Throughout the years, filmmakers have taken a keen interest in creating documentaries about popular musicians and bands. However, the extraordinary legacy of The Beatles have inspired documentary makers to keep showcasing their lore over and over again.
Disney+ will soon release a fully restored version of Let It Be, a Beatles documentary that dates back to 1970. With director Michael Lindsay-Hogg at the helm, this project is raw and does not have scene titles, interviews, or narration. Instead, Lindsay-Hogg used a “fly on the wall” perspective to create the now-legendary 80-minute-long film. Let It Be documents the Beatles’ rehearsals and process of creating music in January 1969, ultimately leading to the release of the band’s final studio album, Let It Be. Furthermore, Peter Jackson used some of its clips in 2021’s smash hit, The Beatles: Get Back.
Even though the 1970 documentary has developed a cult following over the years, The Beatles’ drummer Ringo Starr reportedly isn’t a fan of the project. In a 2021 conversation with NME, he stated that watching Let It Be did not make him happy because it simply showed the band’s members quarreling with each other. Furthermore, he said that Peter Jackson did a much better job in The Beatles: Get Back.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, the synopsis of Let It Be reads, “Initially slated to be a television documentary about the Beatles in the studio, this film, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, instead captures the writing and recording of their penultimate album “Let It Be.”
It further reads, “After the dense complexity of “The White Album,” Paul McCartney wants to return to basics with the next offering. However, tensions within the band are high and quickly become frayed in the studio. The film ends with a rooftop concert in London, the last live show from the group.”
Let It Be director remained unbothered by Ringo Starr’s criticism
In the aforementioned Zoom Q&A with NME, Ringo Starr said that Let It Be was a challenging watch for him. He explained that the way Michael Lindsay-Hogg made it did not showcase the joy and excitement in the studio and mostly explored disagreements between Paul McCartney and George Harrison. Furthermore, he preferred Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back because the director used longer footage of a famous rooftop concert, compared to Lindsay-Hogg, whose film has only a few minutes of the event.
Ringo Starr stated, “I didn’t feel any joy in the original documentary. It was all focused on one moment which went down between two of the lads [McCartney and Harrison]. The rooftop concert was also only about seven to eight minutes long. With Peter’s, it’s 43 minutes long [laughs]. It’s about the music and a lot of joy.”
Interestingly, Michael Lindsay-Hogg defended his creation in a 2021 Rolling Stone interview. He said that he didn’t care about Ringo Starr’s comments and the drummer was free to have his opinions about the film. Additionally, he explained that Let It Be was filmed, edited, and released within the span of a few months. Lindsay-Hogg disagreed with Ringo’s claim that it did not contain any joy. He said, “Personally, I don’t care. That’s his opinion. And we all have them. I mean, the polite version is everybody’s got elbows and everybody’s got opinions.”
Following the Let It Be’s release, the band’s members received an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. Its fully restored version will be available to stream from May 8, 2024, on Disney+.
