By John Corrado

Released in 1970 amidst the band’s public breakup, director Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s infamous music documentary Let It Be offered a candid portrait of The Beatles recording their album of the same name in 1969.

Behind the scenes footage from these sessions provided the basis for director Peter Jackson’s in-depth docuseries The Beatles: Get Back. Released in 2021, Jackson’s mini-series was culled together from hundreds of hours of fully restored archival material shot by Lindsay-Hogg, capturing the band experiencing growing pains that would lead to their demise.

After years of essentially being lost media, Lindsay-Hogg’s original 16mm film Let It Be has now been fully restored by Jackson and his team, and is finally receiving a wide release on Disney Plus. Largely remembered as an unglamorous portrait of the band (perhaps best symbolized by the shot of a partially eaten green apple decaying on the piano), the film is fascinating to watch now with for its historical importance to fans of the group.

Like was explored in the series, Let It Be showcases John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr rehearsing songs for their Let It Be album and figuring out arrangements. Being filmed for a potential TV special, the camera puts us right there with them in the sparse studio Twickenham Film Studios. We see glimpses of McCartney’s young daughter Heather joyfully twirling and dancing around the studio.

But we also sense the tensions between McCartney and Lennon (who often has Yoko Ono silently sitting beside him), which has led to Let It Be gaining a reputation as the band’s breakup movie. For much of its 81 minute runtime, Lindsay-Hogg’s documentary fascinatingly pulls back the curtain on Beatlemania to show a group of musicians (including Billy Preston, adding accompaniment on the piano) plugging away at their craft, and sometimes bickering with each other.

That is, until the joyous celebration of its last act, when the band has moved to the studios at Apple Corps in London, and take to the rooftop for a spontaneous concert performing several of their songs, with spectators gathering below to watch and police taking notice. This footage, as thrilling as it ever was, is also bittersweet as it would become their final performance.

The restored documentary opens with a new introduction by Jackson and Lindsay-Hogg, offering some historical context on the film’s legacy. What makes The Beatles: Let It Be such a treat to watch, despite its reputation over the years as being a somewhat unflattering portrait, is how it captures the brilliance of the band even in some of their most fraught moments.

Film Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)

The Beatles: Let It Be is available to stream exclusively on Disney Plus as of May 8th.