Let It Be
For years, Beatles fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the long-unavailable Beatles documentary, Let It Be, have been told to let it go! The 1970 film has been denied broadcast or public screenings for over 50 years and the only copies available are on laserdisc and VHS.
However, it’s good news for fans of the band as Let It Be is coming to Disney+ on May 8 2024.
With the full support of Michael Lindsay-Hogg, the director of Let It Be, the film has been remastered using the same technology that was applied to the Get Back docuseries that was directed and produced by Peter Jackson.
In a statement published at Deadline, the film’s director said:
“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.”
Let It Be is a fly-on-the-wall look at The Beatles, with the band rehearsing their songs and discussing ways to improve them. In the final portion of the film, the band give an unannounced concert from the top of the studio rooftop. Among the songs heard by London listeners are “Get Back”, “Don’t Let Me Down”, “I’ve Got a Feeling”, “One After 909” and “Dig a Pony.”
IMDB lists the film as “the filmed account of The Beatles’ attempt to recapture their old group spirit by making a back-to-basics album, which instead drove them further apart.”
If you’re still dusting off your old laserdiscs to watch the film, you’ll be glad to know that you will soon get the opportunity to see it in a (hopefully) pristine quality.
Are you looking forward to Let It Be’s release? Let us know in the comments below.