Magical Mystery Tour[Blu-ray]

I often feel The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" film has been treated rather unfairly by critics in the past. Of course, you might sense a hint of bias on my part because I'm such an enormous fan of the Beatles, but I genuinely think the film has a lot to offer if approached the right way. The film was made for television in September 1967 and shown on BBC1 on Boxing Day evening that year. It was meant to be a colour extravaganza but the BBC broadcast it in black and white so even the 200,000 or so people with colour TV receivers in Britain at the time would not have been able to watch it as it was intended to be presented. Therefore, the aerial views shot over Iceland that were used for the "Flying" instrumental sequence would have been lost on initial viewers. Even so, that wouldn't have been enough for critics and viewers alike to pan the production. I suppose it was pretty far out and not at all what people were expecting, especially for festive period viewing from the biggest band in the world with whom they associated the stuff of "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!" when it came to Beatles' films. The Beatles (particularly Paul) had been experimenting with making home movies and from this grew the idea for making "Magical Mystery Tour". The group's manager, Brian Epstein had just died and, as the story goes, Paul came up with the project as a means to keep the band actively involved with one another at a time when Epstein's death could have splintered them. They had stopped touring and had only recently released an album ("Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band") and single ("All You Need Is Love"), so the idea of doing a television film was, perhaps, the best direction. Some fans and music critics like to blame Paul for the Beatles' failings after Brian died. Indeed, John Lennon did so himself later on, accusing Paul of keeping the band going for his (Paul's) own sake. Perhaps there's some truth in that but I don't think Paul was being entirely selfish. The Beatles were still a band and, therefore, still had a job to do. Paul was always prolific when it came to writing music and coming up with ideas and I think he was just excited and keen to run these by the group and commit them to tape. John might have later complained about Paul always being the one to call the other three band members up and saying it was time to make another record, but if he hadn't then the other three would have just sat around being unproductive. Thus, Paul became the driving force in the band's later years and was almost forced to take charge after Brian died just so as to get things done. Paul often gets the blame for "Magical Mystery Tour" but don't forget George, Ringo and John all happily went along with it and made their own contributions. If they didn't like it they could have always vetoed the idea. I first saw "Magical Mystery Tour" in 1992 when I bought a copy of it on VHS video tape from the local supermarket in Withington. My dad bought my mum a Betamax video recorder for Christmas in 1984 and by '92 it had breathed its last. He replaced it with a VHS video player but when we installed it we found, for some odd reason, that it would only play video tapes in black and white. I find it pleasingly ironic that my very first viewing of "Magical Mystery Tour" was colourless, just like the people who originally tuned in to watch it on the television 25 years earlier. Dad took the video recorder back to the store to get a replacement and I was then able to rewatch "Magical Mystery Tour" in colour. Unlike the viewers' anticipating its original broadcast in 1967, I had the benefit of watching the film for the first time knowing that it had not been well-received and had been saddled with a bad reputation for all these years. In other words, my expectations were allowed not to be high but I was still extremely excited to see 53 minutes of footage of the Beatles that I had never seen before but had only heard about. I could, and still can, understand how people would have been disappointed with the nonsensical aspect of it all, especially as there was no plot. The film consisted of segments, often very surreal ones, which had seemingly been `thrown' together. Indeed, most of it was improvised. Having said that, I love the "marathon" chase around the airfield in Kent and I think Victor Spinetti's incomprehensible army drill sergeant is brilliantly hilarious and the best of his three performances in the Beatles' films. Just as funny are the scenes between Ringo and his Aunt Jessie, played by Jessie Robins and I love the nighttime sharabang scenes where everyone's drinking and singing songs to an accordion accompaniment. Derek Royle and Ivor Cutler are terrific as Jolly Jimmy and Buster Bloodvessel respectively, and I wish the John Lennon-directed "Nat's Dream" scene of Nat Jackley as Happy Nat The Rubber Man chasing women around the Atlantic Hotel's outdoor swimming pool has been kept in the movie as it's a great little sequence, I think. It is included as a deleted scene on this 2012 DVD release of the film. The one thing I haven't yet mentioned about "Magical Mystery Tour" is perhaps the most important thing of all - the music. The six new Beatles' tracks featured in the film that formed the "Magical Mystery Tour" double EP are all wonderful and the film serves as a means of providing six little "music videos" for each of them. I've never been very keen on Paul's "Fool on the Hill", I have to admit, but I can appreciate its merit and why it's one of his most popular songs. The footage of him in France that was shot for the song's inclusion in the film is beautiful. Likewise, George's "Blue Jay Way" isn't a big favourite of mine but there's some wonderful, psychedelic projection art used by and for the camera to play over the song. Paul has said in retrospect that one example he uses in defending "Magical Mystery Tour" is the section with "I Am The Walrus", citing it to be the only chance to see John Lennon in fully psychedelic regalia performing the song with backup visuals of policemen and `eggheads'. It truly is a striking glimpse into John Lennon's beautifully baffling imagination from the summer of love period. It's strange how the Beatles' first failing should follow directly from what is widely believed to be their greatest achievement, the "Sgt. Pepper" album. Paul has said that "Magical Mystery Tour" was made more as an "art" film than a "proper", conventional film. I don't think people in 1967 were ready for something like that, particularly from the Beatles, but I enjoy watching it from time to time. I think it has to be said that it would have been better had a plot been thought through for it and a script written but, as I've mentioned, there are plenty of delightful little moments to make it entertaining enough.

...and this time, they got it quite right. The smiling begins the moment you open the Amazon box and lay your eyes upon the beautiful nearly 10 x 10 box which encases this very nicely put together set. Some may complain about having to pay for the two disc formats; if it means, however, getting this overall deluxe package, it's worth not letting this one detail get in the way. Before getting to the "main event", we have a nice set of bonus features. My personal favorite of these is the "outtake" video of Your Mother Should Know in which we see "the boys" clearly enjoying themselves amidst smiling stumbles and do-overs. When I was getting to Hello Goodbye i expected the "usual" Sgt Pepper outfitted performance video. Instead I saw something I, myself, had never seen before..a black and white sort of scripted concept piece set to the music interspersed with scenes of the group going over parts of the film on a viewing machine. One thing to point out about the bonus sequences is that the video quality of these outtakes was not 'corrected" all that much if at all...there's a little bit of "grain" and "scratch" but not something to get too upset about. Also, in the musical sequences, the sound, while quite good, is not as aurally enveloping as in the actual movie. The book which accompanies this box is, in a word, a delight to read and look through. In words, it aptly catches the spirit of the times both in terms of The Beatles' world and the world around them at that phase in their careers. Pictorially, it's beautifully layed out adding effectively to the overall "flavor" and 'color" of the Summer of 1967; some shots are very familiar, some not as familiar...it's all good. The double EP vinyl set-a reproduction of the original-was, for me-a vinyl lover-quite a treat and, perhaps, the main reason I salivated over this deluxe version. We get the original mono versions of the six movie songs pressed on Parlophone repro labels. Not only is the sound quality deep and vibrant, the actual heavy quality vinyl pressings are quiet and near flawless. These, by the way, are far superior to the Capitol 45 RPM re-issue pressings appearing in the Target and record Store Day boxes. As a continuing fan of the "record", I'm extremely happy with these. ...and, finally, the movie itself; as always , it continues to be a joyful watch as a time piece representing-as the book states-The Beatles within the context of The Summer of Love. The visual quality-given the shortcomings of the original film-is gorgeous; the sound-with most consideration given to the song sequences-is breathtaking. This is, by far, the very best these songs have ever sounded in my opinion. If you are an average fan of The Beatles I recommend the bluray/DVD disc on it's own. If, however, you happen to fall into that sacred group of "serious" Beatle fans, this deluxe version is a must-have as far as I'm concerned-most especially if you're a fan of vinyl-not only for the records but for the beautiful reproduction of the story book as well. Well done, Apple.

MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR was filmed in the fall of 1967, and was The Beatles' first major project after the death of manager Brian Epstein. While the film's soundtrack (a double-EP in Britain, an 11-song album in America, which was also imported into the UK, where it was eventually released on cassette in 1973 and on LP in 1976) was an enormous success, the film was not. It was first shown on the BBC on Boxing Day (26 December) 1967 in monochrome (most British viewers had black-and-white TV sets) and was not received well by the public, or by critics ("blatant rubbish" and "tasteless nonsense" were two of the milder descriptions). A second colo(u)r broadcast appeared on BBC2 on 05 January 1968, but only the few Britons who had "colour" TVs saw it, and the damage was done. In America, both ABC and NBC withdrew their bids for a network broadcast of MMT; the film made its U.S. debut at New York's Fillmore East a few months later as part of a fundraising concert. Over the years, Apple rented the film to colleges and indie movie theaters. The film did not appear on American TV until it was syndicated in 1985, which was where I saw it for the first time. A few poor-quality VHS tapes appeared in the early-to-mid-1980s, but the first proper video release was in 1988, when Apple and MPI Home Video released an official VHS tape , with a restored soundtrack by George Martin. In 1997, MPI released the film on DVD; I own The Beatles DVD Collector's Set that was released in 2000, which contains the original MPI DVD versions of MMT, HELP, THE FIRST U.S. VISIT (both of which have since been restored and re-released by Apple), and the Phil Collins documentary The Making of A Hard Day's Night , which was upgraded in 2014 (see below). MMT has been out of print for years, although it has been bootlegged, but has just been re-released by Apple in DVD and Blu-ray format, as well as the Deluxe Collector's Edition, which I purchased. To be honest, the film is no CITIZEN KANE or even A HARD DAY'S NIGHT. But it is a good piece of entertainment, and contains seven terrific Beatles songs: the title track, "The Fool On The Hill," the instrumental "Flying," George Harrison's "Blue Jay Way," the classic "I Am The Walrus," which appears in full stereo all the way through, and Paul's "Your Mother Should Know," which is the film's closing production number. "Hello Goodbye" plays over the closing credits. The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band's rendition of "Death Cab For Cutie" (featuring future Monty Python member and Rutle Neil Innes) is also an hilarious classic. One of the outtake scenes, Nat Jackley's romp around the pool with pretty girls, directed by John Lennon, features an unreleased Lennon-McCartney instrumental called "Shirley's Wild Accordion," played by accordionist Shirley Jackson. The stereo and 5.1 surround-sound soundtrack is excellent, and the picture restoration is good too, although some of the colors have faded over time. There are also four deleted scenes that are hidden on the main menu in the form of "Easter eggs"; two of them can be accessed by going to the "Play Film" option and clicking on the up-arrow or left-arrow key on your remote; the other two can be accessed by going to the "Audio Options" option and using either the up-arrow or right-arrow key. Sir Paul McCartney's Director's Commentary can either be listened to, viewed with subtitles if you don't want to override the film soundtrack, or both. There are two sets of subtitles; one for the main film, the other for Paul's commentary (11 languages in all). The subtitles also apply to the special features. See Amazon's product description for more on the special features on the DVD and Blu-ray. The Deluxe Edition is worth having for the additional 60-page book, including essays by Sir Paul McCartney and Barry Miles, and an "itinerary" of the scenes shot in the film. There is also a reproduction of the original mono vinyl double-EP that was issued in the UK in 1967. This brings my MMT collection full circle; I purchased the stereo EP years ago as an import; I have three versions of the vinyl album - the original 1967 Capitol LP (with three fake stereo Duophonic songs), the all-stereo German issue from 1971 (with the pink cover) that was the template for the later CD release, and the 1976 UK Parlophone pressing that is identical to Capitol's. I also have the original CD from 1987, the stereo/mono CD version of the EP, issued in 1992 as part of the Compact Disc EP Collection , and the remastered mono and stereo CDs from 2009. While it's not the best film, it's worth having, especially if you're a Beatle fan. Stripped of the dialogue, it would make an excellent long-form music video (unfortunately, there is no "songs-only" option). 4 stars for content; 5 stars for packaging and quality. Hopefully, if director Michael Lindsay-Hogg is right, the elusive LET IT BE will finally be out in 2013, and that a newly-restored 50th Anniversary edition of A HARD DAY'S NIGHT will be released in 2014 (the 2002 Miramax version sucks; until 2014, I watched the older MPI DVD ). UPDATE: Still no LET IT BE, but the updated A Hard Day's Night (Criterion Collection) (Blu-ray + DVD) was finally issued in 2014, and includes an upgraded version of The Making of A Hard Day's Night .

We can all agree that the movie itself is either a hot or cold response as you either take it for what it is, or you just don't find much to like about it. But I'd like to talk about the package you are buying more than the movie you'll watch (on DVD or BluRay). The first round of DVDs released early on in the dawn of DVDs were very good. Even Magical Mystery Tour looked and sounded great. But, it was just another way to watch your favorite Beatles movies. VHS/Beta/Laserdisc/CED formats all covered most of their films. They even issued video CDs of their movies. I even bought a Quicktime movie version of A Hard Day's Night back in the day. That day wasn't so long ago but it seems it now - 1993? But with each subsequent format came subsequent releases on said format. DVD was just the latest format back in the late 1990s. Video compression schemes' quality varied company to company and has been constantly improving since the advent of DVD. But a DVD can only hold 10mbps of information within it's "stream" of digital content. So no matter how well you could compress the video, it could only ever be "so good". BluRay, which is a high definition format, changes the game yet again. It forces every movie release to be improved upon to the best possible quality possible. As a result, even the DVD release looks better than the 1999 version of this movie on DVD because the master was of the highest quality. Sound-wise, 5.1 or stereo doesn't change much, for this movie. But it does offer you choices of audio so you can't go wrong audio-wise. I recall the "official" VHS release of MMT and the first remixing of the soundtrack (at least the songs) done by George Martin specifically for the release. It sounded better than ever! So no surprise this release sounds great. VHS as you may recall delivered very high end Hi-Fidelity Stereo sound. But for those who prefer a good 5.1 surround sound, you won't be disappointed. It delivers! It delivers in DTS and Dolby Digital as well on the BluRay as well as a stereo PCM track. (PCM - Pulse Code Modulation) offers the listener the highest possible audio reproduction for the home shy of having the master tapes. As for the Printed items, again it delivers. Like I said before, this movie has been delivered on several formats several times each before. From bootlegs to official releases the content of the film has been available for quite some time. So to just release the movie isn't such a big deal to me which is why this set was so attractive to me. To have the reprint of the booklet that came with the LP back in the day as well as an expanded version of information and rare "behind the scenes photos" makes this set a nice addition to your Beatles collection. Even if you have the miniature version of the booklet which was contained in the 2009 stereo & mono remasters or the 1993 EP Box Set, this is a great way to see it large again like in the LP. I already came across a perfect copy of the original vinyl EP years ago at my favorite record store. So really, that didn't do much for me, but most people do not have this so its inclusion is a real treat! For those in the states (or who didn't have access to imports from England) this was how Brits got this new music. So its inclusion is really a part of the package - film & music - that England got to judge this movie and its music from. They didn't get to also have the whole second side of an album with classics like Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields Forever and All You Need Is Love. In the UK, Strawberry Fields & Penny Lane were released a year prior to MMT. In the states we got spoiled as we had the album with a whole collection of great non-soundtrack songs and since we didn't see the film on TV, we imagined for years what the movie had to be like from the music. So this helps put it into historical perspective as a set. (I won't be playing my vinyl though. I haven't played my original EP either). Since all things can be improved upon, the only thing they could have done better was to do what they did for the 2007 re-release of HELP! with a deluxe book and two discs. I love that release with the fun replica objects and hand-written lyrics etc they placed within the book. (Something you can't get from a Kindle version). But this film isn't long enough to warrant 2 discs. The special features and the movie are each 53 minutes long. But the special features are new! They include new interviews and scenes which were cut from this film. So for those of you who feel they didn't really edit this movie well, check out the stuff that didn't make it! lol But again, HELP! was HELP! and this is totally different kind of movie - Free Form and rather non-linear. It tries to be linear in parts to appease the masses, but really, it wanders from idea to idea, much like a Monty Python sketch show. lol But it's nitpicking as there really isn't anything wrong with what the did do here with this release. I just like that style of books. As for Bonus stuff and extras, the real stand out extra is the commentary by Sir Paul himself (who was more of the director than anyone else for this project). His insight, though defensive of the film, adds a new layer of how to watch this film and what to watch for when viewing it subsequent times. It helps give perspective and sets the stage, so to speak, for viewing this film in context of how it was made and why they made the choices they did. Let's face it, you're not even considering this set if you aren't a Beatles fan. Not at the price! So anyone who isn't already a fan is going to look for the stand alone DVD at the lowest price, if they are even curious. So for a Beatles fan, this is a must! It's just the way they should have honored their work. Put it into perspective and tell the story the way the Beatles want to tell it. Critics have already had their chance. I now hope A Hard Day's Night get the same respect and treatment as Yellow Submarine, Mystery Tour & HELP! have. If the Beatles were actually more hands on with the animated feature, Yellow Sub, I'd expect more than just a few nice reprints included in that package. But they did that release right as well. And I can't wait until Let It Be gets the first class treatment it deserves!

Not an unworthy follow-up to Sgt. Pepper's', Magical Mystery Tour still rated as a bit of an also-ran among critics of its day in the wake of its culturally stirring predecessor. The accompanying film's 1967 release in the U.K., broadcast in black-and-white and on Boxing Day (an after-Christmas event when gifts are returned or exchanged) did little to bolster that standing. Still, it serves as a valuable glimpse into who the Beatles were at the time and what they were up to. Reportedly, Paul McCartney was the creative impetus of 'Tour while the remaining Fabs went along for the ride. John Lennon appears the disinterested party throughout while George Harrison and Ringo Starr hit their marks accordingly. Pricey on Blu-ray.

If anyone should ever doubt the Beatles greatness, this will NOT be the film to change their mind. It is a silly film. In fact, it is a very silly, very amateurish trifle. In fact it is downright bad. So why do I give it five big ones? Because it's The Beatles, of course. The Beatles were cranking it out for only seven years. There's a limited quantity of Beatles' product and that makes every bit of it precious! Nevertheless, the casual viewer will probably be quite bewildered by this goofy curio of psychedelia. It has no script, no plot, and no acting to speak of. So, if you've never seen it, go in with LOW expectations. First off, understand that this is not a Beatles feature film. It was originally presented as a one-hour Beatles TV special, nothing more. The first viewing is apt to disappoint; but repeat viewing are apt to be rewarded. It is not a "good" film (in fact it is a "bad" film). But it is imaginative and energetic, it has its moments and it's Beatles! For Beatles fans this lavish-attention release of MMT is way more than welcome! For the first time, we'll be able to see it in better than "bootleg" quality, much better! Just to hear the songs in remastered/remixed uncompressed (!) surround sound is reason enough to celebrate. Then there are the many extras and intriguing aspects (extra scenes? Songs "re-edited"?). I can't wait!! Addendum: Having now experienced the blu ray, I like Magical Mystery Tour even more than before. It has a hip quality. It moves fast. The songs, of course, are great; and the accompanying videos are equal to anything M-TV would produce. The greatly improved picture and sound lift the film up a notch or two. Now that it sounds good, even the incidental music contributes. Everything comes off better than before. The Beatle music itself sounds particularly fantastic! It's been noted that the songs sound even better here than they do off the 2009 CD re-masters. I think that's true. And I think there are at least two good reasons: 1) This is what happens when you take your sound directly from the original multi-track source recordings and remix from scratch. 2)This is what you get when you refrain from adding compression in an effort to make the music sound "louder" (so it will sell in today's CD and mp3 markets). I just wish ALL the Beatles' archive of music, films, and concerts were available in an equally superb presentation.

The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein passed away on August 27, 1967. A month later, under the direction of Paul McCartney, the Beatles filmed "Magical Mystery Tour." The 52-minute film was first broadcast on BBC1, in black-and-white, on December 26, 1967. The improvised, stream-of-consciousness dialog and meandering plot didn't go over well with the British viewing public. Over fifty years after its initial release, "Magical Mystery Tour" offers a unique look into the personal eccentricities of Misters Harrison, Lennon, McCartney and Starr. The 2012 DVD restoration is excellent; the colors are vibrant, the video quality is very good, and the audio remastering is exceptional. Whether you like the pythonic humor of the action, or dislike the self-indulgent silliness of the plot, depends on the point of view of the viewer. The real treasures of the film are the musical performances, which I will rate individually. "Magical Mystery Tour" - The opening number is a classic song, and sets the tone for what is to follow. (A plus) "The Fool On The Hill" - It's a magnificent McCartney song, and should have been a hit single. (A plus) "Flying" - It's an undistinguished instrumental, only noteworthy for having been written by all four Beatles. (C) "I Am The Walrus" - It's a bizarre Lennon masterpiece, nicely complimented by the surrealistic action swirling around its performance. (A) "Blue Jay Way" - It's George Harrison's psychedelic song, with touches of Indian classical music. (B minus) "Your Mother Should Know" - Written by Paul McCartney, it's a British Music Hall ballad, with a memorable melody. (B plus) "Magical Mystery Tour" (reprise) and "Hello, Goodbye" (finale played over end credits) get an incomplete rating. The bonus features include a making of the "Magical Mystery Tour" documentary, a brief overview of the supporting cast, versions of "The Fool On The Hill," "Blue Jay Way" and "Your Mother Should Know" that include footage not shown in the original film, and a complete promotional video version of "Hello, Goodbye." While not everyone's cup of tea, "Magical Mystery Tour" includes enough performances of Beatles' songs to make it well worth purchasing.

Maybe it’s a little bit of both. I saw MMT on a lousy VHS tape over 30 years ago. My impression was that it was unwatchable. Skip ahead and decided to give this (majorly) upgraded blu-ray a chance. Wow. So much more enjoyable. Sound is great especially in DTS. Yes, it’s strange and disjointed but it’s quite fun to watch especially as a time-capsule. From what I gather, MMT was really just a Beatles experiment. That being said, it’s maybe one of the first actual music videos. Hence, there were really no rules or templates, just pure experimentation. It has it’s share of goofiness with the airfield race, and that spaghetti scene is nauseating. However, the videos are solid as well as the bonus material. All in all, I’m not disappointed and watch it frequently. One of the better Beatle remasters.

Konieczne do kolekcji dla fanów The Beatles.

Ras. Conforme à mon attente. Film loufoque mais dans le pur style anglais de l'époque. Faut quand même être fan des Beatles pour regarder ce film.

Hay buen humor, disparatadas situaciones pero alegres, sonrisas, canciones de Beatles que suenan muy bien en la opción DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 producido por Giles Martin el hijo de George, campiña inglesa, playas, y hasta un genial strip-tease. Es pura diversión dentro de un sueño absurdo y encantadoramente positivo. Hay escenas relmente hilarantes y la interpretación de los Beatles es deliciosa, la escena de John con la niña es emotiva y preciosa. Los demás participantes aportan mucha diversión y buen hacer a una historia de un viaje en bus irreal pero revitalizadora como un buen sueño. La peli dura 53 minutos. Y luego viene un extra de la misma duración con comentarios de Paul McCartney en los que me lo pasé casi mejor que viendo la película. De siempre se dijo por una parte mayoritaria de la Crítica inglesa de la época que esta película era un fiasco enorme de los Beatles; tengo que decir que para nada comparto esa opinión, y que verla es pasarte casi una hora con una sonrisa de felicidad en la cara. Hay otra edición más completa que incluye DVD , 2 EPs y amplio libreto para los más sibaritas. A mí el presupuesto no me alcanza para tanto aparte de no tener reproductor de vinilos. Este Blu ray me parece buena adquisición por menos dinero. Pero esto va en función de lo que dispongas y de lo muy fan que seas del coleccionismo de los 4 de Liverpool. La entrega en un día. Y todo perfecto.

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