Review of Let It Be (1970) by Tom S — 17 Nov 2007

Wait, hold on. I thought this was supposed to be depressing. Because to me, it just looks like a bunch of old friends having a good time. What's the deal? I had wanted to see this movie for many years, but it seemed like the remaining Beatles were trying to prevent it from being in print. Thanks to the power of the internet, I've now been able to see it for myself, albeit in crap quality.

Whenever I asked my parents about the movie, they told me that it was a real drag and they walked out of the theater. All the movie was to them was a big boring and annoying fight. Maybe the movie aged well, but my parents (and everybody else's) assessment couldn't be further from the truth.

First of all, there are about three conversations in the movie, period. One is a slight frustration to get "I've Got a Feeling" down for the first time. Paul comes off as a little overbearing. And that's it for conflict in the film. A 20 second discussion has been painted into bitter rivalry. Besides that, there is no plot whatsoever. It's just a few guys joking around and jamming in a studio. They run through some old songs, half assedly try to do some new stuff, and overall appear to be enjoying their great job.

Of course we all know Yoko is supposed to be some evil and overbearing presence that breaks up the band. But you know what she does? She just sits there, looking (understandably) bored. She doesn't say a word. John and Yoko were a couple in love and wanted to be near each other. That's it.

Beyond the misrepresentation this movie has received, there really is a lot of great stuff in here diehard Beatle will love. For example, George giving Ringo some advice on the chords in Octopus's Garden, or the early run through of Maxwell's Silver Hammer. Seeing the way The Beatles put their songs together is absolutely fascinating, especially since they were trying to nail them in one take, rather than manipulate them in the studio like they had been for many years. For a second, I thought to myself, "I know those chords, hell, I could do this." By the halfway point, it appears the band does get its shit together and proves exactly why The Beatles were The Beatles.

The rooftop concert at the end was like conceptual art. It was far more interesting when the camera were down in the streets and one can hear The Beatles echoing load and clear. The cameras move through the crowd of people and ask them what they think of it. It's really great stuff.

There may have been real strife amongst the egos of the members of the band, but you couldn't tell it by watching this movie. If YOU were to happen to see it on a certain TUBE, it would really be worth your time. This movie is in dire need of a restoration and I hope that one day a DVD will come out in the correct aspect ratio with deleted scenes and all that junk. In case that never happens, see it while it's still available online for nothing.