Magical Mystery Tour Documentary (and MMT, itself)

[Hal...]

Beginning tonight on Great Performances, PBS will be airing both a documentary on the making of - and the actual film - Magical Mystery Tour, which has never been shown on TV in the US... ever.

The documentary Magical Mystery Tour Revisited:
Previously unseen footage and remarks from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr accent this look at the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" movie, which was panned upon its 1967 BBC premiere but, in the years since, has come to be viewed as a flawed masterpiece.

The film:
The Beatles' Merry Pranksters-inspired "Magical Mystery Tour," fully restored and featuring a remixed soundtrack that includes the title song, "The Fool on the Hill," "Flying," "I Am the Walrus," "Blue Jay Way" and "Your Mother Should Know."



Check your local listings.

[rapidfirerob]

Excellent! I just went on KQED's site to get an email reminder for this Tuesday's broadcast. Thanks.

[ronmac]

Expect a portion or two to not be broadcast, which is typically done for showings like this. Nonetheless, still worth checking out. Yeah, the film is kinda lame, but it's still fun.

[Hal...]

Why do you say that?

[rapidfirerob]

I'm ready for only great things. I know it's not an Academy Award winner, but it will be loads of fun and great music, one of my favorite Beatles albums.

[kenneth8446]

I taped it off my local PBS station and watched it today. A bit silly but good fun.

A highlight which I did not know about was Vivian Stanshall and the Bonzo's doing Death Cab for Cutie. Tremendously silly. Glad I watched it.

[rapidfirerob]

I for one can do with a whole lot of silly about now.

[lovecraft]

Outside of the musical sections the film is a bona fide turkey and no amount of McCartneys 'we were making an art film' revisionism will change that. I guess you just had to be there. The music is peerless though, so I ain't really complaining.

[Hal...]

Outside of the musical sections the film is a bona fide turkey and no amount of McCartneys 'we were making an art film' revisionism will change that.

Actually, what I heard was that it was an attempt at a "home movie of the 'Merry Pranksters'" kind of acid-drenched foolishness. I think the approach is to not take it seriously.

I've never seen it, and I've heard plenty of criticisms, so it does color my expectations a bit. But I am not in the least expecting anything extraordinary.

Besides, I'm more interested in the documentary, anyway.


What I want to see is a remastered Let it Be.

[lovecraft]

Actually, what I heard was that it was an attempt at a "home movie of the 'Merry Pranksters'" kind of acid-drenched foolishness. I think the approach is to not take it seriously.

I've never seen it, and I've heard plenty of criticisms, so it does color my expectations a bit. But I am not in the least expecting anything extraordinary.

Besides, I'm more interested in the documentary, anyway.


What I want to see is a remastered Let it Be.

I just found the none-musical parts pretty dull. Must have been huge fun to make though.

As for Let It Be - I agree 100%. So many rumours about this one being ready to roll for so many years but being scotched by one Beatle or another for various reasons. The materials are there for so many extra bells and whistles that it makes my mouth water. Surely neither Ringo, Paul, Yoko or Georges wife whose name escapes me can possibly believe that its release would somehow tarnish the Beatles reputation...?

[roylayer]

I've only watched the documentary so far - which was quite interesting - but I get the feeling like I've already seen all I need to see of the movie (via clips from the documentary). I'll still watch the movie out of curiosity, but my hopes are not very high.

[JKL2000]

It would be interesting to see, because my only impression of the film is from the record sleeve, where there's a photo of a woman being served an enormous plate of spaghetti. I used to stare at that photo while listening to the album as a kid.

[trurl]

As an official huge Beatles fan, and seeing as the (American) album is probably my favorite by them... I've tried to like the film. God how I've tried. For 35 years since I saw it in a theater in Pittsburgh on a double bill with a movie of the Shea Stadium concert I've tried. And... gah, it's a huge pile of stinking crap! Although the I Am The Walrus sequence is kind of cool.