of Beatles '64, a documentary about them coming to America.
30 years after the initial release, The Beatles Anthology has been remastered and reissued with an extra episode, which may be the biggest appeal for fans of the group.
Just as Disney+ did with Get Back—an exhaustive three-part 13-hour documentary following The Beatles' Let It Be sessions—Anthology provides an intimate look at the group.
Why we still need biopics about the Fab Four remains unclear. Documentaries like Get Back and now Anthology feature interviews with all four Beatles — even John Lennon, who died nearly 15 years before the documentary first aired — after decades of them being broken up.
It's hard to act like Anthology will bring any new information to light, as it was recorded decades ago at this point. But hearing the story of the group, from the days as the Quarrymen to the iconic band they became, directly from the mouths of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the late George Harrison, is better than any fictional biopic.
The Beatles Anthology review: What's it about?
Anthology is an expansive exploration of The Beatles' entire career, from their early days to the reunion of McCartney, Starr, and Harrison in the '90s.
The making of every album is explored in nine episodes, each approximately an hour long. So, fans will have to brace and buckle in for roughly nine hours of Fab Four content.
Some may not know the history of The Beatles and the Quarrymen. That is heavily featured in the first episode, and the formation of The Beatles—sans Pete Best—begins in Episode 2, and there's no looking back from there.
Unlike Get Back, Anthology does not rely on archival footage of The Beatles' creative process. While there certainly is a time and place for seeing the Fab Four create a song out of thin air, Anthology relies on other archival footage.
More cleaned-up archival footage
From concerts to press conferences, there is a lot of footage to supplement the interviews with The Beatles. Even at that point, they had been broken up for almost 30 years.
Of course, the highlight of the archival footage, which has been masterfully cleaned up, is the concerts. While Ron Howard's 2016 Eight Days a Week documentary featured a lot of concert videos, Anthology features crisp images of their iconic Shea Stadium and Budokan concerts.
At this point, The Beatles' catalog and archive have likely been drained to the last drop. However, given the technology Disney+ has used with Get Back and Anthology, there's definitely an appetite for full remastered concerts. Imagine seeing the entirety of The Beatles' concert at Shea Stadium with this quality.
Unlike most documentaries, Anthology largely seems comfortable with the uncomfortable. The Beatles had their rocky moments, like when Lennon claimed they were “more popular than Jesus” or when various members left the group, but all of that is touched on in Anthology.
McCartney and Starr remain producers of the 2025 remastered Anthology, but it appears the documentary's first eight parts are largely intact from the original cut.
The bonus episode
But if you've seen the Anthology already and aren't interested in the remaster, the biggest appeal may be the ninth episode they uncovered.
While they could have phoned it in with a 20 or 30-minute montage, the ninth Beatles Anthology is a full-length episode at about 50 minutes.
It picks up with the living Beatles at the time, McCartney, Starr, and Harrison. They are sitting in a field playing music together for the first time in a while.
There's something heartwarming and heartbreaking about this. Harrison would pass away about six years after the release of Anthology. So, this could have been one of the last times they've hung out at full strength.
The “Now and Then” conundrum
What's funny is watching them get stuck on “Now and Then,” the Fab Four's final release, which would later be finished by McCartney and Starr nearly 30 years after they abandoned it.
In 2023, The Beatles released it, as “Now and Then” came out on Nov. 2, 2023, and McCartney plays it during his live concerts. It's somewhat surprising they didn't include footage of McCartney and Starr working on it before the 2023 release. While they got stuck in the '90s, they did finish “Real Love” and “Free As a Bird” in the '90s with Harrison.
Seeing their creative process sans Lennon is interesting. Lennon was the heart and soul of the group, and his absence is felt. Still, the musical brilliance of McCartney and Harrison is showcased even more in the bonus episode.
At that point in the '90s, they were no longer the Beatles fans knew. But as Starr points out, they somehow recapture the magic of the group's harmonies when recording “Free As a Bird.”
It's unlikely anyone considers these '90s recordings on the same level as The Beatles' best work. But seeing the creative process behind it will give fans more appreciation for them.
The Beatles' core message is shown in Anthology
More than anything, The Beatles were all about love. Most of their songs were about or involved love in some facet. Anthology proves that, despite any drama, The Beatles had love for each other.
That was important, given how isolated they became. It's hard to fathom just how big The Beatles were, and how it impacted their personal lives.
Anthology helps viewers sympathize since it's The Beatles describing it. They survived the BeatleMania of the early '60s, but it came at a cost.
Watching all nine hours of Anthology shows the toll their success had. Sure, The Beatles are arguably the greatest band of all time, but at what cost?
Seeing McCartney in concert makes it clear how much love he has for his late bandmates. Love and care is at the core of Anthology. After all, it's unlikely McCartney and Starr would revisit it if it wasn't.
As McCartney sang in “The End,” the last track from Abbey Road, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” That feels more relevant than ever after watching Anthology.
Should you watch The Beatles Anthology?
The Beatles Anthology is an important piece of history. There are thousands of books on The Beatles, but this is the definitive story.
People will likely go in droves to see Mendes' biopics, but Anthology tells the true story. Even if it's nine hours long, it's an enticing watch.
If you watched Anthology in the '90s, watch it for the bonus episode. If you haven't, enjoy the beautiful remaster that will have you questioning when it was recorded.
From the Cavern Club to Abbey Road, The Beatles Anthology is a masterclass in documentary filmmaking. It doesn't break new ground, per se. Instead, it thoroughly breaks down every brick on the road.
The Beatles Anthology is streaming on Disney+.
