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The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’ Film Is Still Sad, Even After a Vibrant Peter Jackson Restoration
For all the hindsight, spin, counter-narratives and a Peter Jackson restoration, the Beatles' 'Let It Be' film is still a bummer.
Like so many forbidden things, its story became distorted over the years — and with the 2021 release of Peter Jackson’s eight-hour, seemingly revisionist “Get Back,” which presented the footage from that gloomy January of 1969 in a much brighter and more full sense, it became even more so. Sure, that’s partially due to the awkwardness of the bandmembers trying to find creative inspiration in front of spotlights and movie cameras first thing in the morning — and for the viewers, 50 years of hindsight and the fact that we’re hearing rough, unpolished versions of songs by a group that set a new studio standard for rock music. Of course, the magic remains as well: a bounty of great new songs in various stages of completion were debuted, we get to see George helping Ringo develop “Octopus’ Garden,” and the famous “rooftop concert” that closes the film is genuinely exhilarating.
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