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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
This 1968 oddity is probably a film only a total Beatlemaniac could love, but it carries both musical and historical resonance. It also gives intimations of what would happen in the next 30 years as artists gained more and more power over how they were presented. The roots of virtually any rock star's vanity project (including Prince's Under the Cherry Moon) can be traced to this little Liverpudlian home movie. Fresh from the success of their films A Hard Day's Night and Help!, and still under the influence of the intoxicants of the era, the Beatles set out to make their own fancifully psychedelic project. What they got out of it was, essentially, a knock-off album with a few good songs and a lot of filler, which is more than can be said for this alternately self-indulgent and mildly amusing British version of Ken Kesey's magic bus tour. Using some of their favourite actors (including Victor Spinetti, who was in their first two movies), the Beatles make an alternative British travelogue, stopping occasionally to sing songs like "I Am the Walrus" and "The Fool on the Hill." Strictly for completists. --Marshall Fine, Amazon.com
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
To be honest there was not much chance of me disliking this film. I'm not a beatlemaniac, I just love the beatles. I don't think you nessecerily have to be a 'beatle' fan to enjoy this film.
To me, the fact that for the most part, this film was not received well and is fairly unknown, makes it more interesting. Help was nowhere near as good as this (in completely different ballparks).
This was one of two films the beatles made during their 'psychedelic' period,(along with yellow submarine). The film does have quite an eerie undercurrent (the beatles dress up as annoying gay wizards). John lennons narration is good especially at the beginning of the film. Theres a scene where Ringo's fat auntie, falls asleep and starts dreaming about food. John lennon dressed up as a waiter is shovelling slop on to the table whilst she is eating it and crying her eyes out! very strange. The scene looks a lot like one from monty pythons 'the meaning of life'.
There is a funny scene with victor spinetti, he plays the babbeling army sergeant who shouts at cows and midgets. Parts of this film are boring but it makes for good viewing when Ringo shouts "I cant stand it anymore! I'm getting off."
I really liked the circus organ version of 'she loves you'. Also there are the videos for 'I am the walrus'(humourous, slightly scary) a classic, 'fool on the hill', which features paul mccartney pratting about in a field looking like something from a dr seuss book, and 'blue jay way'(quite scary) by which time, you know the trip has taken a turn for the worst (although after the song, everyone stands up and claps enthusiastically like a bunch of jolly zombies).
The film ends with John saying "I told you it was gonna be a magical mystical tour.." in his trademark bigheaded way. whilst most of ya will be thinking "What you on about mate? that wasn't magical?"
A worthwhile film in my opinion.
To me, the fact that for the most part, this film was not received well and is fairly unknown, makes it more interesting. Help was nowhere near as good as this (in completely different ballparks).
This was one of two films the beatles made during their 'psychedelic' period,(along with yellow submarine). The film does have quite an eerie undercurrent (the beatles dress up as annoying gay wizards). John lennons narration is good especially at the beginning of the film. Theres a scene where Ringo's fat auntie, falls asleep and starts dreaming about food. John lennon dressed up as a waiter is shovelling slop on to the table whilst she is eating it and crying her eyes out! very strange. The scene looks a lot like one from monty pythons 'the meaning of life'.
There is a funny scene with victor spinetti, he plays the babbeling army sergeant who shouts at cows and midgets. Parts of this film are boring but it makes for good viewing when Ringo shouts "I cant stand it anymore! I'm getting off."
I really liked the circus organ version of 'she loves you'. Also there are the videos for 'I am the walrus'(humourous, slightly scary) a classic, 'fool on the hill', which features paul mccartney pratting about in a field looking like something from a dr seuss book, and 'blue jay way'(quite scary) by which time, you know the trip has taken a turn for the worst (although after the song, everyone stands up and claps enthusiastically like a bunch of jolly zombies).
The film ends with John saying "I told you it was gonna be a magical mystical tour.." in his trademark bigheaded way. whilst most of ya will be thinking "What you on about mate? that wasn't magical?"
A worthwhile film in my opinion.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
As a 32 year old Beatle fan returning to watch this film this after 15 years or so I am a little less disappointed than I was when I first saw it. I feel this film gets better with age just as Help gets worse. I appreciate things about it that I just thought were a waste of footage before, really, and now like it for what it is. It was disappointing originally because there is no story to draw you in, the ad libing is not that funny or developed, it is rambling and very short. But then that said a lot about my rigid expectations. If one is more open minded and has other ways of seeing one can see that this film is partially successful.
I've never watched this under the influence of drugs but I can see how it would beautifully compliment such an experience with its colour and its peculiar and romantic incidents. And even without them, I enjoy the set pieces, I enjoy what people wear, the fact that this film mixes the old with young, the fact that this is more authentically 1967 than a big budget scripted film would have been. There are lots of little things going on that will make the movie worth re-visiting. It captures the faces of people who weren't glamorous but somehow people of their time. It gives you an insight into British culture. It would certainly appeal to an anthropologist. With a bit more encouragement it could have been great and it certainly sits alongside Hard Day's Night, Yellow Sub and Let It be nicely, because these films each do something unique, well. (Four out of five good film ain't bad and Help at least has great music.)
Alas, MMT it's a few minutes too short, I reckon. I so badly want to see more of what went on that trip. It's been mercilessly and I would guess unexpertly edited. I would bet any money that if we had all the footage they shot it could be re-cut and be much better but I've read that footage has gone, alas. So what if that missing footage is Lennon ripping the letters off the side of the bus? That would have been great. And needless to say the music is top notch.
I've never watched this under the influence of drugs but I can see how it would beautifully compliment such an experience with its colour and its peculiar and romantic incidents. And even without them, I enjoy the set pieces, I enjoy what people wear, the fact that this film mixes the old with young, the fact that this is more authentically 1967 than a big budget scripted film would have been. There are lots of little things going on that will make the movie worth re-visiting. It captures the faces of people who weren't glamorous but somehow people of their time. It gives you an insight into British culture. It would certainly appeal to an anthropologist. With a bit more encouragement it could have been great and it certainly sits alongside Hard Day's Night, Yellow Sub and Let It be nicely, because these films each do something unique, well. (Four out of five good film ain't bad and Help at least has great music.)
Alas, MMT it's a few minutes too short, I reckon. I so badly want to see more of what went on that trip. It's been mercilessly and I would guess unexpertly edited. I would bet any money that if we had all the footage they shot it could be re-cut and be much better but I've read that footage has gone, alas. So what if that missing footage is Lennon ripping the letters off the side of the bus? That would have been great. And needless to say the music is top notch.
25 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This is the Beatles in their experimental stage. Brian Epstein (their manager) had just died, and they had to do it on their own. The result is a loosely made 'film', based around a bus trip. As the Beatles said: "we wanted to film everything that happened on the way during the drive, unfortunately, nothing happened". But still, this film has many things in it that makes it interesting to watch. The music is one thing of course, it is superb, but there are many things in it that pre-dates Monty Python by 2 years. It's that sort of style. It's true though, you must be a Beatle fan to get your money's worth, but it's an interesting time-capsule from the late sixties.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Acceptable edition for now (if you still own a VHS, that is)
This review is based on the VHS-edition which I bought new this summer. The price, about 10 pounds, is acceptable. Read more
Published 20 months ago by B. O. Hansen
weird
the beatles made this film in 1967,the term film is probably incorrect as it doesnt even hit the hour long mark,it is however a madcap and out of this world look at the inside of... Read more
Published on 10 April 2007 by sean paul mccann
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