Continuing my exploration of the extended Beatles canon, I have taken the dive into the Magical Mystery Tour blu-ray from 2012. I am a Beatles music buff, and know of the filmography, but don't spend a lot of time on it (I've never seen any of the four feature films they produced, and until now I've never seen the MMT television show).
The blu-ray is packed with extras, but I have to say, this is the first Beatles release that strikes me as dated in a negative way (as opposed to "dated in a way that speaks to the time in which it was made"). I mean, it DOES speak to the time, but you can clearly see this as vanity project as much as "declaration of art". This was clearly McCartney's baby, and in some senses, this was his "Revolution No. 9" in the sense that it was a stream of consciousness collage, just in broader scope.
One think that struck me was how SILLY John could be. I don't know whether it was him actually just letting go and being silly, or if it was his subversive way of taking the piss. I tend to the former, though there's a video piece for "Your Mother Should Know" of the band in white tuxedos and the smile on John's face was downright demonic. But "Nat's Dream", an outtake that was directed by John, is just pure silliness.
Ringo made a comment though in the documentary that resonates: it was so open and many of the things they did couldn't be done today (the car racing scene for one).
There's an unreleased version of the video for "Hello, Goodbye" that was aired by the BBC in response to the three rejected versions previously submitted for Top Of The Pops (which, long story short, couldn't air miming per Musician's Union rules). It had footage of the Beatles editing MMT in the studio interspersed with a series of still photographs prepared by the BBC of four actors - two men, two women - standing in the snow, and getting in and out of a car (no, it makes no sense). I confess I've spent far too much time in the couple days since I saw it obsessing over one of the actresses in those stills (but since they were included by the BBC and had nothing to do with the Beatles, her name - or any of the other three - are nowhere to be found). HAHA! The other one looks a LITTLE bit like Maureen Starkey (though I don't think it's her) but My Obsession doesn't look anything like any of the noted Beatles girlfriends.
Topic: The Beatles Thread (Read 43559 times)
