IMDb RATING
7.7/10
6.6K
YOUR RATING
The filmed account of The Beatles' attempt to recapture their old group spirit by making a back to basics album, which instead drove them further apart.The filmed account of The Beatles' attempt to recapture their old group spirit by making a back to basics album, which instead drove them further apart.The filmed account of The Beatles' attempt to recapture their old group spirit by making a back to basics album, which instead drove them further apart.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 2 wins total
John Lennon
- Self (The Beatles)
- (uncredited)
Paul McCartney
- Self (The Beatles)
- (uncredited)
George Harrison
- Self (The Beatles)
- (uncredited)
Ringo Starr
- Self (The Beatles)
- (uncredited)
The Beatles
- Themselves
- (uncredited)
Peter Brown
- Self
- (uncredited)
Geoff Emerick
- Self
- (uncredited)
Kevin Harrington
- Self
- (uncredited)
Michael Lindsay-Hogg
- Self
- (uncredited)
George Martin
- Self
- (uncredited)
Heather McCartney
- Self
- (uncredited)
Linda McCartney
- Self
- (uncredited)
Billy Preston
- Self
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Beatles' Producer George Martin and independent Producer Glyn Johns prepared mixes of the soundtrack album, neither of which satisfied everyone. Martin effectively quit working with the band when criticisms started turning personal, but returned to make "Abbey Road" after The Beatles promised to work with him "like in the old days", with Martin calling the shots in the studio. A second remix by Johns was also rejected, and with Martin unwilling to work any further on "Let It Be", Phil Spector was hired to complete the soundtrack.
- GoofsDue to the two-camera technique used to film most of the scenes, during much of the performances the audio does not match up with the performers. One such example is during the Suzy Parker segment, and again during I Got a Feeling, though this scene was filmed using five cameras.
- Quotes
John Lennon: I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we pass the audition.
- Alternate versionsThe first cut, which was supervised by Michael Lindsay-Hogg and The Beatles themselves, ran for 210 minutes. It was screened at a private screening room on 20th July, 1969. According to Mark Lewishon's The Complete Beatles Chronicle, a second version was edited in the absence of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. This new cut (with a considerable amount of "John and Yoko" footage cut out) became the 81-minute release that made the cinemas.
- ConnectionsEdited from The Beatles: Don't Let Me Down (1969)
- SoundtracksPaul's Piano Intro
Performed by The Beatles
Written by Paul McCartney
Published by Apple Records
Courtesy of Apple Records
Featured review
Twilight of the Gods..
Another watched in-flight movie on my IPod, "Let it Be" for my money now stands as an honest and convincing testimony to the talent and stature of The Beatles, even as one can sense the ties that bind loosening them individually in front of you.
Of course there's a sadness and elegiac sensation for fans in watching this "posthumous" film and it's also fair to say the music isn't always top-drawer Beatles - only McCartney brings his best work to the party, although John and especially George would recover their chops in time for "Abbey Road". Sure, too the playing's a bit sloppy at times but there's never a moment when there isn't fascination at something going on on-screen. And for-by much is made of Paul and George's spat (with John acting as unlikely peace-maker) and the at times tired and dishevelled appearance of the guys themselves, there are many other revealing and rewarding vignettes, even before director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, corrals the band for three assured in-studio video performances (all, significantly, of Macca tracks) and then the great idea (since aped by the Stones and U2) of playing their new stuff live on Apple's roof, on a biting cold Jamuary day. It was also inspired of Lindsay-Hogg to intersperse the general public's comments before the group brings the "audition" to a close.
The photography is great, the four stepping into life from their iconic White Album photos and I enjoyed the honest but fair editing applied to what was by all accounts a massively over-recorded exercise. Favourite moments for me include Paul and Ringo's boogie-woogie piano run-through, George assisting Ringo with the writing of "Octopus's Garden" and of course that final run-through of "Get Back" on the roof, with Paul surprisingly getting in some improvised anti-Establishment digs before the police pulled the plug.
Of all the concerts that ever have been or ever will be, that 20 minute Apple gig is the one I wish I could have been at. And surely even if slightly Pyrrhically, the great music they produce over the last thirty minutes or so of the film justifies the raison-d'etre of the film, working up the songs from in-progress to issuable level.
Of course there's a sadness and elegiac sensation for fans in watching this "posthumous" film and it's also fair to say the music isn't always top-drawer Beatles - only McCartney brings his best work to the party, although John and especially George would recover their chops in time for "Abbey Road". Sure, too the playing's a bit sloppy at times but there's never a moment when there isn't fascination at something going on on-screen. And for-by much is made of Paul and George's spat (with John acting as unlikely peace-maker) and the at times tired and dishevelled appearance of the guys themselves, there are many other revealing and rewarding vignettes, even before director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, corrals the band for three assured in-studio video performances (all, significantly, of Macca tracks) and then the great idea (since aped by the Stones and U2) of playing their new stuff live on Apple's roof, on a biting cold Jamuary day. It was also inspired of Lindsay-Hogg to intersperse the general public's comments before the group brings the "audition" to a close.
The photography is great, the four stepping into life from their iconic White Album photos and I enjoyed the honest but fair editing applied to what was by all accounts a massively over-recorded exercise. Favourite moments for me include Paul and Ringo's boogie-woogie piano run-through, George assisting Ringo with the writing of "Octopus's Garden" and of course that final run-through of "Get Back" on the roof, with Paul surprisingly getting in some improvised anti-Establishment digs before the police pulled the plug.
Of all the concerts that ever have been or ever will be, that 20 minute Apple gig is the one I wish I could have been at. And surely even if slightly Pyrrhically, the great music they produce over the last thirty minutes or so of the film justifies the raison-d'etre of the film, working up the songs from in-progress to issuable level.
helpful•60
- Lejink
- Jan 18, 2010
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Beatles at Work
- Filming locations
- Apple Corps, 3 Savile Row, Mayfair, London, England, UK(13-24 January 1969)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,061,569
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