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A Hard Day's Night | Help! | Let It Be | Magical Mystery Tour | Yellow Submarine
YELLOW SUBMARINE
Basic Info | Cast | Crew | Notes | Songs Featured | Home Video |
Laser Disc
Digitally
restored and musically remixed, the Beatles' Yellow Submarine is a surrealistic
head-trip without the chemical comedown. An enduring artifact of its
era, the animated feature, directed by George Dunning, is a nonsensical
journey through time and space that, while not always coherent (after
all, it was made in the '60s), never fails as entrancing entertainment.
Your estimable
guides through the film's setting of Pepperland: none other than John,
Paul, George, and Ringo, the psychedelic apostles of the Vietnam generation.
While the film's beginning tends to be a little slow and muddled (there
are all these odd, colorful creatures running around mumbling and grumbling
in virtually indecipherable English accents), the action really kicks
into gear once the four lads from Liverpool come onto the scene.
The
Fab Four (who are actually voiced by other actors) are called on to
save their musical doppelgangers in the Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band, which has been zapped frozen by the Blue Meanies, a berry-colored
tribe of evil creatures who do little else but snivel, gurgle, and groan.
Along the way, they travel through a time machine, encounter various
real and imagined pop icons and, of course, sing. The ingenious creativity
of the animation (by Heinz Edelmann) aside, it's the music that makes
this movie such a joy.
Soundtrack
highlights include the title song, "Eleanor Rigby," "Nowhere
Man," "When I'm Sixty Four," and "Lucy in the Sky
With Diamonds," which probably makes Yellow Submarine the only
G-rated cartoon to include a reference to the drug LSD.
While
the color restoration of Yellow Submarine is remarkable, those familiar
with the technological prowess of contemporary cartoons may be a bit
disappointed. It doesn't come close to achieving the spatial depth and
detail of The Lion King, Princess Mononoke, or Toy Story. But Yellow
Submarine's originality is indisputable, making it a cartoon classic
to cherish through the next millennium.
The
DVD includes storyboards; a few short interviews with people who worked
on the film; The Mod Odyssey, a documentary that takes itself a bit
too seriously as it compares the film to the paintings of Marc Chagall
and Pablo Picasso and the writings of Jonathan Swift and Lewis Carroll;
and dry audio commentary by production supervisor John Coates, which
only fans will be able to sit through. -- David Bahr
In
the third Beatles-related feature film Yellow Submarine, the rock &
roll group is portrayed as animated characters who have to battle the
Blue Meanies to save the fictional Pepperland from destruction. The
film's colorful, pop-art-inspired animation has dated since its original
release, yet the movie effortlessly evokes the psychedelic spirit of
the late '60s and features plenty of wonderful music, fine jokes and
is generally entertaining. However, be warned: None of the Beatles provided
overdubbed voices for this production, and the actors who "play"
the Beatles all sound identical to each other. The Beatles themselves
do briefly appear at the end of the film, even though they look rather
confused. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
Premiere:
July 17, 1968
Running Time: 85 minutes
Produced by: Al Brodax for United Artists/Apple Corps/Subafilms
Paul
Anglis - Chief Blue Meanie
Peter Batten (I) - George
John Clive - John
Dick Emery - Jeremy Hilary Boob, Ph.D. (Nowhere Man)
George Harrison - Himself
Geoffrey Hughes - Paul
John Lennon - Himself
Paul McCartney - Himself
Lance Percival - Fred
Ringo Starr - Himself
Director
- George Duning
Writers - Al BrodaxJack MendelsohnLee MinoffErich Segal
Cinematography - John Williams (IV)
Music by - George Harrison, John Lennon, George Martin, Paul McCartney,
Brian J. Bishop
Producer - Al Brodax
The Beatles' first and last animated feature film was a huge critical success in England. The movie was never a great hit in America, though it's psychedelic-style appearance is a trademark abroad.
European version contains one extra song, "Hey Bulldog," deleted from U.S. prints.
The
British release of the movie had a different ending to the American
(and subsequent video) release. Apart from different individual scenes,
the American ending has a softer and more considerate feel to it, due
to the final conversion of the Chief Blue Meanie to Love, Peace and
Music; the British version contains no such sentiments.
"Yellow
Submarine"
"Eleanor Rigby"
"When I'm Sixty-Four"
"Nowhere Man"
"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
"All You Need Is Love"
"Baby You're A Rich Man"
"Only A Northern Song"
"It's All Too Much"
"All Together Now"
MGM/UA
Home Video M301170 (VHS, Beta)
Laser
Disc Number: 1223
Label: MGM Home Video
Catalogue Number: ML 101170
Length: 87
Availability Status: Out of print
Official Retail Price: $ 34.98
Video Standard: NTSC
Color Information: Color
Sound Encoding: Digital/Analog-CX
Digital Sound: Stereo
Analog Left: Stereo
Master Format: Film
Disc Size: 12
Number of Sides: 2
Disc Format: CLV
Picture Format: Pan & Scan
Aspect Ratio: 1.33 : 1
Additional
Information: This version doesn't include the "Hey Bulldog"
sequence. Audio channels are reversed. MGM/UA lost the distribution
rights because the Beatles sued them on the grounds that their rights
did not include home video.
Additonal Notes on Yellow Submarine
The Beatles sole
animation feature, Yellow Submarine, has been unavailable on any home
video format since 1988; the old MGM/UA videocassettes are some of the
most hotly prized tapes on the collector's market. Earlier this summer,
they were rendered worthless by the announcement that a digitally remastered
edition of Yellow Submarine was in the works for a late summer release
and now it's here.
Although the Beatles
themselves were barely involved with the project - the picture was written
and directed by outsiders (one of whom was Erich Segal, who'd go on
to write Love Story) and the animated John, Paul, George and Ringo were
performed by soundalikes - Yellow Submarine is very much a Beatles picture,
capturing the offhanded irreverence of the Fab Four and transplanting
it into a wildly imaginative pop-art universe. With a visual sensibility
that changes to suit its surroundings, the movie fused every artistic
style from Warhol to Escher to create a sort of whimsical anarchy; 31
years after its original release, it's still more interesting than anything
else on the screen.
The full-frame VHS
tape, priced at a suggested $19.98 (Cdn), includes a deleted number
("Hey Bulldog") as a bonus; the widescreen DVD adds a remixed
Dolby Digital soundtrack, audio commentary by designer Heinz Edelmann
and animator John Coates, interviews with the animators and two of the
voice performers, photographs, storyboards, a documentary featurette
and an isolated score option.
Yellow Submarine is an animated meandering journey filled with puns
and dry British humor, where psychedelic music videos take precedent
over any linear story. What little there is of a plot, however, concerns
a vibrantly colored place called Pepperland that resembles the album
cover for Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band come to life. The swirling
animation is a mixture of pop-culture images and modern artistic styles
brought loosely together with a naïve antiwar message and some
clever political commentary. The Blue Meanies take over Pepperland,
draining it of all its color and music, firing anti-music missiles,
bonking people with green apples, and turning the inhabitants to stone
by way of the pointed finger of a giant white glove. As the only survivor,
the Lord Admiral escapes in the yellow submarine and goes to London
to enlist the help of the Beatles (voiced by actors). The charming and
innocent boys travel through strange worlds and meet bizarre characters,
including the tagalong Nowhere Man. Several blissed-filled musical sequences
and drug references later, the Beatles drive out the Blue Meanies and
restore Pepperland to tranquility armed with only music, love, and witty
remarks. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
From CDNOW:
Digitally restored and musically remixed, the Beatles' Yellow Submarine
is a surrealistic head-trip without the chemical comedown. An enduring
artifact of its era, the animated feature, directed by George Dunning,
is a nonsensical journey through time and space that, while not always
coherent (after all, it was made in the '60s), never fails as entrancing
entertainment.
Your estimable guides through the film's setting of Pepperland: none
other than John, Paul, George, and Ringo, the psychedelic apostles of
the Vietnam generation. While the film's beginning tends to be a little
slow and muddled (there are all these odd, colorful creatures running
around mumbling and grumbling in virtually indecipherable English accents),
the action really kicks into gear once the four lads from Liverpool
come onto the scene.
BACK
TO TOP
The Fab Four (who are actually voiced by
other actors) are called on to save their musical doppelgangers in the
Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which has been zapped frozen
by the Blue Meanies, a berry-colored tribe of evil creatures who do
little else but snivel, gurgle, and groan. Along the way, they travel
through a time machine, encounter various real and imagined pop icons
and, of course, sing. The ingenious creativity of the animation (by
Heinz Edelmann) aside, it's the music that makes this movie such a joy.
BACK
TO TOP
Soundtrack highlights include the title song,
"Eleanor Rigby," "Nowhere Man," "When I'm Sixty
Four," and "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," which probably
makes Yellow Submarine the only G-rated cartoon to include a reference
to the drug LSD.
BACK
TO TOP
While the color restoration of Yellow Submarine
is remarkable, those familiar with the technological prowess of contemporary
cartoons may be a bit disappointed. It doesn't come close to achieving
the spatial depth and detail of The Lion King, Princess Mononoke, or
Toy Story. But Yellow Submarine's originality is indisputable, making
it a cartoon classic to cherish through the next millennium.
BACK
TO TOP
The DVD includes storyboards; a few short
interviews with people who worked on the film; The Mod Odyssey, a documentary
that takes itself a bit too seriously as it compares the film to the
paintings of Marc Chagall and Pablo Picasso and the writings of Jonathan
Swift and Lewis Carroll; and dry audio commentary by production supervisor
John Coates, which only fans will be able to sit through. -- David Bahr
BACK
TO TOP
Basic Info | Cast | Crew | Notes | Songs Featured | Home Video |
Laser Disc
A
Hard Day's Night | Help!
| Let It Be | Magical
Mystery Tour | Yellow Submarine