The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’ Film Is Still Sad, Even After a Vibrant Peter Jackson Restoration

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Eight years ago, the writer-director Andrea Arnold packed up her hand-held-camera brand of kitchen-sink British austerity and took it across the pond to make “American Honey,” a movie about a wolf pack of kids in a van who seemed to incarnate the tumult of the 21st century. The movie, crafted in a style that I thought of as hip-hop Dardenne brothers, was an indie explosion that felt like a landmark. Now, though, in “Bird,” the first dramatic feature that Arnold has made since (in between, she directed episodes of “Big Little Lies” and “Transparent” and made the documentary “Cow”), she’s back to chronicling the miserablism of aimless, scroungy British young folk who experience their lives as a dead zone.

EXCLUSIVE: Since Warner Bros acquired the rights to make more Middle-earth films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s works and the canon established by New Line’s original trilogy, Peter Jackson and his Lord of the Rings cohorts Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens hovered over the proceedings for a long time, as they mulled how to return, and much to involve themselves into another deep dive into Tolkien mythology.

shout — a lot.Ringo Starr, 83, admitted that The Beatles had their issues with one another in a new interview with Dan Rather, 92, for AXS.“No no, we didn’t get along,” the drummer said of the iconic English rock band on May 10. “We were four guys. We had rows.”But Starr said that the drama with the other Beatles — Paul McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon — “never got in the way of the music no matter how bad the row was.”“Once the count in, we all gave our best,” Starr explained.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Sony Music Publishing today announced it has acquired the catalog of Tame Impala singer/ songwriter/ producer Kevin Parker, who has also worked extensively with Dua Lipa, Rihanna, SZA, Kendrick Lamar Gorillaz and more. The deal, which expands the company’s 15-year partnership with Parker, encompasses his entire catalog of songs as well as future works. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Paul Weller has shared he believes that The Beatles split at the “right time.”The Modfather and former frontman of The Jam – who is set to release ‘66′, his 17th solo album and 28th studio LP in total since launching his career back in 1977 – spoke to Mojo, and recalled the impact The Beatles had on him when growing up.“Mum and Dad had old rock ‘n’ roll records by Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis, which I loved, but The Beatles… It isn’t an exaggeration to say they changed the world for many, many people, me included,” he said.He continued: “They made me see other possibilities. They made me think of other things in this life, that there wasn’t just this little town, there was a world beyond the city walls and I wanted to be a part of it, to see and feel and experience.

Ringo Starr has revealed that The Beatles wouldn’t have made as many records had it not been for “workaholic” Paul McCartney.The drummer of the legendary band sat down with journalist Dan Rather for a new interview on AXS TV. Starr opened up about how The Beatles didn’t get along and how without Macca, they wouldn’t have made nearly as many records as they did.“No no, we didn’t get along.

HBO is rolling out some beauteous dragon footage and a potty-mouthed Aegon in the season 2 trailer for House of the Dragon, which returns June 16.

The Beatles have released a brand new restored video for ‘Let It Be’.The video features clips from the newly released and restored 1970 film Let It Be, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, and uses rarely-seen alternate camera angles of the Fab Four and Billy Preston as they were recording the song.The meticulous restoration was done by Park Road Post Production from the original 16mm negative. According to the video’s description on YouTube, it was “filmed on the day after the January 30 rooftop concert” in 1969.‌The Let It Be film is now streaming on Disney+, marking the first time the documentary has been available in over 50 years.In a four-star review of the film, NME shared: “There may not be a more punk rock bit of film on earth than George being told the police were on the roof to shut them down, and casually turning his amp back on.

Director Brian Levant reveals in a new interview that John Goodman did not want to reprise his role of Fred Flintstone in a sequel to the 1994 film, The Flintstones.

Warner Bros. is set to release a new Lord Of The Rings film in 2026, featuring help from Peter Jackson.The news of the upcoming film arrived earlier today (May 9), during a conference call about Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has announced that the next “Lord of The Rings” movie is aiming for a theatrical release in 2026 and will have the creative involvement of filmmaker Peter Jackson, who co-wrote and directed all six Middle-Earth feature films based on the beloved high-fantasy novels of Professor J.R.R.

The Beatles‘ classic 1970 documentary film Let It Be was premiered in London earlier this week (May 7), before arriving on Disney+. Speaking at the press launch, creators explained how one of the most vital scenes – and significant moments in music history – never happened.The film was screened in front of an audience at the Curzon Mayfair which included original recording engineer Glyn Johns and Giles Martin (son of legendary Beatles producer George Martin, who remixed the music in Let It Be), Louis Theroux, James Bay, The Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie and Captain America and Indiana Jones actor Toby Jones.The documentary, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, was first released in cinemas 54 years ago and has been difficult to obtain since primarily because the original master tapes were stolen from Apple Corps shortly after the film was made.Speaking in a Q&A hosted by former Radio 1 DJ Edith Bowman, Jonathan Clyde producer of the film and director of production at Apple Corps, said: “When we first started talking about [restoring] it with [head of Apple Corps] Neil Aspinall in 2000, he said rather unenthusiastically, ‘I suppose we’d better do something about Let It Be’.“But the problem was that the master sound, that’s 450 to 500, 15 minute reels of master sound from the 20-odd days of shooting, had been stolen from Apple [Corps] in the early ’70s.”He continued: “So in truth, there was not a lot we could do except whoever it was who pilched them was licensing them to bootleggers who were then bootlegging vinyl and CD box sets.

finally available to stream on Disney+ this week.Was it worth the 54-year wait?Well, yes — and no.Some context is needed here first: If you watched “The Beatles: Get Back” — the three-part, eight-hour docuseries directed by none other than Oscar-winning “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson that also premiered on Disney+ in 2021 — you’ve already seen a lot of this.And seen it in the kind of exhaustive detail — from the same footage that Jackson used from “Let It Be” director Michael Lindsay-Hogg — that you can probably break down the level of scruffiness in Paul McCartney’s faux-badass beard.But thankfully — whether or not you’ve already watched the tedious-at-times “Get Back” — this is only 80 minutes versus eight hours of your time.For anyone but the biggest of Beatlemaniacs, that math is math-ing.But here’s the real difference: Whereas “Get Back” captured every bit of Liverpudlian shade, side-eye and Yoko Ono rock-blocking, this “Let It Be” is all about the music that was made in the slow fade of the Fab Four.For most of this film — which documents The Beatles working out songs for what would turn out to be their final album, 1970’s “Let It Be,” in January 1969 — it’s just like being a little four-winged insect on the wall of those sessions at their Apple Corps headquarters in London.Rehearsing, working out songs and just jamming — even with all the mounting tension which is actually more between McCartney and George Harrison than Sir Paul and John Lennon (for all those who still blame Ono for the Beatles’ breakup) — it’s a magical mystery tour behind the scenes of what many consider to be the greatest band of all time.When McCartney and Lennon are in such easy harmony and camaraderie on “Two Of Us” — with the

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. will release the first of its new batch of “The Lord of the Rings” films in 2026, which will focus on Andy Serkis’s Gollum. Original “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy filmmaker Peter Jackson and his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are producing the movie and “will be involved every step of the way” on the movie, Warner Bros.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The Beatles‘ “Let It Be” documentary, which first released in theaters in 1970, finally sees the light of day once again.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music A long list of artists including Robert Plant, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Peter Frampton, Bryan Adams and more have joined the late British singer Steve Marriott’s children and bandmates in opposing the release of “new” recordings featuring AI-generated versions of his vocals. The former frontman of the Small Faces and Humble Pie (and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee) was one of the most influential rock singers of the 1960s, renowned for songs like “All or Nothing,” “Tin Soldier,” “Itchykoo Park,” “I Don’t Need No Doctor” and more.

Thania Garcia Dua Lipa, Tyler, The Creator, Chris Stapleton, Blink-182, Sturgill Simpson, Pretty Lights, Khruangbin and Leon Bridges are the headliners for the 2022 Austin City Limits Music Festival, along with performances from Khruangbin, Leon Bridges, Carin León, Norah Jones, Reneé Rapp, Foster The People, Kehlani (only weekend one), Teddy Swims, Benson Boone, CAAMP, Dominic Fike, the Marías, Jungle, Dom Dolla, Chappell Roan, Porter Robinson (only weekend one), Fletcher (only weekend one), Something Corporate (only weekend one), David Shaw, and many more. The nine-stage, two weekend music celebration will take place in Zilker Park in South Austin, Texas on Oct. 4-6 and Oct.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic I first saw “Let It Be” when I was a kid, in the summer of 1970, just weeks after it was released. My family was coming off one of those “Vacation” road trips. During the miles of driving, we listened to Top 40 radio, which meant that several times a day I got to hear “The Long and Winding Road,” which I thought was the most beautiful song I’d ever heard.

Mrs. Doubtfire has revealed that Robin Williams wrote a letter to her school to try to get her expulsion overturned.Lisa Jakub, who played the elder daughter Lydia in the 1993 comedy-drama, had been informed by her high school that she was no longer welcome after taking time off to star in the film, when Williams took it upon himself to try to help.Jakub shared the story during an appearance on the Brotherly Love podcast, where she was reunited with her film siblings Mara Wilson and Matthew Lawrence after 31 years.“I got thrown out of high school on Doubtfire,” Jakub said. “I’m Canadian.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Mara Wilson, Lisa Jakub and Matthew Lawrence haven’t acted on screen together in 31 years, but their work in the 1993 comedy classic “Mrs. Doubtfire” will always make them an iconic movie trio for a generation of moviegoers. The three actors starred as the children of Robin Williams and Sally Field’s characters in the film, which became a blockbuster three decades ago as the second highest-grossing movie of 1993 with $441 million worldwide.