Current:Home > ContactThe Beatles' 1970 film 'Let It Be' to stream on Disney+ after decades out of circulation -GrowthProspect
The Beatles' 1970 film 'Let It Be' to stream on Disney+ after decades out of circulation
TradeEdge Exchange View
Date:2025-04-09 17:11:33
The Beatles' final movie hasn't been available to watch in decades, but it's finally making a comeback with a little help from Peter Jackson.
A restored version of the 1970 Beatles documentary "Let It Be" will be released May 8 on Disney+, the streaming service announced Tuesday. Jackson's Park Road Post Production restored the film from its original negative and remastered the sound using the same technology utilized on the director's 2021 docuseries "The Beatles: Get Back."
"Let It Be," which chronicles the making of the Beatles album of the same name, was originally released just one month after the band broke up.
The original movie has been unavailable to fans for decades, last seen in a LaserDisc and VHS release in the early 1980s.
"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," director Michael Lindsay-Hogg said in a statement. "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."
Jackson's "The Beatles: Get Back" similarly took fans behind the scenes of the writing and recording of the "Let It Be" album using Lindsay-Hogg's outtakes, although the 1970 documentary features footage that wasn't in "Get Back," the announcement noted.
'Now and Then':The Beatles' last song is wistful, quintessential John Lennon: Listen to the AI-assisted song
In 2021, Jackson told USA TODAY that the original 1970 documentary is "forever tainted by the fact The Beatles were breaking up when it came out," and it had the "aura of this sort of miserable time." He aimed to change that perception with "Get Back," for which the filmmaker noted he was afforded much more time to show the full context than was possible in the original 80-minute film.
"I feel sorry for Michael Lindsay-Hogg," he added. "It's not a miserable film, it's actually a good film, it's just so much baggage got attached to it that it didn't deserve to have."
The director noted at the time that he went out of his way to avoid using footage that was in "Let It Be" as much as possible, as he "didn’t want our movie to replace" the 1970 film.
'They weren't breaking up':Here's why Peter Jackson's 'Get Back' defies Beatles history
In a statement on Tuesday, the "Lord of the Rings" filmmaker said he is "absolutely thrilled" that the original movie will be available to fans who haven't been able to watch it for years.
"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," Jackson said. "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."
He added that it's "only right" that Lindsay-Hogg's movie "has the last word" in the story.
Contributing: Kim Willis
veryGood! (6932)
Related
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Retail sales rose solidly last month in a sign that consumers are still spending freely
- Georgia tribunal rejects recommendation to fire teacher over controversial book
- Amid Maui wildfire ash, Lahaina's 150-year-old banyan tree offers hope as it remains standing
- Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
- Alex Murdaugh’s friend gets almost 4 years in prison for helping steal from his dead maid’s family
- Former Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott signing with Patriots on 1-year deal
- Halle Berry has Barbie-themed 57th birthday with 'no so mini anymore' daughter Nahla
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Spain scores late to edge Sweden 2-1 in World Cup semifinal
Ranking
- 'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
- Facial recognition? How about tail recognition? Identifying individual humpback whales online
- See Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Netflix's first 'Maestro' teaser trailer
- Former Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott signing with Patriots on 1-year deal
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- You can now visit a rare snake that has 2 heads, 2 brains and 1 uncoordinated body at a Texas zoo
- Perseids viewers inundated Joshua Tree National Park, left trash, set illegal campfires
- Shania Twain to return to Las Vegas for third residency in 2024
Recommendation
Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
Georgia case against Trump presents problems from the start: from jury selection to a big courtroom
Michael Oher's Adoptive Brother Sean Tuohy Jr. Denies Family Made Millions From The Blind Side
The man accused of locking a woman in a cinder block cell in Oregon has an Oct. 17 trial date
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
New McDonald's meal drops today: The 'As Featured In Meal' highlights 'Loki' Season 2
Intersex surgery stole their joy. Now they're trying to get it back.
NYC outdoor dining sheds were a celebrated pandemic-era innovation. Now, there’s a new set of rules