It’s been four years since Disney and Peter Jackson announced intent to restore Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s Let It Be––long enough (and with enough baggage) to think that might never materialize. It’s no mistake you’ve probably never seen the final film made during the lifetime of the world’s most-successful band: while Get Back did much to show a fruitful side of the Beatles creating their last(ish) album, Lindsay-Hogg’s 1970 feature has long been notorious for its window into their discord, and by most accounts the group’s controlling interests were fine letting it languish in bootlegs.
But it is arriving at long last and in just one week. Ahead of a Disney+ premiere on Wednesday, May 8, a first trailer shows the restoration work––notes of Jackson’s controversial refurbish in some shots (notably ones I recognize from Get Back), more grain than I’d have expected in others. Time will tell, and for now I’m gratified this essential piece of Beatles history has been restored in presentation and to history.
Find the preview below:
