Peter Jackson to make new Beatles documentary using unseen footage from ‘Let It Be’ sessions
‘We get to sit in the studio watching these four friends make great music together’
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Your support makes all the difference.Peter Jackson’s next project has been announced: a revised version of The Beatles documentary Let It Be.
The Lord of the Rings filmmaker will use 55 hours of in-studio footage initially filmed by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg for the original 1970 film.
Paul McCartney has previously hinted that a new version of Let It Be was being worked on, having been disappointed with the original’s downbeat take on the recording sessions – which took place just a year before the band broke up.
Jackson said in a statement of making the new film: “The 55 hours of never-before-seen footage and 140 hours of audio made available to us ensure this movie will be the ultimate ‘fly on the wall’ experience that Beatles fans have long dreamt about.
“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.”
For those fans intrigued by Lindsay-Hogg’s original film, Apple has confirmed that his version will be released “following the release of this new film”.
Jackson agreed with McCartney that the original does not represent what was actually happening in the studio at the time. “I was relieved to discover the reality is very different to the myth,” Jackson said.
“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 are 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.
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“I’m thrilled and honoured to have been entrusted with this remarkable footage. Making the movie will be a sheer joy.”
The news comes on the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ concert atop the Apple Corps offices in London. While there’s no release date for Jackson’s film, sources tell Variety that the documentary could come out next year to mark the 50th anniversary of Let It Be.
Jackson recently released the documentary They Shall Not Grow Old, which featured restored footage of soldiers from the First World War. Jackson also recently co-produced the science-fiction film Mortal Engines, directed by Christian Rivers.
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