Beatles Let It Be DVD

[KDS]

I was going to post this an a thread on the main forum about an upcoming Beatles DVD release of some of their promo videos. 

When in the world is Let It Be going to get a proper release? 

I know it's not a pleasant film to watch at times, but it's a historical document.  Plus, Hard Day's Night, Help, Magical Mystery Tour, and Yellow Submarine have all been released / re-released / and re-released again on DVD.

I remember when George passed, Paul hinted that a DVD release might be forthcoming, but that was almost 14 years ago. 

[guitarfool2002]

If it's been kept in the dark for as long as it has been up to this point, the obvious thing is there are factions within the Apple organization who do not want it re-released. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I had to get a VHS boot copy of it (Christmas or birthday present, 1988...) originally, then most of the cleaner copies were sourced from the old laserdisc release, if anyone can find that at the yard sales and swap meets.

It's kind of tough to watch. If I were not a Beatles fan, it would be hard to maintain interest in sitting through the whole thing. And to be quite honest, the sound often times is pretty bad to the point where entire portions of conversations and dialogue between the band members are inaudible or garbled.

I don't think the band (as a catch-all term) is or was proud of this work, and maybe as long as it's up to them it will stay in the vaults.

Also, Paul's "Let It Be - Naked" didn't exactly change minds or create a groundswell of interest in the project with new audiences, so it doesn't seem to be something they'd have on top of the reissue or remaster list.

[KDS]

I have no doubt that it's not The Beatles proudest moment.  However, neither is the Magical Mystery Tour film.  But, that got a proper release. 

I know that I can easily get a Let It Be DVD on the....uh....secondary market.  But I've been putting it off thinking that, one day, it'll be released. 

[The Cincinnati Kid]

What is actually bad about the movie? (I've never seen it)  Is it more "oh this is the end of the Beatles, how depressing!" or was it just a poor quality movie?

[Chocolate Shake Man]

Personally I like it but I recall showing it to friends who were Beatles fans who got unbelievably bored after about 10 minutes. It never got any better for them.

[KDS]

Granted, its been many years since I've seen it, but as I recall, it's pretty tense.  Other than the tension, I enjoyed it. 

[Chocolate Shake Man]

Personally I don't get the tension apart from that one much talked about scene between Paul and George and even then it's hard to hear what they are saying. Mostly everyone just looks incredibly bored and occasionally there are moments of real joy and levity.

[Rocky Raccoon]

I think it's a great film.  The rehearsals are a lot of fun to watch, it's really the only filmed document of arguably the most important band of all-time going through their studio process.  There is some tension but most of the squabbling didn't make it into the final film anyways (save for one moment between George and Paul).  It's no secret the band was breaking up at that time, it's not like it's unexpected to see.  There are in fact more joyful moments, the band jamming on You Really Got a Hold On Me and One After 909 and looking like they're loving every minute of it.  Then the last half hour or so is basically a concert film.  There are full live-in-studio performances of Two of Us, Let It Be, and The Long and Winding Road and then the famous rooftop performance which includes Get Back, Don't Let Me Down, Dig a Pony, One After 909, and I've Got a Feeling.  Even if you're not into documentaries or watching the Beatles rehearse and jam, that last half hour is essential watching for any pop music fan.

[KDS]

For a truly depressing, but still fascinating, documentary, check out Metallica's Some Kind of Monster. 

For a little while there, it looked like the filmmakers were capturing the breakup of Metallica.  When the band does play, they're making the worst album of their career (St. Anger - personally, my least favorite album from an artist I like). 

[Lonely Summer]

Let it Be deserves to be on DVD. If Apple is worried that the film is dark and depressing, then they could balance things by also releasing the Shea Stadium film . So much stuff they are just sitting on.

[Ram4]

That whole Paul and George thing where George says "whatever it is that will please you, I'll do it" was way overblown.  For one thing, it was a not on camera fight between John and George that led to him quitting the band during the filming.  What's even more bizarre is that the three Beatles kept rehearsing at Twickenham after George quit as if they were going to carry on.  At one point Lennon said they should just ask Clapton to join the band.

I've always enjoyed Let It Be.  The bootleg YouTube footage of them working on Get Back at Apple is a treat because everyone was really into the song.  George even was heard saying "this will be our next single" and John was having a blast playing lead guitar on it.  You'd never know they were having friction by this session.  That should have been in the movie (but Get Back is shown twice on the roof). 

Personally, I am hoping they will either release Let It Be expanded as more of a very long documentary (3-4 hours would be great), or in it's originally version plus bonus contact  of unreleased footage including the full rooftop performance.

[KDS]

That whole Paul and George thing where George says "whatever it is that will please you, I'll do it" was way overblown.  For one thing, it was a not on camera fight between John and George that led to him quitting the band during the filming.  What's even more bizarre is that the three Beatles kept rehearsing at Twickenham after George quit as if they were going to carry on.  At one point Lennon said they should just ask Clapton to join the band.

I've always enjoyed Let It Be.  The bootleg YouTube footage of them working on Get Back at Apple is a treat because everyone was really into the song.  George even was heard saying "this will be our next single" and John was having a blast playing lead guitar on it.  You'd never know they were having friction by this session.  That should have been in the movie (but Get Back is shown twice on the roof). 

Personally, I am hoping they will either release Let It Be expanded as more of a very long documentary (3-4 hours would be great), or in it's originally version plus bonus contact  of unreleased footage including the full rooftop performance.

I think Paul McCartney originally hinted at a deluxe release a while back (I'm thinking around 2002 or 2003).  But nothing ever came of it. 

[Ram4]

That whole Paul and George thing where George says "whatever it is that will please you, I'll do it" was way overblown.  For one thing, it was a not on camera fight between John and George that led to him quitting the band during the filming.  What's even more bizarre is that the three Beatles kept rehearsing at Twickenham after George quit as if they were going to carry on.  At one point Lennon said they should just ask Clapton to join the band.

I've always enjoyed Let It Be.  The bootleg YouTube footage of them working on Get Back at Apple is a treat because everyone was really into the song.  George even was heard saying "this will be our next single" and John was having a blast playing lead guitar on it.  You'd never know they were having friction by this session.  That should have been in the movie (but Get Back is shown twice on the roof). 

Personally, I am hoping they will either release Let It Be expanded as more of a very long documentary (3-4 hours would be great), or in it's originally version plus bonus contact  of unreleased footage including the full rooftop performance.

I think Paul McCartney originally hinted at a deluxe release a while back (I'm thinking around 2002 or 2003).  But nothing ever came of it. 

Yeah, I remember hearing that.  I think the longer we wait, the better our chances of getting something much better will be.

[37!ws]

I think the big thing preventing the release is George Harrison's estate. He always was very explicitly against the movie being reissued because he didn't want the world peeking in on what was a very depressing time. And I'm pretty sure Olivia et al have been honoring his wishes. I remember some years ago Macca said he didn't know it wasn't available and that he was surprised that it wasn't gettable.

Truth is, folks...let's be totally frickin' honest: there is *nothing depressing* about that movie. It shows four guys (and eventually five) rehearsing music and then recording it. The only reason people find it depressing is that 1) the fans know that the end was looming, and 2) when it first came out it was right around Macca's public confirmation that the band broke up. The movie itself contains nothing depressing. The mini-pseudo-argument between George and Paul? That wasn't the first time such an argument happened. Things like that happened ALL THE TIME. And I'm sure it happens with OTHER bands ALL THE TIME. It's called "creative differences."

Were the Beatles having a bad time? Yes. Does the movie actually PRESENT it that way? No. But yeah, it was a bad time, particularly the first third of the film, because:
- First off, they were performing on a soundstage rather than a proper recording studio; they were not comfortable with this environment.
- Second, they had to adhere to the film crew's shooting schedule, which was vastly different to the hours they were used to recording
- And of course, tension...George quit the band.

Notice how when the film switches to Apple Records about a third of the way through, the vibe is much better. They were now in a recording studio. (That was one of the stiipulations of George returning.) Billy Preston was brought in, and the group were on their "best behavior" with him around. Work was getting done.

But yeah, stick your average Jo[e] down in front of a screening of Let It Be, and that person, assuming said person knows nothing about the Beatles, would say it's a film of a group performing and recording music. Period.

[Lonely Summer]

I always assumed it was the ever smiling, thumbs up Paul that didn't want the DVD to come out. I would think bluntly honest George would be fine with the world seeing the Fabs - as John put it - "with their trousers off". Whatever.

[KDS]

I always assumed it was the ever smiling, thumbs up Paul that didn't want the DVD to come out. I would think bluntly honest George would be fine with the world seeing the Fabs - as John put it - "with their trousers off". Whatever.

You're probably right.  But, if that's the case, it's poor logic on Paul's part.  I would think that most Beatles fans have already seem Let It Be in one form or another.  It's easily available on the b@@tleg market, so fans who want it can buy it.  I would just think that Paul would rather have that money coming his way. 

[Ram4]

Found this from 2008:

http://www.express.co.uk/dayandnight/54635/Macca-and-Ringo-say-just-Let-It-Be

SIR Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have blocked plans to release historic footage of The Beatles’ break-up, we can reveal.

Moves had been afoot to release a DVD version of the group’s 1970 film Let It Be, which highlights internal squabbles as the legendary group neared its end.

But Apple insiders say that surviving Beatles McCartney and Starr don’t want the movie to hit the shelves as it shows relations between the Fab Four in a less than positive light.

“There has been talk of Let It Be finally being released but now there has been a change of heart,” says an industry mole.

“The Beatles are still a massive global brand and it’s felt it won’t be helped if the public sees the darker side of the story. Neither Paul nor Ringo would be comfortable publicising a film  showing The Beatles getting on each other’s nerves.”

The film, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, showed the splintering group working on their forthcoming album in the studio.

Relations were particularly strained between McCartney and George Harrison, who took exception to Macca criticising his guitar playing.

John Lennon, meanwhile, often appeared disinterested, preferring to spend time with Yoko Ono, who was present throughout. The movie did, at least, end on a positive note with The Beatles performing live on a London rooftop.

The movie was accompanied by an album of the same name, although this is often regarded as one of the band’s weaker offerings – despite the fact it includes such songs as Get Back and The Long And Winding Road, as well as the famous signature track sung by Sir Paul.

The group’s former manager Neil Aspinall, who died from lung cancer in March, had been behind plans to release a version of the film on DVD, accompanied by previously unseen footage.

He too, how­ever, is said to have had concerns that this could prove emotionally difficult for the surviving Beatles, as well as band members’ families.

“People like to imagine The Beatles were a happy ship but the reality towards the end was very different as this film shows,” adds our source.

“There’s all sorts of extra footage showing more squabbles but it’s unlikely it will ever see the light of day in Paul and Ringo’s lifetime.”


I think they seem to forget that millions of people have seen the movie.  I can understand them saying all this if it had never come out (and would be THE Holy Grail), but it did!

[KDS]

Thanks for sharing Ram4. 

And you're 100% right.  Just about anyone who cares about The Beatles has seen Let It Be.  It's no secret.  So, they might as well give fans a chance to own a legit copy with extra footage.

And really, is the movie any less embarrassing that Magical Mystery Tour or Yellow Submarine (music aside)? 

[Chocolate Shake Man]

And really, is the movie any less embarrassing that Magical Mystery Tour or Yellow Submarine (music aside)? 

I think Yellow Submarine is a wonderful movie with some really excellent and iconic animation. I'd say it and Hard Day's Night are the best Beatles movies.

[KDS]

And really, is the movie any less embarrassing that Magical Mystery Tour or Yellow Submarine (music aside)? 

I think Yellow Submarine is a wonderful movie with some really excellent and iconic animation. I'd say it and Hard Day's Night are the best Beatles movies.

While I think that Yellow Submarine is really good visually, and some of the song segments work well on their own (ie. the Eleanor Rigby sequence), I just don't think the movie's much to write home about. 

Personally, I'd rank Hard Day's Night and HELP! as one and two respectively.  Let It Be would be my #3.  Magical Mystery Tour again has good song sequences that stand on their own, but again, the movie was OK at best.  I'd put that at #4, and Yellow Submarine at #5.  I probably give MMT the slight edge over YS for the shorter runtime. 

[Ian]

I think that Paul and ringo probably don't fancy looking at all the hours of footage that they have in the vault and deciding what to include on the blu Ray release. It was the same problem with the album-according to Lennon none of them wanted to sift through the hours of recordings to find the best takes so they just gave it to glyn johns and then Spector to see what they could do

[SurfRiderHawaii]

Perhaps the crew that worked on the upcoming video release are going to turn their attention to Let It Be. Seems like those oldies recorded, and such, alt takes, might make for a similar two disc cd release. This is probably the only vein left to mine in the Beatles vaults.

****** Edit - I just pulled out my long forgotten VHS copy of the movie. I have a vhs to DVD burner, so if the tape is still any good, I am going to transfer it over.

[Lonely Summer]

I have a VHS copy of Let it Be, but it sure would have been nice if they had put it on dvd with bonus footage. Let it Be is to the Beatles' output as Elvis in Concert (1977 CBS special) is to Presley's - never to be released.

[Jay]

If they don't want the released version of the Let It Be film released on dvd, why not go through the archives and just re-edit an entirely new Get Back sessions era documentary? I've thought about that idea for a few years now. There is probably enough footage in the outtakes that the sessions can be seen in a positive way that would make all involved happy. To be honest, the original Let It Be movie is kind of a mess anyway. The editing is horrible. Performances are edited into incomplete form, re-sequenced in ways that they were never even performed in, and sometimes the audio that you hear doesn't even match the footage that you see.

[Lonely Summer]

They included a lot of Let it Be footage in the Anthology, so it's not like the general public hasn't seen the Beatles as the Grumpy Fabs.