The iconic Beatles documentary Let It Be will be available for the first time in more than 50 years on Disney+.
Released in May 1970, amid the whirlwind of the band’s breakup and along with their last LP, with the same name, the film has finally come back to light.
Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, the original 1970 film will be on the streaming platform starting May 8 after decades of fans struggling to watch it and having to settle for bootleg versions.
The film shows the legendary Liverpool group working on the seminal album in January 1969 at London’s Twickenham Film Studios, as well as footage of their final performance on the roof of the building that month.
It also includes new, previously unseen footage that has come to light since Peter Jackson’s multi-Emmy Award-winning documentary series The Beatles: Get Back premiered, also on Disney+, three years ago.
The iconic Beatles documentary Let It Be will be available for the first time in over 50 years on Disney+ starting May 8.
Let It Be follows the legendary Liverpool group on their creative journey to produce their latest album, also Let It Be, and also features footage from their final performance together. This was recently given additional context with 2021’s The Beatles: Get Back (capture above)
In the photo: the original poster for the film that was released in 1970.
Lindsay-Hogg says the timing of Let It Be’s original release “very darkened the perception of the film”, and says fans will see the “joy and happiness” when the band went to Apple Corps on Savile Row for rehearsals and the iconic Rooftop Concert that became their last performance as a group.
“Let It Be was ready for publication in October/November 1969, but it didn’t come out until April 1970,” he explained.
‘A month before its release, The Beatles officially broke up. And then people went to see Let It Be with sadness in their hearts, thinking, “I’ll never see The Beatles together again. I’ll never have that joy again,” and that really darkened the perception of the movie.
“But in fact, there is a huge amount of joy and happiness and creation going on, and Let It Be is, especially when you get to the roof and see the exchange and the way they look at each other, essentially a happiness.” and movie “up.”
“I was amazed at what Peter was able to do with Get Back, using all the footage he had shot 50 years earlier.”
Apple Corps got Jackson’s company, Park Road Post Production, “to delve into a meticulous restoration of the film from the original 16mm negative” and used the same technology used for the Get Back series.
Apple Corps got Peter Jackson’s company, Park Road Post Production, “to delve into a meticulous restoration of the film from the original 16mm negative” and used the same technology used for the Get Back series.
The Fab Four’s last performance together was on the roof of their London recording base in January 1969.
Jackson said: “Michael Lindsay-Hogg was unconditionally helpful and kind while making Get Back, and it’s only fair that his original film has the last word… It looks and sounds much better than it did in 1970.”
Jackson added: “I am absolutely thrilled that Michael’s film has been restored and is finally being re-released after being unavailable for decades.
‘I was very lucky to have access to Michael’s outtakes for Get Back, and I always thought Let It Be was necessary to complete the story of Get Back.
“For three parts, we show Michael and The Beatles filming a groundbreaking new documentary, and Let It Be is that documentary, the film they released in 1970.
‘I now think of all of this as an 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 vital missing context for Let It Be.
“Michael Lindsay-Hogg was unconditionally helpful and kind while making Get Back, and it’s only fair that his original film has the last word… It looks and sounds much better than it did in 1970.”
Fans of the Fab Four can see Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Ringo Starr and the late John Lennon and George Harrison alongside the late Billy Preston, the only musician given credit on a Beatles album, after playing the piano in Get Back. .
The film was also executive produced by The Beatles, while the producer was Neil Aspinall with Anthony B Richmond as director of photography.
Let It Be will debut exclusively on Disney+ on May 8, 2024.