The Beatles are shown a rough cut of the “Let It Be” film

On this day, all four Beatles attended a private screening of a rough cut of their forthcoming documentary film, “Let It Be,” which chronicled the “Get Back” sessions filmed in January 1969. They were accompanied by their partners: Paul McCartney with his wife Linda, John Lennon with Yoko, and George Harrison with Pattie and his parents.

Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg recalled that this version was about an hour longer than the released version. Following the screening, Lindsay-Hogg was asked to re-edit the film to focus more on the music and less on the personal interactions. Consequently, some scenes featuring John and Yoko and moments of discord among the band members were removed.

A couple of days after we’d screened the rough cut. Peter Brown called me and said, ‘I think that went pretty well,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, I think it’s pretty good, maybe we’ll make it a bit tighter.’ And he said, ‘Don’t you think maybe there’s a little bit too much John and Yoko in it?’ And I said, ‘Oh, I’m not sure, I thought it was good,’ and he said, ‘Well, let me put it this way. I’ve had three phone calls this morning, saying maybe there was too much John and Yoko.’

Michael Lindsay-Hogg – Interview with Adrian Sinclair, 2020 – From “The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1: 1969 – 73” by Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair, 2022

Are you happy with the movie?

Some of it.

How so?

It’s hard when your stars are your producers. And there were four of them. […] A lot I liked got cut out. […] I had to cut out half an hour of John and Yoko, really interesting stuff.

Why?

We’d had a screening, they all were there, and the next day I got a call from Peter Brown to say it would probably be a good idea to cut the John and Yoko. I asked why. ‘Let me put it this way,’ he said, ‘I’ve had three calls this morning to say it should come out.’

Michael Lindsay-Hogg – Unknown interview

As recently as 2021, Ringo said there was “no joy” in the film. Did the members of the band actually seem unhappy with it at the time?

Well, after we watched the rough cut in July, the day before Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, John and Yoko [Ono], Paul and Linda McCartney, Peter Brown from Apple and me and my girlfriend went out for dinner at Provans in London. The film, I think, was regarded very much as a promising work in progress. There was no snarky business going on. We sat and had a good time like friends do. We talked about our childhoods, had a couple of bottles of wine. When we showed them the final cut in late November, we all went out for dinner again, to a place with a discothèque. We all had a nightcap and a chat, and Paul said he thought the movie was good. Ringo was jiving out on the dance floor. He’s a good dancer.

Michael Lindsay-Hogg – Interview with New York Times, April 16, 2024

Klein decided that there was too much footage involving other people, and it should concentrate more on the four members of the band. So this meant that there was no interaction between the Beatles and anyone else, which, in my opinion, ruined what had been a much more interesting film, but then I would say that, as it was mostly footage of me that was cut.

Glyn Johns – Engineer – From “Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and the End of the Beatles” by Kenneth Womack, 2019

Going further

The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years

With greatly expanded text, this is the most revealing and frank personal 30-year chronicle of the group ever written. Insider Barry Miles covers the Beatles story from childhood to the break-up of the group.

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