The filmed account of The Beatles' attempt to recapture their old group spirit by making a back-to-basics album, which instead drove them further apart.The filmed account of The Beatles' attempt to recapture their old group spirit by making a back-to-basics album, which instead drove them further apart.The filmed account of The Beatles' attempt to recapture their old group spirit by making a back-to-basics album, which instead drove them further apart.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 2 wins total
John Lennon
- Self (The Beatles)
- (uncredited)
Paul McCartney
- Self (The Beatles)
- (uncredited)
George Harrison
- Self (The Beatles)
- (uncredited)
Ringo Starr
- Self (The Beatles)
- (uncredited)
Sue Ahearne
- Self - 'Apple Scruff'
- (uncredited)
The Beatles
- Themselves
- (uncredited)
Peter Brown
- Self
- (uncredited)
Geoff Emerick
- Self
- (uncredited)
Kevin Harrington
- Self
- (uncredited)
Eileen Kensley
- Self - 'Apple Scruff'
- (uncredited)
Michael Lindsay-Hogg
- Self
- (uncredited)
George Martin
- Self
- (uncredited)
Heather McCartney
- Self
- (uncredited)
Linda McCartney
- Self
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFollowing the argument with Sir Paul McCartney seen in the movie, George Harrison went home and wrote the song "Wah-Wah", which he recorded for his first solo album two years later. Three days after the argument with McCartney, Harrison temporarily quit the Beatles after a row with John Lennon. Harrison was coaxed back a week later, after McCartney promised that they would start recording in the band's new Apple Studios, instead of Twickenham Studios.
- GoofsDue to the two-camera technique used to film most of the scenes, during much of the performances the audio does not match up with the performers. One such example is during the Suzy Parker segment, and again during I Got a Feeling, though this scene was filmed using five cameras.
- Quotes
John Lennon: I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition.
- Alternate versionsThe first cut, which was supervised by Michael Lindsay-Hogg and The Beatles themselves, ran for 210 minutes. It was screened in a private screening room on 20th July, 1969. After the screening, three of The Beatles wanted further cuts to be made. According to Mark Lewisohn's "The Complete Beatles Chronicle", a second version was edited in the absence of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. This new cut (with a considerable amount of "John and Yoko" footage cut out) became the 81-minute release that made the cinemas. In an interview on the "I Am The Eggpod" podcast, Lindsay-Hogg confirmed that the footage deleted from the theatrical release contained a large amount of material featuring Lennon and Ono sitting alone away from the group and "whispering to each other". Lindsay-Hogg claims that about "one reel of film" was removed.
- ConnectionsEdited from The Beatles: Don't Let Me Down (1969)
- SoundtracksPaul's Piano Intro
Performed by The Beatles
Written by Paul McCartney
Published by Apple Records
Courtesy of Apple Records
Featured review
Another watched in-flight movie on my IPod, "Let it Be" for my money now stands as an honest and convincing testimony to the talent and stature of The Beatles, even as one can sense the ties that bind loosening them individually in front of you.
Of course there's a sadness and elegiac sensation for fans in watching this "posthumous" film and it's also fair to say the music isn't always top-drawer Beatles - only McCartney brings his best work to the party, although John and especially George would recover their chops in time for "Abbey Road". Sure, too the playing's a bit sloppy at times but there's never a moment when there isn't fascination at something going on on-screen. And for-by much is made of Paul and George's spat (with John acting as unlikely peace-maker) and the at times tired and dishevelled appearance of the guys themselves, there are many other revealing and rewarding vignettes, even before director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, corrals the band for three assured in-studio video performances (all, significantly, of Macca tracks) and then the great idea (since aped by the Stones and U2) of playing their new stuff live on Apple's roof, on a biting cold Jamuary day. It was also inspired of Lindsay-Hogg to intersperse the general public's comments before the group brings the "audition" to a close.
The photography is great, the four stepping into life from their iconic White Album photos and I enjoyed the honest but fair editing applied to what was by all accounts a massively over-recorded exercise. Favourite moments for me include Paul and Ringo's boogie-woogie piano run-through, George assisting Ringo with the writing of "Octopus's Garden" and of course that final run-through of "Get Back" on the roof, with Paul surprisingly getting in some improvised anti-Establishment digs before the police pulled the plug.
Of all the concerts that ever have been or ever will be, that 20 minute Apple gig is the one I wish I could have been at. And surely even if slightly Pyrrhically, the great music they produce over the last thirty minutes or so of the film justifies the raison-d'etre of the film, working up the songs from in-progress to issuable level.
Of course there's a sadness and elegiac sensation for fans in watching this "posthumous" film and it's also fair to say the music isn't always top-drawer Beatles - only McCartney brings his best work to the party, although John and especially George would recover their chops in time for "Abbey Road". Sure, too the playing's a bit sloppy at times but there's never a moment when there isn't fascination at something going on on-screen. And for-by much is made of Paul and George's spat (with John acting as unlikely peace-maker) and the at times tired and dishevelled appearance of the guys themselves, there are many other revealing and rewarding vignettes, even before director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, corrals the band for three assured in-studio video performances (all, significantly, of Macca tracks) and then the great idea (since aped by the Stones and U2) of playing their new stuff live on Apple's roof, on a biting cold Jamuary day. It was also inspired of Lindsay-Hogg to intersperse the general public's comments before the group brings the "audition" to a close.
The photography is great, the four stepping into life from their iconic White Album photos and I enjoyed the honest but fair editing applied to what was by all accounts a massively over-recorded exercise. Favourite moments for me include Paul and Ringo's boogie-woogie piano run-through, George assisting Ringo with the writing of "Octopus's Garden" and of course that final run-through of "Get Back" on the roof, with Paul surprisingly getting in some improvised anti-Establishment digs before the police pulled the plug.
Of all the concerts that ever have been or ever will be, that 20 minute Apple gig is the one I wish I could have been at. And surely even if slightly Pyrrhically, the great music they produce over the last thirty minutes or so of the film justifies the raison-d'etre of the film, working up the songs from in-progress to issuable level.
- How long is Let It Be?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Beatles at Work
- Filming locations
- Apple Corps, 3 Savile Row, Mayfair, London, England, UK(13-24 January 1969)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,061,569
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