It first aired on BBC television the day after Christmas 1967.Īlthough it was initially panned by British critics, time has delivered some justice to the project, Jonathan Clyde, the producer of the documentary, told Reuters. The third film for The Fab Four, after a “A Hard Day’s Night” in 1964 and “Help!” a year later, “Magical Mystery Tour” is a shambolic trip through the English countryside on a bus filled with odd characters, but thin on plot. A restored version was released on DVD and blu-ray in October.
Long a curiosity in the United States, the film will be accompanied by a new documentary about its making. broadcast television debut on Friday on PBS. The film will receive its long-awaited U.S. Please subscribe to Solzy at the Movies on Substack.Įnter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.The Beatles perform "Your Mother Should Know" in this publicity photo from the filming of "Magical Mystery Tour" in this Septemphoto released to Reuters December 14, 2012. It might not be the first Beatles film that I recommend but I’d still recommend people view it.ĬAST: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr Magical Mystery Tour first aired on December 26, 1967. Magical Mystery Tour might not be a masterpiece or have a real script but it’s still a film that’s worth watching–plus, the music rocks. In fact, “Your Mother Should Know” features footage from a number of takes. There are also alternate versions of both “Your Mother Should Know” and “Blue Jay Way.” As much fun as it is to watch them, they are different from what we see in the film. It just didn’t match the same tone as the rest of the film. One is an alternate version of “The Fool On The Hill.” I can understand why this particular version did not make it into the final cut. It also includes a number of deleted scenes/songs. The 2012 Blu-ray cleans up the film from previous versions and features a remastered sound mix. But anyway, it’s fascinating to see the B52 footage used in a trippy way. Of course, Stanley Kubrick complained about it. It’s reused in the film because film editor Roy Benson had access to the footage. Strangelove might recognize some of the footage used during the “Flying” segment.
It follows the summer of love and the transition from pop to rock.įans of Dr. The result is short of a masterpiece but this film captures a time capsule in all of its 53 minutes. For a few weeks in 1967, they went off to the countryside to make the film at RAF West Mailing in Kent. This leaves film or television as the only available options other than recording albums.
When you think about the moment in time, The Beatles are no longer performing live. Spinetti plays an army sergeant that you cannot understand. The next moment, it’ll be the only video performance of “I Am The Walrus.” A number of people are in the cast and Victor Spinetti returns for his third Beatles film. There are four or five magicians that make things happen at the whim. But anyway, things mysteriously happen while a group of people are on a British mystery tour. Take John Lennon shoveling the spaghetti onto the table in front of Aunt Jessie (Jessie Robins), for example. If something works, it works and stays in the film. Altogether, the film draws from ten hours of mostly improvised footage.
#Magical mystery tour movie remastered bluray series
Magical Mystery Tour is a series of sketches shot over two weeks in September 1967. Maybe the film would have been better with Richard Lester coming back? According to both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in the bonus features, this film is almost all improvisation. The Beatles are among the greatest musicians of all time but when it comes to filmmaking, it wasn’t their best effort. Here’s the thing about Magical Mystery Tour: it isn’t a film in the same sense as either A Hard Day’s Night or Help! No, this film is better looked at as a series of sketch vignettes or even a home movie. But by then, it was too late because they damage had been done. They would rectify this by airing a color version shortly thereafter. The BBC committed the terrible sin of first airing this film in black-and-white in December 1967. The Beatles do it themselves in their 1967 made-for-TV film, Magical Mystery Tour, which celebrates its 55th anniversary later this year.
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