Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

The Beatles: Let It Be Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 19, 2021

Let It Be has occasionally been dismissed as "second tier Beatles", sometimes even by members of the Beatles themselves, and yet it's salient to note (no pun intended) that when Rolling Stone asked its readers to rate the Top 10 Beatles album, Let It Be made it to the list, albeit in eighth place. Fans of the band are going to already know about a lot of the difficult back story to the album's recording, subsequent delay, and then eventual retooling by Phil Spector, all of which is covered in some detail in the really sumptuous hardback book which is included with this release, but for those who aren't aware of the long gestation and problematic birth of this album, just sitting back and listening to Let It Be can be a thrilling experience. This so-called "Super Deluxe Edition" joins a number of previous Beatles releases which offered Blu-rays as part of their package, including The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles: Abbey Road and The Beatles (known popularly as The White Album).

While some Beatles fans have never been overly enthused about some of the production bells and whistles Spector added to the project (and there are a ton of alternate mix versions available in this set for those who do), it's hard to argue with the actual songwriting genius that is on display throughout Let It Be. Aside from the now iconic title tune, how can you really find fault with an album that also includes songs like The Long and Winding Road, Across the Universe, and Get Back? Let It Be is sometimes thought of as what might be called the "bastard child" in the Beatles' discography, but that kind of dismissive attitude perhaps misses the point that what some people call "second tier Beatles" is still head and shoulders above most of the tripe that bands tend to put out toward the end of their recording history as an entity.

The Beatles: Let It Be Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Let It Be's sole Blu-ray disc does have a video component, and indeed a bit more of one than is sometimes included on what are in essence audio Blu-rays. In this case there is an AVC encoded 1080p 1.78:1 animated menu which offers what appears to be a "version" of the book included with this release, which opens and has pages turn when, for example, either the Album or Audio Options selections on the Main Menu are chosen. Probably more interesting to fans will be a series of film strips which roll in and out and provide some great candid shots of the album being recorded. There are quite a few of these, but they do ultimately loop back around and repeat. Because this is really not video that can be assessed in the traditional sense, I'm leaving the score above blank, but the imagery here is certainly sharp enough the details in the Kodak film strips are discernable.

The Beatles: Let It Be Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Let It Be features LPCM 2.0, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Atmos audio options. My hunch is a lot of audiophiles are going to be flocking to this release in anticipation of the Atmos track, but I have to say for me personally the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track was the clear winner of the three, and in fact the half point I've deducted from what would have been a perfect audio score above is because I was so surprised (not in a good way) by what I heard on the Atmos track. But first, the positives. All three tracks actually show sterling fidelity, with beautiful clarity and in the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in particular, a really gorgeous midrange and low end that is especially noticeable in some of the piano work and some of the orchestral flourishes. The stereo track probably understandably sounds a bit more compressed and focused than the 5.1 track in terms of the placement of vocals, but that said, I personally still preferred the 5.1 track, which keeps the vocal nicely forward while noticeably upping overall amplitude and especially the aforementioned energy in the mid- and lower ranges. The surround track isn't necessarily "showy", even in songs where you might expect it to be (like Across the Universe), but it noticeably opens up the soundstage and provides a really nicely immersive listening experience. Now, as to the Atmos track, I was struck instantly by its anemic amplitude, which is noticeably softer than either of the other tracks (the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track sounded at least slightly hotter than the LPCM 2.0 track to my ears). There's also a kind of curious "distancing" factor at play in this version which may be attributable to the engagement of the Atmos channels, but I didn't find it "useful" or frankly very appealing, though some may feel it adds a suitably "spacy" ambience to tunes like the aforementioned Across the Universe. In toggling between the three tracks (and just a note that I had to do that via the disc menu, the Audio button on the remote didn't work), there was no question in my own tastes as to my favorite, though the stereo track is great, and if you pump up the volume, the Atmos track is less problematic.

The Beatles: Let It Be Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As I've mentioned in other reviews of deluxe sets featuring audio Blu-rays, one man's "supplement" is another man's "main feature", and my hunch is many consumers may consider the Blu-ray disc the supplement in this set. Those of us who know better (yes, that's a joke) will nonetheless consider the following items to be the extras:

• CD 1 - New Mix of Original Album


• CD 2 - Get Back - Apple Sessions


• CD 3 - Get Back - Rehearsals and Apple Jams


• CD 4 - Get Back LP - 1969 Glyn Johns Mix


• CD 5 - Let It Be EP

Of the above CDs, fans may want to gravitate first to CD 2 and CD 3, as they give a fascinating insight into what a recording session with these guys might have been like (and in fact was). There are also some interesting first passes at material that ended up on other albums, kind of surprisingly not just Abbey Road, but some of the solo albums that appeared in the wake of the band's acrimonious breakup. Click on the hyperlink labeled "Back" underneath our image of the cover of this release for a look at the complete contents of each CD (and Blu-ray).

The set comes housed in a beautiful die cut slip box that has four "windows" that reveal photos of the Fab Four, which turn out to be on the cover of the gorgeous hardback book that is included. The slip box measures approximately 10" wide by 12" long by 1" deep, while the book measures approximately 9 3/4" wide by 11 3/4" long by 1/2" deep. The book is going to be a treasure trove for fans, and includes a foreword by Sir Paul McCartney, and introduction by Giles Martin, a nice reminiscence from Glyn Johns, and then, following all of that, an exhaustive history of the project with further information which includes detailed breakdowns of the tracks on each of the discs. It's a very impressive volume which also has a glut of candid photos. There's also a separate trifold cardboard sleeve about the same height and width as the book which has pockets holding all six discs, each in their own individual sleeve.

The Beatles: Let It Be Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some fans were reportedly upset that this "Super Deluxe Edition" of an iconic Beatles album didn't include hours and hours of unreleased material, and while that may be so, this is still an incredibly impressive collection that provides music lovers a very rare peek behind the scenes of an album being fashioned under duress and with an obvious difference of opinion about what the final product should sound like. The audio Blu-ray has great sounding LPCM 2.0 and (especially ) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks, but I found the Atmos track to be my least favorite option on the disc. The CDs and book are an amazing resource and should provide a lot of entertainment value and/or information for folks. Highly recommended.