The long-awaited updating of the 1970 Beatles’ film “Let It Be” will not be seen on the big screen, but instead will be available to subscribers of the Disney+ streaming service.
According to a Benzinga news report, “The Beatles: Get Back” will be presented as a Disney+ Original documentary series consisting of three two-hour episodes that will premiere across Nov. 25-27.
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson was given access to more than 55 hours of previously unseen footage that was shot by Michael Lindsay-Hogg in 1969 for “Let It Be,” was released by United Artists in May 1970, one month after the Beatles broke up. “The Beatles: Get Back” has digitally restored this footage and will include the entire 42-minute rooftop concert of Jan. 30, 1969, that turned out to be the band’s last live performance.
“Let It Be” won an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and played on television during the 1970s before having a brief VHS video release in the early 1980s. However, it has been out of circulation for many years and has only been available as a bootleg title. The surviving Beatles have resisted calls to make it available again, allegedly due to their discomfort on how the film detailed the problems that sped the break-up of the band.
“The Beatles: Get Back” was initially planned as a feature film for a September 2020 release before being expanded into a three-part streaming series. In announcing the new series, Disney did not say if “Let It Be” would be re-released in conjunction with this new offering.
“This phenomenal collection of never-before-seen footage offers an unprecedented look at the close camaraderie, genius songwriting, and indelible impact of one of the most iconic and culturally influential bands of all time, and we can’t wait to share ‘The Beatles: Get Back’ with fans around the world,” said Bob Iger, Disney’s executive chairman and chairman of the board.