by Madeline Bocaro
© Madeline Bocaro, 2024. No part of this site may be reproduced or re-blogged in whole or in part, in any manner without permission of the copyright owner.
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At long last, a restored version of Let It Be premiered on Disney + on May 8, 2024 – the 54th anniversary of the album release in 1970.
(I have written at length about Peter Jackson’s spectacular Get Back extravaganza (2021), which you can read here…)
The Beatles – Get Back
https://madelinex.com/2021/11/28/the-beatles-get-back/
It is now clear that our own perspective has tainted our memories of this film. We first saw Let It Be after the release of Abbey Road, when we heard rumblings about the split of the band (the release of McCartney’ solo album a month prior to the release of Let It Be was a major hint). Although the film had been made prior to Abbey Road, it took a while to adapt the footage for theatrical release. Hence it became known as the Beatles final album and project. This film (a long rehearsal for a concert that never happened) became closely associated with the breakup.
We were imagining a world without the Beatles.
What we never imagined was that the world would never be without the Beatles!
The original film now looks bright and beautiful (especially the colorful 1960s hued clothing). It sounds amazing. In retrospect, the atmosphere and attitudes of the band are mostly positive. Paul and George’s bickering about how a song should be played is contextually a minor detail. Yoko’s silent presence in the studio is reduced to a footnote, debunking all rumors that she split the band.
We were imagining a world without the Beatles. Some bickering amongst them in the film seemed amplified – clues as to what was imminent. The happy moments were not remembered, until now. The joy of creation, hugs and smiles, joking and kidding, John and Yoko waltzing on air during ‘I Me Mine…’ The last time I had seen the film was at a screening in New York City in 1981, shortly after John’s murder, when I could barely see it through a flood of tears.
What we never imagined was that the world would never be without the Beatles! They are still upholding world records, making history and releasing music and films, although two of them are no longer with us. John and George have become much larger than life. Their legends envelop us, and still resonate with new generations. Paul and Ringo continue touring the world and making new music. In this new light, and in the glory of the ‘uncovering’ of Michael-Lindsay Hogg’s original film, we are now free to revel in the joy of what these four beautiful guys brought to our lives.
It’s baffling to see the nonchalance of the passers-by on Savile Row during the rooftop concert. Some seem delighted, but that is a mild reaction compared to the days of Beatlemania. These working girls passing by on their lunch break are the same screaming teens from a few years prior, who would have scaled the walls of the building with their bare hands to get to the rooftop!
My favorite moment is seeing the superb Take 28 of the song ‘Let It Be’ in all its visual glory (and all other songs pre-Spectorization). The complete rooftop concert without split-screen images (as in Peter Jackson’s Get Back) is spectacular. It makes me wish that John and George could see it now, and that we could hear their reactions.
I remember being eleven years old and running to the bathroom in elementary school with my AM radio to hear the single ‘Let It Be’ every hour (at five minutes after the hour) on WABC, when it was No. 1 on the charts. It was thrilling to hear the song at least twelve times a day!
The new promotional video features the album version.
WATCH:
https://youtu.be/CGj85pVzRJs?si=dM3gOoRrCFlBc0hU
At the time of the film’s release, and over the past six decades, all that we could watch were a dull, grainy VHS released in 1984, and bootleg releases. Then, nothing.
At the beginning of the presentation, there is a brief dialogue between directors Peter Jackson and Michael-Lindsay Hogg, mutually respecting each other’s work and perspectives on this film footage. Thanks to both of them for bringing it all to light!
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