Let it Be (dir. Michael Lindsay-Hogg, 1970)
This film is not available on home video as yet, although the promise is always danging.
By 1970, The Beatles had pretty much broken up. No, Yoko Ono is not the one responsible. She was merely a symptom of the breakup. I’m no rock historian, so I can’t go into the details as to the various reasons why the band drifted apart, but by 1970, they had. Let it Be was, I think, a kind of last-ditch effort to keep the band together, a final hurrah to see if they could still make it work. Kind of like a separated couple reuniting to have emotionally damaging sex. This film is the first of the five Beatles movies to picture the band exactly as they were. No script. No setup. No needs to sell the band as youthful and carefree. They had all outgrown their youth and, essentially, outgrew The Beatles. It’s finally time to get down to the nitty-gritty and see what these people are like and how they actually interact.
Judging by what is seen in Let it Be, they didn’t really like each other all that intensely. Watching them rehearse and sing some rather famous songs, you can see each member of the band kind of retreating into their own worlds. They each want to play something different, and they all look kind of like they’d want to be somewhere else. When one plays, another dances. One of them plays with his step-daughter. George Harrison seems to be especially peeved. They only seem legitimately jazzed when they are playing and singing. My favorite moments of the studio scenes are when the band kind if spitballs and sings other people’s songs off-the-cuff. I like hearing The Beatles singing “Besame Mucho” and “You Really Got a Hold on Me.” Even if George is constantly shooting people dirty looks.
A lot of people like to cite various outside factors as being responsible for the breakup of The Beatles. Yoko Ono, John Lennon’s wife, is often cited for urging the breakup, and for sowing discord. Indeed, the original cut of Let it Be was, I have learned, going to be a full 210 minutes long, and would largely feature John and Yoko (the final product was a mere 81 minutes). Some people say Paul’s own relationships interfered with The Beatles. Some conspiracy theorists have even said that the British and American governments had a Mephistophelean hand in the mix. Watching Let it Be, though, you can see that it was just an eventual wearing out. You work intimately with anyone for ten years, some bad blood can arise. They may have loved each other like brothers but, like brothers, they also didn’t necessarily like each other too much. It’s also possible that their fame was a factor. The Beatles were undone by their own perceived godhood, which can occur to anyone who becomes as popular as they did.
The second half of Let it Be is devoted to The Beatles’ final concert, which was performed for free on a random rooftop in England. This seems like a grand way to bow out. Here you go, random group of passing strangers. Here’s a free concert of some of the most amazing songs written by the most popular rock group of all time. We’re gonna go home after this, so enjoy. No build-up. No grand farewell tour. No elongated teary farewells. Just a modest celebration of some really, really good music. I admire the idea (I can’t find who initially came up with the notion), and witnessing the show is one of those enviable rock ‘n’ roll history moments that will live on for eternity. The film won an Academy Award for best music. Duh.
The final word from The Beatles was recorded in this film. John Lennon, at the end of the show, with infinite good humor says to the crowd: “I’d like to say ‘thank you’ on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition.”
