Billy Preston: That's The Way God Planned It

Name: Billy Preston: That's The Way God Planned It
Duration: 1 h 45 min

1hr 45m

3.6/5 (158)

1hr 45m
3.6/5 (158)

Follows the story and challenging life of legendary musician and genius keyboardist Billy Preston. More Details »

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Release Date:

Feb 20, 2026

Runtime:

1hr 45m

Synopsis

Follows the story and challenging life of legendary musician and genius keyboardist Billy Preston.

Moviegoers are saying

This Billy Preston documentary strikes viewers as a tale of two films - one showcasing an absolutely electrifying musical genius who left The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Aretha Franklin visibly blown away, and another that struggles to authentically examine the private demons of a man the church and society forced into hiding. While audiences are moved to tears by Preston's undeniable talent and heartbreaking story, many feel the filmmakers relied too heavily on AI-enhanced footage and missed opportunities to responsibly explore his sexuality, trauma, and legal troubles.

Top Mentions

Musical-Genius

Heartbreaking

Church-Trauma

Hidden-History

Rock-Legends

Tragic-Talent

Summary generated from the text of Atom User reviews

Letterboxd User Reviews

3.6

RATINGS 0 FANS

3.6

Jul 11, 2026

I now feel like I know who Billy Preston was. He was not just a sideman, he was a leader who made chemistry happen. Paris Barclay found the narrative in Billy's life and we leave the theater knowing him better and with a real appreciation of his artistry.. Which is a…

22 Likes

Allan Arkush

Feb 27, 2025

I came in only knowing that Billy was an amazing musician. I left knowing so much more. I didn't know how long he had known the Beatles. No clue that he was in a movie with Mahalia Jackson and Pearl Bailey. I was gobsmacked that he was gay. This is a really loving…

9 Likes

Will Biby

Mar 29, 2026

Mixed feelings about this one!! It works well as a showcase of Billy Preston, the electric performer with undeniable talent, it features a real who’s who of famous rock stars, the music itself is incredible, there was so much genuinely fun archive footage. He was a…

6 Likes

cederenescio
Mar 26, 2026

Somewhat rich by virtue of its subject but I can't help but feel like the darker aspects of Billy as a man were not handled particularly responsibly for film that is as delicate at times as this. Some very annoying foley work, which seems odd to say of this movie in…

6 Likes

Sparks Lowry

Feb 17, 2026

"The lively life and times of the only outside musician to be credited on a Beatles album is explored in Paris Barclay’s new documentary." The full review can be found at "The New York Sun":…

6 Likes

Mario Naves

Apr 27, 2025

This documentary reveals Billy Preston as an absurdly talented musician. He died before he reached 60 years on this planet, so it's astounding to see the number of great rock, R&B, and gospel musicians that Preston collaborated with. Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Little…

6 Likes

Zoya
Feb 27, 2025

there’s a weird reliance on ai motion smoothing and image editing but other than that this is so good. i could watch billy preston perform for a million hours

5 Likes

Charlie Duggan

May 27, 2026

Screens May 27th Live performance by The Chucet Band before the film

4 Likes

Metro Cinema

Mar 21, 2026

I’ve got a lot of emotions. With any documentary produced this long after the man has died and without the involvement of any close family members, you do have to take it with some discretion and thoughtfulness about the story that they’re telling. But I do think this is a…

4 Likes

nnnatalien