KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — More than half a century after its release, The Beatles' iconic documentary film Let It Be will be made available on streaming platform Disney+ from May 8 following restoration works.
The film was first released in May 1970, amidst the swirl of the band's breakup and in tandem with their final LP, with the same name, Daily Mail reported.
News on the availability of Let It Be came after fans struggled for decades to watch the film and had to make do with bootleg versions.
The film shows the Liverpool group, consisting of Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Ringo Starr, and the late John Lennon and George Harrison, working on the album in January 1969 at London's Twickenham Film Studios as well as footage from their final performance on the building's roof that month.
It will include unseen footage which has come to light since Peter Jackson's multiple Emmy Award-winning docuseries The Beatles: Get Back was released, also on Disney+, in 2021.
Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg said the timing of Let It Be's original release 'very much darkened the perception of the film,' and he says fans will see the 'joy and happiness' when the band took to Apple Corps on Savile Row for rehearsals and the iconic rooftop concert that became their final performance as a group.
He said Let It Be was originally supposed to be aired in October/November 1969, but only came out in April 1970.
Apple Corps got Jackson's company, Park Road Post Production, to 'dive into a meticulous restoration of the film from the original 16mm negative,' and used the same technology used for the Get Back series.
Jackson said he was thrilled that Lindsay-Hogg's movie has been restored and is finally being re-released after being unavailable for decades.
