In 1970, a documentary film titled “Let It Be,” starring the Beatles, was released. It was helmed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. The film documents the group’s rehearsing and recording songs in January 1969 for what was to become their twelfth and final studio album, Let It Be. The film was long unavailable for a half-century, and now, thanks to Peter Jackson and team, it’s been restored for a release on Disney+ starting May 8.
Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s decades-old Beatles film sets for a re-launch
“Let It Be” has not been officially available on home video since the 1980s, although bootleg copies of the film still circulate. While attempts to release the film on DVD and Blu-ray have been unsuccessful, a restored version of the film will be made available to stream for the first time in 2024. According to a press release,
“Let It Be contains footage not featured in the Get Back docuseries, bringing viewers into the studio and onto Apple Corps’ London rooftop in January 1969 as The Beatles, joined by Billy Preston, write and record their GRAMMY Award®-winning album Let It Be, with its Academy Award®-winning title song, and perform live for the final time as a group. With the release of The Beatles: Get Back, fan clamour for the original Let It Be film reached a fever pitch. With Lindsay-Hogg’s full support, Apple Corps asked Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post Production to dive into a meticulous restoration of the film from the original 16mm negative, which included lovingly remastering the sound using the same MAL de-mix technology that was applied to the ‘Get Back’ docuseries.“
Meanwhile, the man behind the documentary film, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, opened up about the relaunch of the film, saying,
“Let It Be was ready to go in October/November 1969, but it didn’t come out until April 1970. One month before its release, The Beatles officially broke up. And so the people went to see ‘Let It Be’ with sadness in their hearts, thinking, ‘I’ll never see The Beatles together again. I will never have that joy again,’ and it very much darkened the perception of the film. But, in fact, how often do you get to see artists of this stature working together to make what they hear in their heads into songs? And then you get to the roof, and you see their excitement, camaraderie, and sheer joy in playing together again as a group and know, as we do now, that it was the final time, and we view it with the full understanding of who they were and still are and a little poignancy. I was knocked out by what Peter was able to do with ‘Get Back,’ using all the footage I’d shot 50 years previously.”
Lindsay-Hogg made the 1970 “Let It Be,” which was later used in Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary “The Beatles: Get Back.” Previously, in 2023, Lindsay-Hogg explained the differences between the two projects by describing his version as a “great short story” and Jackson’s as a “great novel.”
Peter Jackson shared his excitement for the re-release of the film after over 50 years. He said,
“I’m absolutely thrilled that Michael’s movie, Let It Be, has been restored and is finally being re-released after being unavailable for decade. I was so lucky to have access to Michael’s outtakes for Get Back, and I’ve always thought that Let It Be is needed to complete the Get Back story. Over three parts, we showed Michael and The Beatles filming a groundbreaking new documentary, and Let It Be is that documentary – the movie they released in 1970. I now think of it all as one epic story, finally completed after five decades. The two projects support and enhance each other: Let It Be is the climax of Get Back, while Get Back provides a vital missing context for ‘Let It Be.’ Michael Lindsay-Hogg was unfailingly helpful and gracious while I made Get Back, and it’s only right that his original movie has the last word…looking and sounding far better than it did in 1970.”
“Let It Be” will debut exclusively on Disney+ on May 8, 2024.
