The Beatles have announced a new film documenting their final days.
The project is a collaboration with acclaimed Academy Award winning director Sir Peter Jackson and is based around 55 hours of never-released footage of The Beatles in the recording studio during January 1969.
These studio sessions resulted in The Beatles' Grammy Award winning album Let It Be.
The filming was originally intended for a television special that became the documentary Let It Be and ended with The Beatles' legendary performance on the roof of the Apple Records London office, which took place exactly 50 years ago today.
In a statement on The Beatles website, Peter Jackson said, "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."
The Let It Be movie has not been officially available in any format since the 1980s. But 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.
“I was relieved to discover the reality is very different to the myth,” continues Jackson, “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 is being made with the full co-operation of McCartney, Starr, and the widows of Lennon and Harrison.
Jackson will be working with the producers of his critically-acclaimed WW1 documentary They Shall Not Grow Old to restore the original footage.
"I’m thrilled and honoured to have been entrusted with this remarkable footage - making the movie will be a sheer joy,” he says.