The Beatles have released the accompanying music video to their final song, “Now And Then.” Helmed by Peter Jackson, the video will certainly have Beatles fans feeling feelings in a very powerful way.
The video features a beautiful, dizzying mix of present-day footage of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr cut together with classic footage of John Lennon and George Harrison. At one point, you see McCartney and Starr recording vocals for the song next to vintage ’60s versions of Lennon and Harrison.
Another memorable part of the video shows Lennon superimposed into the recording session of the new string arrangement for “Now And Then” and playfully conducting the musicians.
The whole video really needs to be seen to be believed.
Unseen Footage from Surprising Sources
If some of the footage in the video seems new, it’s likely because it is. Jackson shared via TheBeatles.com, “Apple unearthed over 14 hours of long forgotten film shot during the 1995 recording sessions, including several hours of Paul, George and Ringo working on Now And Then, and gave all that to me.”
Jackson shared that Sean Lennon and Olivia Harrison found unseen home video footage to be used in the video. The acclaimed director also shared another surprising source of material: Former Beatles drummer Pete Best.
“To cap things off, a few precious seconds of The Beatles performing in their leather suits, the earliest known film of The Beatles and never seen before, was kindly supplied by Pete Best,” noted Jackson.
Funnily enough, Jackson almost turned down the opportunity to direct the video for “Now And Then.” When he was first approached, he thought the project was too daunting. However, he knew The Beatles wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. Next thing he knew, Jackson was caught up in the project without actually formally agreeing to do it.
“Now And Then” is available in a variety of formats at The Beatles.com. Those formats include cassette and a number of vinyl pressings. The track is available for streaming and download here.