After 50 years locked away in a vault, director Peter Jackson has edited 57 hours of footage into a documentary series that shows The Beatles jamming, dancing, joking, experimenting with new songs and working through their differences.

“This is the Beatles as you’ve never seen them before. As human beings,” said Jackson, the New Zealand director of “The Lord of the Rings”, and a Beatles fan.

Originally shot over 22 days in January 1969, the tapes offer a starkly different portrait of the Liverpool band in the months before their acrimonious split.

Contrary to perceived Beatles history that the four musicians could no longer bear to spend time together, Jackson found “these four guys who are friends, who have a deep respect for each other.”

“Instead of shouting at each other and blaming each other and kind of going crazy, they just knuckle down, be professional, have a sense of humour and get on with it. And they end up with the triumph of the rooftop,” said Jackson.

The three-part documentary “The Beatles: Get Back” will be released on the Disney+ streaming service from Thursday.