Let It Be (1970)
7/10
Help!
3 November 2001
Let it Be is a look at how a great band can disintergrate before your eyes. It is almost impossible not to view this film without a knowing nod of oh yes I can see how it happened. The truth is the making of this documentary makes far more better reading than actually viewing it. In November 1968 The Beatles released over thirty new songs recorded between bouts of hostility and anger at the presence of Yoko in the studio. With Ringo set to make the film Magic Christian in February 1969 it is hard to see how the group could have got back together after six months apart. Paul came up with the idea to make a TV show around the Beatles recording and rehearsing new material from scratch at Twickenham with a second show that would see the group performing at the Roundhouse, London.All this completed in January 1969. All the problems that acompany this idea are seen in the film. The main problem is the group just do not have enough new material, John's heavy drug use make him just a passenger.However his ego will not allow George to take a more central role and this is why George walks out of the group and not the argument that is so often referred to by everyone who has seen the film. When he rejoins the band at their Saville Row studio along with Billy Preston the group seem more relaxed. However it obvious that all the superior compositions like 'Let it Be', 'Thr Long and Winding Road' and 'Get Back' are all Paul's and it is he who's presence dominates their rooftop performance. When all the recordings were completed their were no TV shows just enough footage to make a rough cut of a film 120 minutes long with John and Yoko equally to the fore with Paul. Allegedly rejected by the remaining Beatles his footage was taken out and what is left is a group dominated by Paul, who comes across as the leader pushing and bullying the band into a cohesive unit. But ultimatly isn't that what everybody wants The Beatles just playing music.
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