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Let It Be review – reissued Beatles film takes long and winding road to eventual acclaim

Reviled by the band when it came out and widely thought of as miserable, the film – restored to its original format – actually offers light and insightful moments

People would have come across the desert!” he enthuses, then adds, sadly: “I almost had it, the amphitheatre.” He patently didn’t, but to his credit Peter Jackson nods sympathetically, which suggests he might be a good sport too. None of the Beatles attended its premiere or the Oscars ceremony, where they won best original song for the title track; all of them subsequently criticised the film in one way or another; the reviews largely stank; and it’s been legally unavailable for over 40 years. It never explains what the Beatles were doing – rehearsing for a projected live special and being filmed for an accompanying behind-the-scenes documentary – which amps up the sense of aimlessness that haunts the Twickenham sessions.

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