Sir Peter Jackson's Beatles doco to be 'more expressive', says Ringo Starr

Former Beatles member Ringo Starr says an upcoming documentary on the band from Kiwi filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson will be "more expressive and more like we were".

Speaking to SiriusXM about the upcoming documentary, Starr says the original 1970 documentary Let It Be, which ends with the Beatles' famous rooftop concert in London, misrepresented the band.

"I'm looking with Peter Jackson at all the footage that was never used," he says. "Prior to us doing that, we're all hanging out, and it's a lot of fun, lot of humour, and not like the one that came out."

Starr says director Michael Lindsay-Hogg used one moment of brief disagreement over who wanted to play live to construct his documentary, when in reality, the band got along much more in real life.

"When Michael Lindsay-Hogg put his film together, which he's in quite a lot, too, they just stuck to those seconds of an argument," he says. "But there was a lot of joy, and I think Peter will show that ... this one, I think, will be more expressive and more like we were."

Jackson's film will be based on around 55 hours of footage of the band working on songs that eventually became the Let It Be album.

Sir Peter Jackson is creating his documentary from 55 hours of footage of the band working on Let It Be. Photo / Getty Images

Announcing the film in January, Jackson said he was "relieved" to discover the tension displayed in Lindsay-Hogg's documentary was a "myth".

"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."