Usually seen as a document of the band’s breakup, the documentary, newly restored by Peter Jackson, is just as much a record of freewheeling inspiration.
A scene from “Let It Be.”Photograph courtesy Apple / Disney+
The catalogue of great posthumous movies, such as “Eyes Wide Shut,” “Rebel Without a Cause,” and “Amazing Grace,” also includes another of the great music documentaries: Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s “Let It Be,” about the Beatles. The movie, shot in January, 1969, was intended to enshrine the recording of the group’s new album, from which the film takes its title, and their first public performance since 1966. But, in April, 1970, a month before the release of the album and the film, the Beatles broke up, and both works were forced to carry a burden of significance that overwhelmed their reception. Though the album became instantly popular and has remained ubiquitous, the movie wasn’t a hit and received mainly negative reviews (including in The New Yorker). It was understood—or, rather, misunderstood—as a memento mori, a dour and dispirited bit of forensics revealing motives for the breakup, such as the musicians’ personal conflicts and their artistic differences of opinion. Moreover, it never got a proper reëvaluation, in part because it wasn’t issued on DVD or Blu-ray. But now it’s available to stream on Disney+, in a new and authorized restoration by Peter Jackson, and this rerelease provides a welcome chance to acknowledge the movie’s mighty artistic merits, which far outweigh its dire premonitions.
