Guide to British Music of the 1960s
October 2012
DVD Review
Magical Mystery Tour - The Beatles
Box Set Edition
Magical Mystery Tour - The Beatles
EMI
Released: 8 October 2012
This was the Beatles' third film, one which was written and directed by the band. The story is built around a coach trip to the seaside and the adventures that happen on the way. There are also six new songs. Guest appearances in the film are from the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Ivor Cutler, Victor Spinetti, Jessie Robins, Nat Jackley and Derek Royle. The DVD set includes a remixed soundtrack, 50 minutes of special features including unseen footage. There are also new interviews with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr and other members of the film's cast. A director's commentary was recorded by Paul. Some of this has already been shown on the BBC but it does make the package extremely good value.
In 1967, the Beatles had just stunned the world with the launch of Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, an album that spent weeks at number one and which was one of the greatest albums ever released. How would the Beatles be able to follow this? The BBC scored an apparent coup when it agreed to screen the film on Boxing Day 26 December 1967. A mystery tour is a very British institution and this may have made the film less "accessible" in other markets. The basic idea behind the film was that a group of varied characters including the Beatles more or less playing themselves, some "eccentric" but real people and some actors would tour the West Country to see what happened and what they would experience. The Beatles Fan Club secretaries even got in on the trip. There was no clear plot and it was very much improvised around scenes. Ringo Starr had a key role. His acting in A Hard Day's Night and Help had brought out his natural personality and in Magical Mystery Tour the relationship with his "aunt" built on this. They are arguing in virtually ever scene effectively showing the opposite side to the happy tour that everyone was experiencing.
The film had a poor reception. Had the Beatles got it all wrong? The BBC's Christmas audience was more used to Morecombe & Wise and other family light entertainment. A psychedelic adventure with no clear story was not what they were used to. It was also broadcast in black and white so the colour effects were lost on the TV audience. With hindsight the film stands up so much better. Like the later Yellow Submarine animated film, it did show that the Beatles were ahead of their time, not only in music but also in film. There are clear pointers to what would come later, especially in programmes such as Monty Python's Flying Circus. The Beatles were also at the forefront of the music video or promotional film. I am the Walrus is a particularly good example of this with the sequence effectively pointing the way for what would become a new art medium. Again, the Beatles were way ahead of their time.
Whatever the merits of the film, there is no doubt that the music is first rate. It included one of the Beatles' few instrumentals. Flying is used to introduce a sequence with the Beatles as magicians. The magicians appear later checking on the progress on the bus. It may have made more sense to have had the magicians appearing regularly in the film from the beginning as they weaved their magic to make the tour "happen". Possibly this was intended but it is a strange omission. George contributes Blue Jay Way a sign of his continuing development as a songwriter. It contrasts with John's I am the Walrus and Paul McCartney's more commercial title track, Fool on the Hill and Your Mother Should Know. There are a couple of instrumental nods to earlier Beatles songs, She Loves You and All My Loving, while the film ends with part of Hello Goodbye. The only non-Beatles song included is Death Cab for Cutie by the superb Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band backing a visit to a strip club. Again this is a pointer to Monty Python with the Bonzos appearing in programmes such as Do Not Adjust Your Set and Neil Innes involved in Monty Python & the Holy Grail.
The film is certainly entertaining even if it is only viewed as a series of film promos for very good songs interspersed by a loose storyline. Whatever its merits as a film, there is no doubt that it remains an important part of music history in itself but also for where it led for artists such as Monty Python. Well done to Apple for putting together such a comprehensive package.
A Deluxe Box Set includes the full DVD as well as a blu-ray version, a vinyl 7" 6-track EP as was released in the UK at the time as the original film and a 60-page book.
- Magical Mystery Tour
- Your Mother Should Know
- I Am The Walrus
- The Fool on the Hill
- Flying
- Blue Jay Way