On the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' rooftop concert on January 30 1969,
Apple Corps Ltd. and WingNut Films Ltd. have announced a new collaboration between the Beatles and the acclaimed Academy Award winning director Sir Peter Jackson.
The new film will be based around 55 hours of never-released footage of the Beatles in the studio, shot between January 2 and January 31 1969. These studio sessions produced the group's Grammy Award winning album 'Let It Be', with its Academy Award winning title song. The album was eventually released 18 months later in May 1970, several months after the band had broken up.
The filming was originally intended for a planned TV special, but organically turned into something completely different, climaxing with the Beatles’ legendary performance on the roof of Apple's Savile Row London office.
"The 55 hours of never-before-seen footage and 140 hours of audio made available to us, ensures this movie will be the ultimate ‘fly on the wall’ experience that Beatles fans have long dreamt about," says Peter Jackson, " - it’s like a time machine transports us back to 1969, and we get to sit in the studio watching these four friends make great music together.”
“I was relieved to discover the reality is very different to the myth,” continues Jackson. "After reviewing all the footage and audio that Michael Lindsay-Hogg shot 18 months before they broke up, it’s simply an amazing historical treasure-trove. Sure, there’s moments of drama - but none of the discord this project has long been associated with. Watching John, Paul, George, and Ringo work together, creating now-classic songs from scratch, is not only fascinating - it’s funny, uplifting and surprisingly intimate."
The untitled film is currently in production and the release date will be announced in due course. This film is being made with the full co-operation of Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon, and Olivia Harrison.
Following the release of this new film, a restored version of the original Let It Be movie directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg will also be made available.
The 42-minute rooftop concert was the Beatles' final public performance, during which they played nine takes of five songs: three takes of 'Get Back'; two takes each of 'Don't Let Me Down' and 'I've Got a Feeling'; and one take each of 'One After 909' and 'Dig a Pony'. Keyboardist Billy Preston was brought in as an additional musician.
The audio was recorded onto two eight-track recorders in the basement studio at Apple by engineer Alan Parsons. Film director Michael Lindsay-Hogg brought in a camera crew to capture several angles of the performance, including reactions from people on the street.
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