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Fans Just Won't Let It Be

The movie Let It Be first appeared in local theatres in 1970. It was designed to show The Beatles live, rehearsing and performing. The album, Let It Be was in fact intended to be a "live" album, although the plan was to hire audiences to be a part of the recording process rather than recording truly live performances.

 

The project was, of course, rudely interrupted by the band's split. The album exists today primarily because John spirited away the tapes and took them to Phil Spector in the USA, where they were remixed into the album we know today. Paul especially still seems angry over the fact that the album was released in the form we find it, and he has been loathe to speak to or about Spector since.

 

The movie, Let It Be was to be a kind of documentary. Again, the project was designed to show The Beatles rehearsing and the performing in front of an audience. What was committed to film, however, were endless hours of the lads bickering, aimlessly jamming, and finally performing on the rooftop of the Apple building in London while British police ran about bemused.

 

Still, of all the email we get with regards to releases, the movie version of Let It Be tops the list.

 

Ironically, the movie became a documentary after all. But it does not celebrate the Beatles; rather it chronicles the demise of the greatest band in rock history. It adds the ending punctuation to their brilliant career, be that a period, a question mark or an exclamation mark! And this celluloid capsule of history is what likely sparks so much interest in the movie.

 

Beatles' fans are a strange lot since they seem perplexed by the mysteries of life. Why The Beatles broke apart is one such mystery. Was it Yoko's fault? Was it Linda pulling Paul away from the others? Did George really sock John? Or did John sock George? And anyway, who would you have picked in a fight between the two?

 

Fans look to Let It Be as the source of the answers to such endless questions.

On Ebay, mint copies of the film sell for up to $65 American. That seems about right for a film that is so sought after and out of print. The 1997 release that was made available only to fan clubs sells for about $35. Either you pay or you wait.

 

Will Let It Be be re-released? Probably. When? That's a tough question. Yellow Submarine was re-released last year. A Hard Day's Night is due for release this
spring, Help is already easily obtainable, and that pretty much leaves us with Let It Be. An educated guess would say in a year from now, or perhaps as early as next November for the Christmas rush. But in Pepperland, nothing is certain.

Paperback writer

 

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