The Beatles’ iconic documentary film Let It Be is set to be made available for the first time in more than 50 years on Disney+.
Released in May 1970, amidst the swirl of the band’s breakup and in tandem with their final LP, with the same name, the film has finally been restored to light.
Helmed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, the original 1970 film will be on the streaming platform from May 8 after decades of fans struggling to watch it and having to make do with 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 from their final performance on the building’s roof that month.
It also includes new unseen footage which has come to light since Peter Jackson’s multiple Emmy Award-winning docuseries The Beatles: Get Back was released, also on Disney+, three years ago.
The Beatles ‘ iconic documentary Let It Be is being made available for the first time in more than 50 years on Disney+ from May 8
Let It Be follows the legendary Liverpool group on their creative journey producing their final album, also Let It Be, and also shows footage of their final performance together. This was recently given added context by 2021’s The Beatles: Get Back (grab above)
Pictured: The original poster for the film which was released in 1970
Lindsay-Hogg says the timing of Let It Be’s original release ‘very much darkened the perception of the film,’ and he says fans will see the ‘joy and happiness’ when the band took to Apple Corps on Savile Row for rehearsals and the iconic rooftop concert that became their final performance as a group.
‘Let It Be was ready to go in October/November 1969, but it didn’t come out until April 1970,’ he explained.
‘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, there’s a great deal of joy and happiness and creation going on, and Let It Be is – especially when you get to the roof, and you see the exchange and the way that they look at each other – essentially a happy and “up” movie.
‘I was knocked out by what Peter was able to do with Get Back, using all the footage I’d shot 50 years previously.’
Apple Corps got Jackson’s company, Park Road Post Production, to ‘dive 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 ‘dive 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 final performance together was on the roof of their London recording base in January 1969
Jackson said: ‘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’
Jackson added: ‘I’m absolutely thrilled that Michael’s movie has been restored and is finally being re-released after being unavailable for decades.
‘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.’
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 to be given a credit on a Beatles record, after he played the piano on Get Back.
The film was also executively 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.
