Report: Preview of upcoming ‘Let It Be’-era Beatles documentary offers an upbeat depiction of the band

Music News GroupJanuary 28, 2020

376 1 minute read

Jeff Hochberg/Getty ImagesIn the midst of Grammy Weekend this past Saturday, Universal Music hosted a showcase that treated attendees to an exclusive first look at the new Beatles documentary that’s being made by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, utilizing footage shot while the Fab Four were working on their Let It Be album.

Variety reports that audience members were asked not to film or photograph the preview, which ran for several minutes. Apple Records chief Jeff Jones, who was on hand to introduce the clip, noted that while the original Let It Be movie appeared to document the band in the process of breaking up, “We have created a brand-new film that will attempt to bust the myth that the Let It Be sessions were the final nail in the Beatles’ coffin.”

According to Variety, the footage shown from the new flick is “brighter both visually and spiritually” than the original Let It Be, and features “many, many shots of the Beatles joking around, making fun of each other, singing in silly accents and generally indulging in vintage Moptop hijinks.”

The preview also included a variety of previously unseen segments featuring the group rehearsing tunes that ended up on Abbey Road, which was the final studio album The Beatles recorded, as well as working on some songs that would first appear on solo albums by the band members.

The film project was first announced in January 2019. Jackson was hired to turn 55 hours of unreleased 1969 footage of The Beatles into a new take on the band’s Let It Be documentary. This May will mark the 50th anniversary of the Let It Be album’s release, although it’s not clear when the as-yet-untitled new film will premiere.