Magical Mystery Tour
July. 02,1976 NROriginally produced for television, this short film as an off-the-wall road movie starring the Beatles and a couple dozen friends on a psychedelic bus tour.
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Reviews
I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
(53%) Before the days of the music video, publicising music on TV was a bit more tricky than it is today, but the Beatles had more clout (and money) than most so they could create a just shy of an hour long TV movie, first aired at Christmas to tens of millions, plugging songs from their new hit record. Well that was the plan anyway, but the end result is something of a mix of the good, the bad, and the very odd. Quite honestly though this is one of the better TV movies I've ever seen simply because it is so far removed from the typical dull and uninteresting dross you usually get with films that never see the inside of a cinema meaning you cannot help but admire its sheer craziness and fun. Plot wise there is nothing here at all, things just happen a pure random, while the Beatles themselves oddly don't actually do a great deal in terms of actual performances and are largely lost in their own film, with good old George Harrison hardly getting more than a couple of lines. It's clear why many disliked this, it's too weird and evidently cobbled together to be a hit with the drunk masses after eating too much turkey and chocolate, but looking at it now purely as a slice of 60's madness with a superb soundtrack, Monty Python style comedy, and sheer nostalgic fun meaning this is more noteworthy than most would have you think, just don't have high expectations beforehand.
(Spoilers) Mostly the songs are rather unconnected little moments of joy, but the way that Mr. Bloodvessel's little speech-- "I am concerned, that you enjoy yourselves.... within the limits of British decency"-- segues into "I Am The Walrus" is just *perfect*. More broadly it's just, you know, quite a trip. I'd never heard of a "mystery tour" (day-trip to nowhere in particular) before reading the little pamphlet that came with the DVD, and it's a swell little idea. Also, I just love Paul, and it's kinda neat how this was to some extent Paul's little project.... It's great how he performs "The Fool on the Hill". It's just as good "A Hard Day's Night"-- actually the bit with Ringo and his aunt is a little reminiscent-- as well as an interesting contrast. It's a nice little picture of where the band was at the time, as well a bit of an image as to why they gave up touring in favor of a different kind of.... they certainly seem to have a bit more fun, is what I mean. And really no matter what anybody else says when the little doors of the old TVs were opened up to this little offering in 1967, I think it must have been quite the gift. (9/10)
Look, I'll admit it. I hate Paul MaCartney, and even the Beatles stuff he did is now unlistenable to me because I hear his now florid narcissism in the whole of the Beatles catalogue in which he was involved. This is the man who wrote 'When I'm Sixty-Four' when he was fifteen. Rock'n'Roll! And Magical Mystery Tour is Paul's baby.While it's the nearest we'll get to seeing the late 60's Beatles performing live, and there are occasional glimpses of the sheer likability of John, George and Ringo which they all managed to share in 'Help' and 'Hard Day's Night', it's quite evident from MMT that Paul's self-regard was now becoming out of control.So if you're a MaCartney fan, you'll love MMT as much Paul loves himself: if you're a Beatles fan, it'll give you the frisson of seeing how the Fab Four fitted so well into the British media scene of the 60's, and how their money made possible a lot of artistic self-indulgence. If you've never really been that convinced that the Beatles were as good as EMI or MPL Communications' press offices might have you believe, you'll see MMT for what it was: a big budget being thrown at a few small ideas.
I'm an old Beatles fan, and I saw this when I was a teenager. The enjoyment I recall cannot be disentangled from the time and place. I enjoyed it back then, and watching it now is a sort of nostalgia rush.Certain aspects of it are great: There's a raw, improvisational energy to it that will strike many as artless, but works pretty well for me. Some of the dream/subconscious spew sequences approach Fellini or Brunuel for their purity of creative expression.And, of course, Magical Mystery Tour was one of the Beatles' best albums, and all the songs are showcased here.And how nice it is to see the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band, led by Stanshall, doing their thing!