David Shingler's Stream of Consciousness

Forty three years after its home media release and fifty four years since its original theatrical release, Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s controversial documentary film ‘Let It Be’ has been given the 4K treatment and is once again available for the world to see via the streaming platform Disney+. When I heard the news I initially thought “what’s the point?” as we now had the magnificent Get Back series which shines a new light on this previously known troublesome time of The Beatles’ career. However, tonight I decided to view it with an open mind.

Before there was any knowledge or mention of Peter Jackson restoring the original footage, I had been curious to see Let It Be. To this day the album remains one of my favourites in all of its forms, that is, the Phil Spector produced original release, Let It Be… Naked from 2003 and the rejected Glynn Johns Get Back version (of which I was very happy to see an official press in the 2021 special edition boxset). The lack of availability of the original movie has led to many bootlegs, one of which I was able to find streaming online. After watching it I felt kind of confused, bored and miserable. I felt like I’d watched one of my favourite bands falling out and breaking up before my eyes and had no intention of ever watching it again.

Peter Jackson’s Get Back was a breath of fresh air. It showed a band writing magnificent music, a window into their creative process and it put the highs and lows of this period into context. Context – this is the word that we need to focus on.

I’ve watched the restored version of Let It Be and honestly, it’s not as bad as I remember. It’s the same film that I’d seen previously, only in glorious 4K with great audio (hats off to the restoration team), but I didn’t have the same feelings about it as I did before and I couldn’t work out why. My daughter asked me what the documentary was about; she watched it with me but she couldn’t work out the story it was trying to tell. Then is hit me…. context! Let It Be has no context. It’s a mish mash of footage spliced together with no story behind it. Back in 1970 the film was released just after The Beatles had split, so the natural story to glue to it was their break up and it had been stuck with narrative ever since. What Get Back did was give this period context. It answered questions. Why did George leave? Why was Yoko there? How did Billy Preston become a part of the sessions? Why were they on the roof? It told the story.

While writing this and fact checking dates, I came upon this quote from Peter Jackson himself that sums up my thoughts perfectly:

“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 ground breaking 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.” ¹

If you have never seen Let It Be, do yourself a favour and watch Get Back first. It will make the viewing a far more pleasurable experience.

Photo by Paulette Wooten on Unsplash

¹Martoccio, Angie (16 April 2024). Rolling Stone (Online) Available at https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-beatles-let-it-be-film-disney-michael-lindsay-hogg-peter-jackson-1235004862/ (Acccessed 08 May 2024).