Peter Jackson will direct a documentary about the making of Let It Be, the Beatles’ final album. The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit director will sift through 55 hours of unseen studio footage, far more than was recorded for their other LPs. Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon, and Olivia Harrison are all co-operating in the film’s creation, according to a press release.
Jackson will employ similar techniques to those used to restore World War 1 footage for his recent film They Shall Not Grow Old. He said in the press release, “The 55 hours of never-before-seen footage and 140 hours of audio made available to us, ensures 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.”
He continued, “I was relieved to discover the reality is very different to the myth. 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’s 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.”
After the film’s release, a restored version of Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s original Let It Be movie will also be made available.
Read Pitchfork’s feature on the best Beatles books.