'Let It Be' Film Was Saved From Ash Heap of History. Time To Save Another One

'The Compleat Beatles' (1982) is a splendid documentary that deserves a second life. Paul, are you listening?

For Beatles fanatics, Disney+ righted a terrible wrong by airing the restored 1970 Beatles documentary, "Let It Be," which has been out of circulation for decades.

The film's long and winding road is understandable. When it originally came out in May 1970, the Fab Four had just broken up. It suffered from these dire circumstances.

Even though they approved the final cut, the band members quickly turned on this creation, which documented the recording of the Let It Be album, originally titled Get Back. No one in the group bothered attending its premiere.

The fans, reeling from the break-up, were in no mood to celebrate a film that, at least partly, documented the group's demise. The critics slammed it as a bleak swan song for rock's greatest band. The dark, grainy film, transferred from 16mm to 35mm, did it no favors either.

So - no surprise - "Let It Be" faded into obscurity. Aside from an old VHS release, the movie was essentially dead and buried, much to the chagrin of its loony yet earnest director Michael Lindsay-Hogg.

But a funny thing happened, and his name was Peter Jackson.

The famed director got permission to review mountains of footage Lindsay-Hogg shot for the project. Using technology he championed, Jackson took the grainy footage and made it look like HD.

With this miracle, we were bestowed the brilliant eight-hour documentary "Get Back" in 2021. And thankfully, it led to the resurrection of "Let It Be" for a full and fair reappraisal. In retrospect, it's hardly bleak. By the second half of the movie, you're blown away by incredible and emotional live performances, capped by the legendary rooftop concert.

Now, we need the second coming of another dead-and-buried Beatles documentary.

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A dozen years after the release of "Let It Be," the Beatles desperately needed contemporary context. John Lennon had been murdered in 1980. George Harrison started off strong with his solo career but was fading. Paul McCartney was in an identity crisis after Wings disbanded. Ringo Starr limped along both professionally and personally.

Context from the outside also was sorely lacking. There was the ill-conceived Sgt. Pepper movie/catastrophe featuring the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton. The Broadway musical Beatlemania was so upsetting to some that it was prominently and derisively name-checked in the Clash's London Calling.

Then, out of the ether, came "The Compleat Beatles" in 1982 to put true Beatlemania into proper perspective.

Is it the full authoritative story of the band? Not really - that distinction belongs to the group’s official “Anthology” documentary that came out in 1995. But it is immensely watchable, with great interviews of their producer George Martin and others who witnessed the Beatles’ rise and fall. Above all, the highlight is memorable narration by actor Malcolm McDowell, whose distinctively British voice gives the film a character like no other.

So, why is this superb documentary no longer available for official purchase or viewing? You’d have to ask Paul McCartney.

Around the time of “Anthology,” Paul bought the rights - and the negatives - to “The Compleat Beatles,” then proceeded to bury it. It’s somewhat understandable - why leave it in circulation to compete with their official documentary?

But we’re 30 years on from “Anthology,” which itself isn’t readily available to stream. “The Compleat Beatles” doesn’t deserve the fate that was bestowed on “Let It Be” for so many years.

So, Paul, if you’re reading this. (Right.) Set this film free. Give it the Peter Jackson treatment in remastered form. Give McDowell back his voice. Give this creation a second life so Beatles fanatics can enjoy it forevermore.

Give it (and peace) a chance. And let it be. Thanks, Paul.