Ringo Starr Says the Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’ Film Had ‘No Real Joy’—Until Now

“I was always moaning about the original film, because there was no real joy in it,” Ringo Starr recalls to The Daily Beast of the 1970 documentary film Let It Be, which was released just weeks after news of the Beatles’ split had hit the press.

Since Peter Jackson’s Get Back documentary premiered on Disney+ in 2021, even the most casual Beatles fan knows what Starr is talking about. The Let It Be film and album were a dismal affair for all involved. Salvaged from the ashes of Paul McCartney’s idea for the Beatles to “get back,” literally, to their roots by writing and recording a new album, the nearly 60 hours of footage filmed by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg during January 1969 chronicled the end of the greatest creative collaboration of the last century.

But Let It Be got only a limited theatrical release in 1970, after which it remained unavailable to see for decades. Now, at long last, a restored version arrives on Disney+ this week.

Read more at The Daily Beast.