

The single sides include two John Lennon classics, the otherworldy “Strawberry Fields Forever” and the searing and vastly underappreciated “Baby, You’re a Rich Man,” as well as the hippie-dippy sing-along “All You Need Is Love.” For his part, Paul McCartney gives us one pop gem, “Hello, Goodbye,” and one of his less annoying romps through rose-colored nostalgia, “Penny Lane.” with recent singles as a more satisfying LP, and that set is now considered the “official” release in the remastered catalog. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band that June at the start of the fabled Summer of Love, the Beatles recorded six new songs for their nascent film project. In the second half of one of the busiest years in their career, following the release of Sgt. (Oh, where was Richard Lester when they needed him?)īefore we get to the movie, let us briefly look at the album, which is how most American fans know the project. No matter it does little to illuminate how the Fab Four went so horribly wrong with the first film they produced themselves. The documentary is featured on the new DVD, though it inexplicably is shortened to 19 minutes.

MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR MOVIE SERIES
The PBS series Great Performances finally aired the 52-minute film on American television for the first time a few weeks ago, preceded by a new hour-long documentary about its making. And make no mistake: a spectacular, disastrous, largely incomprehensible and nearly unwatchable mess it was and remains. Nearly half a century on, the fascinating thing about Magical Mystery Tour the film is the rare glimpse it offers into one of the best rock bands of all time at its unadulterated worst. but now available in a restored version on a spiffy new deluxe DVD-you’re in for a bumpy ride that might make you lose your lunch, or at least leave you with a sick headache. If you’ve never seen the Beatles’ notorious road movie-first screened by the BBC over the Christmas holidays in 1967, never televised in the U.S. We couldn’t agree more.Roll up, roll up for the magical mystery tour, step right this way… just be forewarned. Extras include interviews with McCartney, Starr and some of the cast and crew, as well as commentary by McCartney, who readily admits that ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ isn’t one of the Beatles’ best moments. The restored DVD and Blu-ray includes a stellar soundtrack remix, ensuring that the movie’s watchable moments sound terrific. It only comes to life during the musical numbers, especially the great ‘I Am the Walrus’ sequence, a music video before there was such a thing.
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR MOVIE MOVIE
It’s easy to see why: The movie is a mess – incoherent, unfunny and an example of ego and authority running rampant and unchecked.

26, 1967, and bombed, proving that the Beatles were fallible after all. ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ originally aired on British television on Dec. There's also bizarre sketches featuring the quartet dressed as magicians and a dreamlike love-story vignette that doesn’t include any of the Beatles. Just to show you how desperate the filmmakers were for material, somebody plays an accordion and everyone else sings along. Each member gets his spotlight: John Lennon romping on the hillside during a musical interlude featuring ‘I Am the Walrus’ Paul McCartney (the driving force behind the project) ruminating on ‘The Fool on the Hill George Harrison tripping out to ‘Blue Jay Way’ and Ringo Starr bickering with his aunt (played by an actress) for the duration of the tour.īut most of the movie is filled out by that tedious bus ride.
