Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson is giving infamous Beatles‘ doco Let It Be, originally directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, a reinvention some 50 years following its initial release, and he’s doing it with around 55 hours of footage never before seen by the public.
The original doco was released very shortly after the band broke up in 1970 and, according to Sydney Morning Herald, has long been regarded as a chronicle of how the band grew apart.
In a statement, Jackson noted how this restoration and reinvention is like a “treasure trove.”
“The 55 hours of never-before-seen footage and 140 hours of audio made available to us ensures this movie will be the ultimate ‘fly on the wall’ experience,” he said. “It’s like a time machine transports us back to 1969, and we get to sit in the studio watching these four friends make great music together.”
“I was relieved to discover the reality is very different to the myth,” he continued, referring to the idea that the original documentary clearly outlined the process of the band growing apart.
“After reviewing all the footage and audio that Michael Lindsay-Hogg shot 18 months before they broke up, it’s simply an amazing historical treasure-trove. Sure, there’s moments of drama—but none of the discord this project has long been associated with. Watching John, Paul, George, and Ringo work together, creating now-classic songs from scratch, is not only fascinating—it’s funny, uplifting and surprisingly intimate.”
According to Pitchfork, a restored version of Lindsay-Hogg’s original Let It Be movie will also be made available.
