I have to admit, I was a little surprised to see that the Beatles have re-released the original version of their film, Let It Be (1970), originally directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg and restored to it’s original brilliance by Peter Jackson who did the extensive Get Back project 2-1/2 years ago. The film was over 50 years old, it probably needed a little restoration work… but who amongst us doesn’t? I guess I was surprised by the release of the original Let It Be because the Get Back project was taken from the same source material – over 55 hours of film – and put together over three installments. It was more of a mini-series vs Let It Be, which was just a simple, 80-minute film. Get Back felt like a more robust telling of the story of where the Beatles were mentally/creatively as a band at that point in time. I felt like I had more context as to what was going on with the Beatles after Get Back. Why revisit the old, original film? Wasn’t it considered kind of a drag by critics back in ’70? But, everything’s for sale, or so it seems.
According to Wikipedia, Let It Be has not been available since the early 70s. I guess there were some rather poorly done VHS style videos released in the 80s. You still can’t buy a DVD or Blu-ray of the film, but you can now stream this version on Disney+. That said, as I watched the film over the weekend, I was having a lot of Midnight Movie flashbacks. I swear to God that I saw this movie at the mall at the Midnight Movies when I was in early high school at the dawn of the ’80s. Somehow back then I’d managed to talk my parents into letting me stay out until 2 am since they knew where I was… at the mall in a movie theater. I guess they never realized I was in a crowd of very drunk, stoned people in that theater. I don’t think anybody got high while the movies were playing but there was plenty of drinking and wandering around talking to people. It was like a nightclub in there… Not for proper comedy movies – Blazing Saddles or anything by Monty Python (Holy Grail or Life Of Brian) – but if it was a concert film like Zeppelin’s The Song Remains The Same or Pink Floyd’s Live At Pompei, it was gonna be a party in that theater. I don’t know why it was always Zeppelin or Pink Floyd… they were just cool. I’d have hated to sweep up that theater afterwards… Had I owned the theater I’d have just put a keg in the corner.
While Wikipedia may dispute my early 80s Midnight Movies experience, I swear I saw this movie back then. I remember thinking it was kind of a drag. But I went into it with no knowledge about the film. I was more of a Stones guy back then. I did love the album Let It Be, I actually dug the idea of the Beatles stripping off the studio gloss and just playing. I expected to see a basic concert film. The Beatles playing full, complete songs… a video of the album, if you will. Of course, that’s not what Let It Be is in the slightest. Sitting down to watch the movie again all these years later, I still had that lingering feeling this film might be a drag. I have to admit, for 40 years I’ve read about how bad it was, and that probably weighed upon my mind as well. I heard that Paul and John liked it, but George didn’t. Then more recently I heard McCartney didn’t like it any more and that’s why we’d never see the original film again.
In the spirit of that whole Midnight Movie thing, I watched this movie after the Rock Chick had gone to sleep both Friday and Saturday this weekend and so it was yes, around midnight. I put her through three nights of Get Back and as a significantly lesser Beatles fan than I, she’s just now gotten over it. I let her sleep. In the spirit of those carefree high school days there was plenty of vodka being poured during the movie. All of that said, I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting this film. I will say, Get Back is obviously the more complete, immersive experience and I’d say it’s the definitive statement on this period in the Beatles’ career. Having seen the more extensive footage in Get Back, I had a bit more context of what was happening in Let It Be. It’s like the original has become a companion piece to the more recent production. I will admit, visually this is vastly better than what I saw in the theater those many years ago. And full disclosure, there’s a 5 or 10 minute video of Peter Jackson speaking with original director Michael Lindsay-Hogg that I found… excruciating. I fast forwarded through that thing.
It began, like Get Back, with the Beatles rehearsing new material on a movie soundstage. It’s clear they all hate being there. They had all agreed to rehearsing this album on film and then doing a concert. Harrison was, in particular, not happy about the concert idea. On the soundstage we see McCartney “coaching” Harrison on how he wants George to play his guitar parts…awkward. George says, “I’ll play it anyway you want, or if you’d rather, I won’t play at all…” (or something close to that). Lennon, often seated cross-legged on the floor has Yoko Ono by his side – seemingly surgically attached – for the entire film. She reminded me of a pirate’s parrot perched on John’s shoulder. Or perhaps since she wears mostly black (and occasionally white) instead of a parrot, a crow. We don’t get any of those scenes where McCartney spins up “Get Back” out of thin air. Harrison famously quit during those scenes and that gets obscured in Let It Be. I have to believe it’s this first third of the film, shot on that soundstage during the morning hours that gave the original film it’s reputation as being a film about a band breaking up.
The next thing you know, they’re at Abbey Road studios. The only transition is a brief shot of the name plate in front of the building to let you know you’ve changed locations. Things progress better at Abbey Road. The songs start to come together. George seems happier. Keyboard legend Billy Preston is there so everybody is on their best behavior… This may be the vodka talking but there’s a scene where Ringo, at the piano, starts working out “Octopus’s Garden” with George standing by and John on drums and when McCartney walks in they all stop like, “Uh, oh, dad’s home, behave now.” I’m sure I imagined that but I thought that was telling in terms of how things were going with in the band.
Eventually, the songs find their final form. They run through – and forgive me if I get this wrong – Lennon’s “Dig It,” then an old rock n roll jam that ends with McCartney at the piano singing “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” made famous by Elvis, “The Two of Us” (a perennial favorite at B&V), “Let It Be,” and “The Long And Winding Road.” That’s the point in the film where the thing just begins to soar. With that, the lads head up to the roof to play their final concert. There’s none of the debate that went on internally with the band prior they just walk up stairs and play. I have to admit, I still stream that whole Get Back – The Complete Rooftop Concert every now and again.
There’s a moment during the rooftop concert in Get Back when the band kicks in and Lennon smiles at McCartney, and it’s a shit-eating grin. It’s that moment you can physically feel four guys not getting along snap back into being the Beatles again. You don’t get that in Let It Be, but you do see the joy on these guys faces as they’re playing live together again. “Get Back” and “Don’t Let Me Down” come alive. “I’ve Got A Feeling” is pretty awesome as well. There are also the funny shots of the confused fans down on the streets and the sad, inevitable arrival of the man, the cops, who shut it down. Even George Harrison in fabulous green pants looks happy. I love when Lennon says, at the end, “I’d like to say thanks for all the band and I hope we passed the audition…” A perfect end.
I’ve always thought it sad that the spark these guys felt playing together up on that roof didn’t reignite the band. Oh, the possibilities… but that’s probably a different post. I finished the movie feeling upbeat and good about the Beatles. Like I said earlier, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable watch. I think the film got a bad rap over the years. I can understand the Beatles reluctance to look back on this document. It was probably a pretty unhappy time for them. Ringo had quit and come back during the making of The Beatles album. George quit in the midst of this. It wasn’t the beginning of the end but it certainly signaled that things were… ending soon.
That said, it’s still a great way to spend an evening… watching this legendary band and getting a glimpse into the creative process. Like Tom Petty’s Wildflowers project which seemed to have several parts (Finding Wildflowers) and releases, this feels like the last piece of the Let It Be puzzle. Let history decide how they view this film… but for me, I dig it… like say, “Matt Busby, dig it, dig it, dig it….”
Cheers!