Peter Jackson of “Lord of the Rings” fame is to make a brand-new movie about the final days of the Beatles. He will be using 55 hours of previously unseen footage of the popular Liverpool band.

The footage was made by Apple Corps Ltd. together with WingNut Films and the Film will be based on the formerly unseen footage of the Beatles, taken between 2 and 31 January 1969, while recording their final album “Let it Be.” The film will end with the Beatles’ final gig on the Apple HQ rooftop in London, on 30 January 1969, exactly 50 years ago.

‘Like a time machine’ transporting us back

As reported by the Telegraph, the Fab Four rarely allowed filmmakers into the studio to film them and the 55 hours are reportedly the only footage of any importance, documenting their studio work together.

Jackson made a statement to say the 55 hours of previously unseen footage, together with 140 hours of audio made available to producers make the film the ultimate “fly on the wall” experience for Beatles fans.

He said it is as if a time machine transported us back to 1969 so we could sit in the studio watching the Fab Four making great music together. Jackson went on to say how relieved he was to discover the reality was different to the Beatles myth.

A ‘historical treasure trove’ of the Beatles

The Evening Standard quotes Jackson as saying after they reviewed the audio and footage shot of the Beatles by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, 18 months prior to the band breaking up, they discovered it was a remarkable “historical treasure trove.” He admitted there were dramatic moments, but nothing reflected the discord that has been associated with this project before.

Jackson said having the opportunity to watch John, George, Paul and Ringo working together as they created songs that are now classics, was fascinating, uplifting, funny and surprisingly intimate.

He said he was honoured and thrilled to be entrusted with such remarkable footage and that making the film about the band would be “sheer joy.”

Restoration of the Beatles’ footage

The restoration of this remarkable footage is in the hands of editor Jabez Olssen and Clare Olssen who are renowned for their recent work on footage for “They Shall Not Grow Old,” a World War One documentary which was transformed into colour. The restoration work will be done in Wellington, New Zealand and will be to an immaculate standard using the same techniques they used for the documentary. The excellent document was nominated for a BAFTA award in the category of best documentary.

The film is yet to get a name, but is currently in production and approval was received from Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, as well as George Harrison and John Lennon’s widows, Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono Lennon.