I was 12 when it came out here in the Seattle area and I adored it -- both the entire album and the packaging. (Hadn't seen the movie yet; it would be much later.)
I have both mono and stereo Capitol LP's of Magical Mystery Tour. Just like the mono and stereo releases of Sgt Pepper, if you have a good rear, you can tell the differences in the recordings.
I agree. It's one of the few Beatles album that Capitol actually assembled quite nicely (those crappy fake Stereo mixes notwithstanding). The other one for me would be Capitol's version of "Rubber Soul". That one has always been a far more cohesive listen than the original UK issue.
This was the one thing Capitol got right. The MMT album was superior to the double ep set and it is now used as the official CD. Great one Andrew keep it up you're the best Beatles content creator. Your fan, Mike Zinza
The Magical Mystery Tour film doesn't really work or go anywhere as a narrative story. However, as an audio-visual vehicle for the incredible, mind-blowing music that's featured, it is wonderful to see and hear.
MMT wasn’t a flop in America because we just received the full album which was considered one of the best ever, especially side 2. The movie was not in wide release here, but in retrospect it’s an important forerunner to rock videos & MTV. Oh, and it’s pronounced Ken Kee-zee. You do great work, Andrew, and we’re lucky to have your channel.
What you have to understand is that McCartney, with Magical Mystery Tour being his vision, succeeded in doing something that had never happened to The Beatles in America. America wasn't interested in what they did. And that's BUSINESS America. The moneymakers. And that America would turn anything into a Beatles product. Releasing albums by them that the UK never produced. They passed on airing a Beatles creation, knowing they'd make their money from advertisers jumping on that chance to get that demographic known as "The Teenager", which didn't exist before the branding of Rhythm & Blues, or "negro music" into homogenised, pasteurised "Rock 'n' Roll". That's FAILURE!
When I was growing up my mom had a Betamax recording of The Compleat Beatles, which summarized MMT as "The Beatles on a trip with a busload of friends, freaks and celebrities and filming whatever happened. Unfortunately, nothing did."
Two elements conspired to make the Magical Mystery Tour film a flop. 1- It was broadcast in B & W by the BBC. Much of the attraction of the film lies in the wildly colourful musical sequences. But much more importantly: 2- The Beatles (and Paul in particular who was de facto "director") made the same mistake that numerous so-called avant-garde "filmmakers" made in the sixties, i.e. they took off without a flight plan. What the film desperately needed was at least the germ of a story - a script. They got a bunch of people together on a colourful bus, and set off on a psychedelic charabang ride to film whatever wonderful things happened, only nothing much did happen. The film was influential in the early evolution of the music video however. I received the American MMT album for Christmas and loved it! Cheers and thanks for the video Andrew.
@@marguskiis7711Agreed. Breathless has a definite improv vibe. European films tended to be "character-driven" as opposed to "plot-driven" American films. A tendency which persists today. MMT had a "skeleton" script.
(most) Fans, critics and the general public hadn't been "experienced". It was a film made by head's for heads essentially. It wasn't a flop with them, they understood it perfectly well. It's bloody brilliant, and captures the feeling of the medicine journey fantastically.
My favorite part from MMT is the scene on the beach where Mr. Bloodvessel is showing Ringo’s aunt his love for her to the tune of All My Loving by drawing a heart in the sand, it was a very moving scene for me.
I have always loved the Magical Mystery Tour album and was happy that it got a CD release in 1987 along with the other UK albums making it part of the official Beatles canon. My first copy of the album had the last three songs in duophonic stereo and did not include the booklet which had been discontinued by the 1980s. I didn’t see the movie until 1990. Although not my favorite Beatles film I am glad I have it at least to see the I Am The Walrus sequence. Thanks for another great video Andrew!
One reason editing took so long is that during the filming, the Beatles appreciate why clapboards were used and thought they could be dispensed with. It was tedious work to sync up the sound during the editing of the film.
Here in the US, the Beatles reputation was not rocked by the film, as no one saw it for years. I awaited its broadcast for months, and couldn't find out any reasons why it wasn't, other than it got a few bad reviews. It would still have gotten good ratings- it was the invincible Beatles. I didn't see the film until the early 1970's at a university showing. The print quality was so bad I asked the presenter why he even bothered showing it. I didn't want to pass judgement until I saw a decent print, but that was well into the 1980's before that opportunity arose. I like it very much, but it does not work in black and white.
I got tired of hearing how bad Magical Mystery Tour was... In 1967 I was enthralled and hadn't seen anything like it. I was gobsmacked seeing I Am the Walrus performed (mimed), while my mum liked seeing the Beatles in white suits doing a soft shoe shuffle to Your Mother Should Know...Also great telly then was the first screening of the Prisoner, also featuring Beatles music, with both MMT and this series having little Angelo Muscat in the cast. Great memories, and both of these TV shows have stood the test of 🕒
I bought an Italian pressing of MMT in 1984 on vacation. I remember distinctly Strawberry Fields sounded different on this pressing than on the Blue Album, the guitar sounded softer. I was confused, I thought all songs should sound the same. I know now better thanks to this channel.
I think the main reason why it was a flop was that people were expecting a cozy Christmas film and got a psychedelic avantgarde movie. I live in Sweden and to this day it has never been shown on Swedish television. The first time I got the chance to watch it was when it was released on VHS in the late eighties. To my surprise I really liked it, and I still do.
MMT is one of my favorites!! No such thing as a bad Beatles song,album or film!! They are the template for bands!! But mainly because they are the greatest talent in rock and roll!! Great work Andrew!👏✌️🥳
Almost nobody mentions it, but the MMT film's best aspect is its editing, which I'm sure went on to influence the Monty Python show a few short years later.
I first saw "Magical Mystery Tour" in San Francisco in 1968. A group of DJ's had gone on strike against the radio station they worked for, and to support the strike John Lennon had a print of the film sent to San Francisco so the strikers could organize a benefit showing. I remember being puzzled by the film and writing it off as five great Beatles music videos with little or nothing of interest in between. After the Monty Python TV shows were released in the U.S. the devil-may-care, anything-for-a-laugh spirit of "Magical Mystery Tour" made a lot more sense. Also, the German "MMT" LP, in addition to having all the side two songs in real stereo, contains a longer version of "Strawberry Fields Forever" in which John says whatever he says at the end - "I buried Paul," "I'm very tall" or "cranberry sauce" - twice.
I used to work in Bodmin so used to walk past several film locations in Higher Bore street to catch the bus. I noticed they were filmed out of sequence. I usually manage to bore the pants off my family, pointing out various landmarks whenever we wander around Newquay. It's the little snippets at the beginning...Treningle Garage and Innis Downs that I find fascinating. Cornwall is lovely, I'm glad they came.
Let's not overthink this. The Magical Mystery Tour film was a flop, because it SUCKED! The Beatles were so successful that they thought they could throw together a "mad romp" with "interesting people" such as a fat lady and a midget. It wasn't "ahead of its time", it was just BORING and BAD. But the failure of the film seems to have had no negative impact on the band's popularity, so I don't understand that thought at the end of this video. And yes the album is fantastic, especially the full LP version with Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane, Baby You're a Rich Man, and All You Need is Love tacked on. I even like Blue Jay Way (the song, not the film sequence).
A refreshingly honest take. I finally watched MMT a few years ago. I found myself blushing, alone in my living room, at how cluelessly awful and embarrassing it was. My older sister once told me how confusing it was, in late 67, that both the Beatles and the Stones (with the Satanic Majesties album) both suddenly appeared to suck. It was a strange time, I guess. Btw, I should mention that Hello Goodbye, the Beatles' concurrent single, is one of my all-time favourite singles.
I thought it was a great film. Here are my reasons. 1) It predated Monty Python (and their shows MP's Flying Circus and Rutland Weekend Television, and their films) with their humor and skits. 2. It paved the way for the Monkees' "Head" movie, which, like MMT, is also considered a cult classic. 3. It paved the way for the Beatles mockumentary, "The Rutles: All You Need is Cash," a decade later, which featured Monty Python and the SNL cast. The Rutles movie had George making a cameo as a reporter, and the late Neil Innes, who was a member of the Bonzo Dog band featured in MMT during the strip club scene, played John's Rutle counterpart Ron Nasty; he also wrote and composed the songs for the Rutles. There were also cameos from Mick Jagger, Bianca Jagger, Ron Wood, and Paul Simon. There is a hilarious spoof of MMT in the Rutles movie (Tragical History Tour), which parodied "I Am the Walrus" called "Piggy in the Middle." The Rutles movie is worth checking out and is on YT. 3 a. The Rutles also paved the way for the mockumentary SPINAL TAP. MMT was truly ahead of its time for those reasons.
Very appropriate to mention the "crisis meeting" at Paul's house. In "Good Ol' Freda," Freda Kelly reveals that after the death of Brian Epstein, Paul felt that if the Beatles didn't put out something straight away they'd be finished. During the 70s when I was in high school I got to see "Magical Mystery Tour" for the first time. It played at a local theater as part of a (past) midnight matinee on a double-bill with a Jimi Hendrix feature. I snuck out of the house to see them! Then about a year or so later I saw a VHS copy of the Magical Mystery Tour film in my local record store for $80. I couldn't afford a VCR in those days, much less an $80 video tape. Probably my first big disappointment as a Beatles collector. Another great video, Andrew! I always look forward to Sundays.
Ironically, just had this discussion with a friend (who dismissed the movie as inconsequential) a few days ago. I explained the usual cited problems/mistakes (UK debut broadcast in B&W etc) but the friend insisted that the band was only fulfilling a contractual film obligation and had little involvement. While the trippy, free for all direction of the film (driven by Paul) initially turned some off, it’s now a cult favorite and even studied at some film schools. Like I told my friend, where else can you see the band play “I Am The Walrus ???”. We should all have flops as cool as that movie. Also shows that the band were not afraid to step out of a commercial film format and instead opt for avant-garde.
@@TangibleAndroid Part of the problem was negligence by the B.B.C. who had a staff member go through the film to check there was nothing offensive. If it had been viewed by a group they might have decided to put it out on B.B.C. 2 from the start. a flop is something that is never seen again. The E.P. set sold well as did the international album. The boys were justly proud of their film and it was low budget. A cult film today.
The Beatles got cocky, just like with the Get Back sessions. "Why not do it ourselves and cut out the middlemen?" Then they discovered that the middlemen make the difference between an amateur project and a professional one. An amateur movie can be fun, but when you've seen great Beatles movies, MMT is quite a letdown.
I don't think the Beatles reputation suffered because of this at all, they were still very successful after this, getting plenty more number 1s topping the charts round the world etc.
Thank you for the video! Magical Mystery Tour is one of my all-time favorites, and I loved and grew up with the album in Canada. When I became a Beatles collector, my prized possession was that double EP imported from England. The quality of the printing of the cover and booklet were superior to the North American release, which suffered a bit with photographs being fuzzy from being enlarged too much, and a printing error that did not line all of the layers up perfectly on top of each other. However, with addition of the singles from side two, that LP is a strong entry into the Beatles permanent catalog, and much beloved. Thanks again for your excellent videos! 🙂
You must remember, despite the showing on BBC2 a week later in colour, hardly anyone had a colour TV in the UK in 1967. Colour TVs didn't start selling until all 3 channels were broadcast in colour
I remember getting the stereo LP in the early 1970s. Loved that record. I received a copy of the double EP as a birthday gift several years ago. Thank you for another fab video! - Anthony
Magical Mystery Tour LP was a huge success in the USA. It was a perfect followup to Sgt Pepper's and I know I played my copy to death, spending many a late night with it spinning continuously.
I’m in the US, and I have owned Magical Mystery Album since I was a kid. And I loved that album, almost as much as Sergeant Pepper. But I understand why the film didn’t do well on broadcast TV. Another great video, thanks for sharing.
Great video Andrew! Great movie regardless of what the critics say. Years ahead of it's time and wish I could put that German vinyl copy behind you on the platter and crank it up! All the best from Australia 🎸
“Ahhh but if you look to your right…” one of my favorite intros to one of my favorite MMT tunes “Flying”. Being in the states the LP was what we had! I thought it was a brilliant psychedelic pt 2 of Sgt. Pepper’s! I did see the movie in a small theater but can’t remember when or where🥴… I enjoyed the grown up nonsensical surreal qualities of the film. I love the early films but this one after 2 minutes into it I was ready to “float downstream”. Lovely little film. Thanks for the stroll down memory lane Andrew! (The German pressing still remains one of my favorite records)
Was literally thinking the same thing! I also hope for a new mix of Magical Mystery tour album. Certainly most of the songs have been mixed already, but they could include the four from Yellow Submarine, and Carnival of Light, along with some of the incidental music from MMT movie. Considering they've done that for everything else from Revolver onwards, it feels like a glaring omission.
you didn't mention the lovely Wendy when you discussed some of the cast members. still, thank you for another informative video that was fun to watch. MTV was where I first saw MMT, and I think it was Christmastime 1984. my favorite part is the strip show with The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.
Following the movie’s disappointment and shown in midnight movies, “Magical Mystery Tour” was released on home video in 1978 by Media Home Entertainment under the MEDA brand, but it was later released in 1982 with a newer Media logo where it remained until the mid 1980’s. The MEDA release had a poor quality print of the film which was washed out and the audio was poor due to the picture quality wasn’t that good. The film was later released on home video in the late 1980’s with a much better print of “Magical Mystery Tour” with better print and the audio was clean, and the picture quality was good.
A friend of mine got that (very expensive) MEDA VHS for Christmas in the late '70s, his family was the first I knew of to have a VCR, and he had many tapes of Saturday Night Live, which was on past his bedtime. Those were like gold at the time! I made a dub of MMT from his copy when we finally got our own VCR, and I agree the quality (probably made from a 16mm reduction print) was less than stellar.
I would say that "Magical Mystery Tour" is my favorite Beatles film, as it seems almost like a precursor to what Monty Python would do a few years later. Weird, zany scenes with non sequitur segments and some of the craziest stuff that you'll ever see. The album is fantastic also. I will admit that "Flying" and "Blue Jay Way" aren't my cup of tea, but all the other songs are just brilliant.
The "Pie Chart" plan for the film was called the "Scrupt" by Paul. I saw here on RUclips where someone else used that "scrupt" to explain the "plot" of the movie by section... If you could call it a "plot". A lot of people were originally very confused by the movie, myself included, but It made a lot more sense after watching that video. Sorry, but I don't remember the title or I'd post it here for you to check it out. I found it very enlightening, and it gave me a greater appreciation for what the Beatles' had done in this movie. Once again, thanks for this commentary Andrew!! George B., Boston
I still remember the original showing of the black and white Magical Mystery Tour on Boxing Day 1967. In fact, the memory of it keeps fresh other memories of that particular day. The film wasn't very good but I believe the expectancy of what they would do next was greatly hightened not only by the fact that their audience was still in awe at the Sgt Pepper album and were waiting to be dazzled further, but also the death of Brian had raised the question as to how they would continue without him. We didn't have a colour tv in 1967 but I still watched the repeat showing on BBC 2 only because of the weirdness of the song 'I Am The Walrus' which to this day remains my favourite Beatles track.
I'm still waiting for the Walrus segment of the film to be properly edited and officially released as a standalone 4K videoclip of the song on The Beatles' RUclips channel. Over the years, I've favourited several fanmade attempts which have, obviously, been soon taken down. All the more so because, AFAIK, the audio of the 2012 DVD/Bluray release is the only ever officially released mix of the song to contain the second half of it in true stereo.
Why was MMT a flop? Three reasons. 1) It was the follow-up to Pepper. Expectations were so high, that anything short of the Second Coming would have been considered a let-down. 2) They made it themselves. They were amateur filmmakers, and it shows. Also, Brian had died. If he had been part of the project, he would have insisted on the best: best equipment, best crew, best sets and stages, an AD to shoot b-roll, etc., followed by good, tight editing. It would have looked and felt a lot better. And 3), combining the first two, it was oversold. It was presented as The Beatles Next Major Film, when in fact it was just four guys goofing off with a camera. Now, I love it for that very reason. And if it has been presented as the Beatles' home movies / what we did on our vacation, I think audiences would have been more receptive, as their expectations would have been ore in line with what they were getting. (I just read The Python's Autobiography, and apparently they had planned to release Holy Grail and MMT as a twin bill. But Palin said, after watching MMT for the first time since 1967, they realized it was not, in fact, an unheralded masterpiece, and ditched the idea.)
" best equipment, best crew, best sets and stages, an AD to shoot b-roll, etc., followed by good, tight editing" which an amateur can't do in 5 months. McCartney tried again in 1984 and the result was such rubbish he hasn't even archived any part of the project. I love the Beatles but color or black&white MMT is one step above a grade school project. Even the performance of I Am the Walrus is below any standard as film making.
@@hugofaceplant4723 Give My Regards to Broadstreet was a piece of crap. Its a 2 hours of just Paul wondering. He can't act. Even Ringo can't saved the movie from its obscurity. The only highlight of the film was SO BAD or WANDERLUST.
Very spot on. With regards to Brian Epstein, I often wonder how things would have progressed (or digressed) with The Beatles had he not met such a premature end.
Saw it when originally released in black & white on the BBC 26th December 1967, then managed to watch it when reshown in colour on 5th January 1968 as my Uncle who was a gadget geek was one of the few with a colour tv.
Interesting that the "Flying" sequence in MMT uses aerial photography for Stanley Kubrick's 1964 Dr. Strangelove that was never used. The scrapped footage was given to The Beatles and they added wild colorization to it for the film.
I was 10 in 1967 and was excited at the thought of seeing a Beatles movie on the TV. Previously I had only seen the Shea film. So as a family we sat down to watch it on our big boxy black and white Rediffusion TV. It was a difficult view with my parents exchanging confused glances and my brother and sister looking bored. I felt very disappointed and The only thing I took away from it was John saying Georgie a lot and the mention in I am The Walrus of knickers down, which prompted a giggle from me and Crabberlogger which reminded me of an episode of Thunderbirds!
It was the world's first album video. No one knew what an album video was. They wouldn't really know such a thing until 1982. That's how far ahead of the game they were.
West Malling is pronounced "moor-ling" by us in Kent. Only the control tower exists today... the rest has become a housing estate. Great video Andrew as always... and possibly my favourite Beatle period. "Roll Up, Roll Up!".
The 1st time I ever saw MMT was March 1985 on a show called "Night Flight" on the USA Network. My 3 favorite scenes from the MMT was the scene on the beach where Mr. Bloodvessel showed Ringo’s aunt his love for her to the tune of All My Loving by drawing a heart in the sand, Fool on the Hill, and Your Mother Should Know in their tuxedos.
Hi Andrew, thanks for a great video! I used to have the Magical Mystery Tour on vhs 📼 when I was a teenager. In the Beatles Anthology book Paul McCartney says it was an art film! I remember seeing the 6 song MMT e.p in antique fairs during the 1990s. It was expensive! I bought it recently from a local record stall and the u.s. album. I will keep a look out for the German version!!!
I remember my pals older brother (whom I learned a lot from in popular music) having the original EP. I was fascinated by it. When I eventually saw the movie I was also left perplexed, but as you say, I later realised it is a snapshot of the time really and the best parts are the Beatles performing those tracks. The EP and the Capitol album are amongst their best work. Your videos never disappoint Andrew. Thanks
Great video, Andrew! I love MMT, always have. Still need to track down a 1st UK mono ep though, but for stereo, the German A1/B3 you recommend is the gold standard, and sounds incredible! The early 80's DMM cut isn't bad either.
Although the film may have lacked focus, there's no denying that the MMT music is some of the best they ever recorded. It's certainly one of my favourite Beatles CDs! Really enjoyed this video, Andrew!
MMT is an underrated Beatles film for several reasons 1. It predated Monty Python (and their shows MP's Flying Circus and Rutland Weekend Television, and their films) with their humor and skits. 2. It paved the way for the Monkees' "Head" movie, which, like MMT, is also considered a cult classic. 3. It paved the way for the Beatles mockumentary, "The Rutles: All You Need is Cash," a decade later, which featured Monty Python and the SNL cast. The Rutles movie had George making a cameo as a reporter, and the late Neil Innes, who was a member of the Bonzo Dog band featured in MMT during the strip club scene, played John's Rutle counterpart Ron Nasty; he also wrote and composed the songs for the Rutles. There were also cameos from Mick Jagger and Paul Simon. There is a hilarious spoof of MMT in the Rutles movie (Tragical History Tour), which parodied "I Am the Walrus" called "Piggy in the Middle." The Rutles movie is worth checking out. a. The Rutles also paved the way for the mockumentary SPINAL TAP. MMT was truly ahead of its time for those reasons.
The Monkees Head had Bob Rafaelson & Jack Nicholson who had at least 5 years of film experience & Roger Corman in his background. Head is at least like an off the wall Monkee's episode. MMT has none of that level of engagement. Python has a cast of guys with some stage & tv experience who knew the minimum of what they had to do together. MMT is just playing with a camera with no script.
Also the scene with the Bonzo Dog Dooh-Dah Band had the song "Death Cab For Cutie" which inspired the band of the same name after they saw it in the film.
@@hugofaceplant4723 You do know that "Head" was also hated by critics and audiences too right? Also Spielberg and Scorsese have publicly stated that MMT was a big influence on them as filmmakers. "For me it certainly still holds up. The freedom of the picture was very important." - Scorsese.
I can see how older people like parents would have seen it at the time, there would be major Beatles burn out, they wouldn't be into what they saw as something that maybe to them glorified their kids being messed up (probably while consuming massive amounts of booze) along with the special not working as well in black and white. There was a special when they remastered the special I saw on PBS and I loved the segment with the viewer letters. The one that stood out to me was the viewer who said they found it relatable cause they also have weird day dreams when they're on a bus or coach bus trip. Also Kudos to Capitol for stumbling into such a great way to give us a Beatles Psych album. When I became a fan in the late 80's and early 90's used to make Beatles singles collection tapes when I realized from reading guide books that if you combined MMT and Past Masters you had an instant collection of all the non album singles and EPs.
It was precisely in 1987, when The Beatles' complete discography was being set up on CDs, that the most appropriate way to publish the complete official catalogue was discussed. The previous attempt with the Box Set on vinyl with Rarities did not do so, since the "62-66" and "67-70" were still needed to obtain the Non Album Tracks. The options were a 3-CD Past Masters that also included all the singles and EPS from 1967 (in short, the American MMT album), or to make the American MTT official as an independent album. Fortunately, the latter option was chosen. Thus, MMT became the best "non-compilation" compilation that exists, since it maintains the usual integrity of albums without becoming one, since it captures the Beatles' psychedelic concept and sound from 1967, not included in Sgt. Peppers. In fact, I would dare say that MMT surpasses this one. It's a matter of taste.
According to an old friend of the family, told me 40+ years ago that one of the US TV networks showed it on late night, prior to 1970. The film? This was worse than what became LET IT BE. Recent articles state that it was all Paul's doing and John, George and Ringo just followed along, reluctantly. I first saw it at a movie theater in 1979. When it was over, most people were saying; "so that was IT?" The book from the EP and LP had more of a "storyline?" I guess. In a way, MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR gets you ready for YELLOW SUBMARINE. GREAT tunes, in a confusing film. The album, assembled by Capitol, is a brilliant work. Years ago, a good friend of mine gave me one of his spare copies of the German pressing. Phenominal! Pound for pound, the MMT album stacks right up there with SGT. PEPPER. Some of my old friends would give better ratings to MMT than SGT. PEPPER. Others have stated, and it's true, with all the hits assembled for Side 2 of the album, this was "amost" a Greatest Hits collection. Kind of a brother to the later HEY JUDE album in the US.
The US Capitol pressing of MMT was heavily imported into the UK so EMI were forced into importing it themselves and selling it through their usual British distributors via the high street record shops. So many of these US import copies were sold in the UK, the American version actually entered the British LP charts. It was the very first American import album I ever saw in a record shop and seemed both very exotic and very expensive!
14:20 On this side of the pond they showed Beatle films on New Years Eve after midnight, which is when I first saw Hard Day's Night and Yellow Submarine, I think 1977 and '78. They never showed MMT though
I still think that had they shown it on BBC 2 in colour on Boxing day '67 it would've been more successful and appreciated more. I've always loved the film and the album. As Paul commented on the Anthology series it was worth it to see their performance of I am The Walrus..
According to Wikipedia, only 20,428 people had a Colour television in the UK in 1968. Given that one would cost the equivalent of £6500 today, no teenage Beatle fan would have been able to afford one, and would be reliant on a wealthy parent or older relative who would probably have been more interested in viewing Great Expectations over on ITV. No remote control in those days to channel hop...
BBC1 was still using the old B/W 405-line television system from the 1930s at that time. Colour was introduced first on BBC2 in 1967, which broadcast on the much more modern 625-line system from the start in 1964. It was only when BBC1 and ITV also started using 625 in colour in 1969 that people started to buy or rent colour sets, and it took several years for colour to gain critical mass.
I know I’m in a few and in the minority on this. But there’s a special place in my heart for the Magical Mystery Tour film. Yes it’s erratic and a bit crazy. I see it as another creative peak in their career. I would say John shoveling spaghetti on aunt Jesse’s plate. Crazy and hilarious! and of course the album is one of my favorites! Especially the mono mix! Thanks, Andrew for another great video. I always enjoy them!
I'm sure if MMT was shown in colour on BBC2 a lot less people would have seen it. Because to receive BBC2 in 1967 required a new dual-standard 625 line UHF capable TV. I didn't see colour TV myself until 1969, when we watched the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales at Carnavon Castle.
I was only 4 years old when MMT was first screened. My first viewing was the December '79 broadcast. I was so excited to finally get a chance to see it. We had our first colour TV in 1975.
Great Video - The ad shown for an LA show at the New Vagabond was from May, 1974, but understandable for visual effect. The showing in LA mentioned here had two different weekends in support of striking KPPC Disc Jockeys: One on May 10'th and 11'th, 1968 at the Los Feliz (I think a 770-seat theater) and the other during May 17'th-19'th at the Esquire Pasadena with the final day (May 19'th) hosting two Matinee shows - the rest were right at home at Midnight. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times had a short story about the first weekend on May 14'th (Section 4, Page 7). The ads for both shows in the Times (form what I have seen at least) were word-only blocks (I wonder if The Los Angeles Free Press had any great ads...). According the the story, there were reportedly some 550 people at the first Los Feliz show, but word spread quickly and the Saturday show had people turned away at the door.
Worth remembering that colour TV in the UK took a surprisingly long time to catch on, in part due the the high cost of sets. My family were quite early adopters (July 1969), and even by 1970, people would come round to watch the World Cup in colour.
One of the few things did Capitol did right with a Beatles album release.. they screwed up a lot of UK studio albums, holding back, greedy with fewer tracks on US releases, but at least they gave us the stereo "magical mystery tour" album..
Outside of the Los Angeles theater showing in 1968, the Magical Mystery Tour film would be relegated to midnight showings at theaters around America, competing with The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and other types of non-PG rated fare. I can't remember where I first saw the movie, perhaps a VHS tape I borrowed from a local library. That was where I also came across The Compleat Beatles from MGM. and the film performance of the Broadway hit Beatlemania. I bought the Capitol Records album due to my wanting to complete my Beatles' album collection, plus with owning the Blue album, I was exposed to a few songs from the MMT album.
I have never seen it as a flop; every single song “video film” is memorable and iconic and of course every song is fantastic. I also think it taps into not only all thing Beatles of Vintage 1967 but also, for me personally, captures England in 1967 and I can’t help but cry with pride watching the last two or three minutes. (the reprise of Hello Goodbye etc) There is a MMT documentary that accurately captures tv audiance letters from young and old expressing how much they enjoyed the film and “got” the wacky humour! One last thing from me; That film is Way ahead of its time; I can think of none other that includes a collection of charachter actors and people of all ages and backgrounds and is wonderfully diverse. Good on The Beatles - and a shame that the tabloid press had to be so negative.But what did they ever know!! “I told You”
I was 17 when I saw MMT for the first time - on the big screen in a movie theatre in late 1978. It was on a double bill with Watership Down! Sat through both films twice because I could 😄 It was a limited theatre release for MMT and remember it being advertised as the first time it was shown on the big screen (dubious), but no idea where else it was shown in the US. I was in central California at the time.
I remember a Canadian magazine article covering "The Beatles Film You Won't Be Able to See" (or words to that effect.) I might still have it tucked away somewhere. I saw the film in the summer of 1971 at a movie theatre in Vancouver that showed all 5 Beatles films. (A Hard Day's Night, Help!, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine and Let It Be)
Great presentation! Magical Mystery Tour and film proved who were the Beatles “deep divers” as opposed to the general snorkeling public. Loved the late 70s midnight showings here in the US along with Let it Be. Good times!
I first saw it in '79 too. I do like the US LP as an album and am lucky enough to have the German vinyl. I once had a 16mm print of MMT but it was in bad shape and a bit dupey so I sold it. Funny to see from the Radio Times that Leslie Crowther was broadcasting on Xmas Day from Queen Mary's Hospital for Children in Carshalton, the former site of which is now a park and housing estate and a lovely woodland walk just five mins from my house where I was walking my beloved Old English Sheepdog (what else?) this very morning. How's that for meaningless synchronicity?!? I always think the excuse that MMT was badly received was down to it being broadcast in B&W is a bit fatuous given that almost nobody apart from The Beatles and The Queen could afford a colour set in '67 but there you go... I love it so much I've trawled through endless outtakes on bootleg DVDs over the years and some of those are in B&W!
The album was great, and yes my copy had the duophonic of the three songs, but the film is yes so. This really was the beginning of the end for the group. An art film to be sure. Great as always Andrew.
This is one of the first Beatles LPs that I bought (around 1980) and it has always been a favorite. The one reconfiguration LP that Capitol actually did right excusing the small flaws that the German release corrected of course, but I did not hear that one until around 10-15 years ago! I also have the double EP version from the CD EP box set and do have the deluxe reissue on my want list!
The film perhaps, was a flop in England, but not the music. I remember hearing all day long, one day around the end of december 1967 "The fool on the hill" from the radio transistor that I brought on a grapefield on a hill. The song "Emmenez moi" by Charles Aznavour was played for the first time that very same day. Both songs were played many times.
The best that can probably said about the film is the Pythonesque scenes in the film. Jessie’s dream sequence and the Walrus segment are reminiscent of what would be done by the Pythons just a few years later. Not to mention the fact we wouldn’t have the Rutles song, “Piggy in the Middle” if it weren’t for MMT. The HMV box set book from 1987 includes other stories, such as Paul placating “fat ladies” and little people who had to share rooms because the hotel was overbooked and Lennon taking down the signs from the bus to discourage fans following them. The album, however is brilliant. You can’t go wrong with Walrus, Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane and Rich Man all on one album.
Thanks again Andrew! 😊 The US Capitol album of MMT (stereo edition) is also noteworthy for the following: I Am The Walrus: this stereo/mock-stereo mix has its intro trimmed, unlike its UK counterpart; Strawberry Fields Forever: this mix differs from the 1973 mix that superseded it on the German MMT album; Penny Lane: this is the first mock-stereo mix to be issued in the US. A second one appeared on '1967-1970'. Also of note is the 'missing beats' mono mix of 'I Am The Walrus', found on the contemporary US single, 'Hello Goodbye'.
I remember a holiday in Devon around 10 years ago, driving around Dartmoor looking for that bridge..Found it, and gladly didn't get stuck...Stopped off for fish and chips in Taunton on the way home..(yes , it was still a chippy).
I was very disappointed that MMT’s scheduled US showing was cancelled at the last minute after it flopped at home. I’d received the album as a Christmas gift and wondered what the heck was going on in the numerous photos of the scenes, and wanted to find out. It wasn’t till the middle 1980s that I finally was able to watch a poor-quality copy more than once on the cable show “Night Flight”. It turned out to not be very good, but I was very pleased to finally see the darn thing.
MMT is, by far, the most popular Beatles album that I play in my classroom for my students. And thanks to Eric Idle, it will always be known (to me) as Tragical History Tour. 🙂
It's the only one to join the official canon, too. (FWIW: Some would argue that the Capitol Rubber Soul is better than the Parlophone one - turning it into a much more concise folk-rock album.)
@@leamanc Everybody always says that, but it’s just bandwagon. If it hadn’t joined the Beatles canon, you’d be saying it was a silly mistake. In truth, the Capitol albums had plenty of good releases
@@doncorleone1553 I was being cheeky because it’s all a matter of personal preference. I became a Beatles fan at 14 in 1987 as the CDs came out. So I grew up with the standardized catalog, and as a kid who didn’t know much backstory, Magical Mystery Tour seemed to me one of their best albums. I also fully acknowledge there’s a case to be made for Meet The Beatles and the US Rubber Soul over their UK counterparts.
It's never a good idea to go into a film project without a script thinking something good might happen. All films begin on paper but you need more than a drawing.
I saw it on Boxing Day 1967 with a few mates, we were all 17 or 18 and surprisingly we all found it 'childish' I think it was a probably a good idea when under the influence but most of the audience were not. On viewing a couple years ago I soon began to fast forward to the songs which is still the film's only redeeming feature ...
Mystery tours were popular back in the 50’s and 60’s were you booked on a coach trip not knowing here you were going.The were often stories in newspapers of people going on holiday to the coast,booking a mystery trip only to find the trip was to their home town.
My introduction to the film was when I bought the VHS from Our Price around 1989. 10 year old me didn't really know what to make of it but I kinda liked it. I now think of it as somewhat of a precursor or forerunner to the long form videos of the 80s. It is a bizarre film. But then maybe that sense of the bizarre is why we love the Beatles so much!
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The Capital release of the Magical Mystery Tour album has long been one of my all-time favorite Beatles releases.
I was 12 when it came out here in the Seattle area and I adored it -- both the entire album and the packaging. (Hadn't seen the movie yet; it would be much later.)
I have both mono and stereo Capitol LP's of Magical Mystery Tour. Just like the mono and stereo releases of Sgt Pepper, if you have a good rear, you can tell the differences in the recordings.
@@barfoonisland2003typo 😂
@@ilovegeorgeharrison66 Maybe they meant you have to be sitting properly to hear the differences.😉
I agree. It's one of the few Beatles album that Capitol actually assembled quite nicely (those crappy fake Stereo mixes notwithstanding). The other one for me would be Capitol's version of "Rubber Soul". That one has always been a far more cohesive listen than the original UK issue.
This was the one thing Capitol got right. The MMT album was superior to the double ep set and it is now used as the official CD. Great one Andrew keep it up you're the best Beatles content creator. Your fan, Mike Zinza
The Magical Mystery Tour film doesn't really work or go anywhere as a narrative story. However, as an audio-visual vehicle for the incredible, mind-blowing music that's featured, it is wonderful to see and hear.
It is a LSD movie. An acid trip just ends slowly and you return to the normal everyday life.
The BBC made 2 mistakes. Firstly, the BBC showed it in black and white instead of colour. Secondly, it was never intended for prime time tv.
Not sure if it would have made a lot of difference if it had been shown in colour, virtually no one in the UK in 1967 had a colour tv set.
@@53puskas53We didn’t get color TV until the 70’s.
I watched live, it was brilliant
Wasn’t it shown on a holiday as well?
Should have just been made into some kind of movie then instead of TV.
MMT wasn’t a flop in America because we just received the full album which was considered one of the best ever, especially side 2. The movie was not in wide release here, but in retrospect it’s an important forerunner to rock videos & MTV. Oh, and it’s pronounced Ken Kee-zee. You do great work, Andrew, and we’re lucky to have your channel.
and 'west malling' is "west mor-ling", or /wɛst 'mɔlɪŋ/ 7:28
What you have to understand is that McCartney, with Magical Mystery Tour being his vision, succeeded in doing something that had never happened to The Beatles in America.
America wasn't interested in what they did. And that's BUSINESS America. The moneymakers. And that America would turn anything into a Beatles product. Releasing albums by them that the UK never produced. They passed on airing a Beatles creation, knowing they'd make their money from advertisers jumping on that chance to get that demographic known as "The Teenager", which didn't exist before the branding of Rhythm & Blues, or "negro music" into homogenised, pasteurised "Rock 'n' Roll".
That's FAILURE!
When I was growing up my mom had a Betamax recording of The Compleat Beatles, which summarized MMT as "The Beatles on a trip with a busload of friends, freaks and celebrities and filming whatever happened. Unfortunately, nothing did."
My best friend and I both loved that quote and often referred to it.
I think them being on a trip besides the bus one was the main problem.
I remember that was the first time I’d ever heard of the film.
Two elements conspired to make the Magical Mystery Tour film a flop.
1- It was broadcast in B & W by the BBC. Much of the attraction of the film lies in the wildly colourful musical sequences.
But much more importantly:
2- The Beatles (and Paul in particular who was de facto "director") made the same mistake that numerous so-called avant-garde "filmmakers" made in the sixties, i.e. they took off without a flight plan. What the film desperately needed was at least the germ of a story - a script.
They got a bunch of people together on a colourful bus, and set off on a psychedelic charabang ride to film whatever wonderful things happened, only nothing much did happen.
The film was influential in the early evolution of the music video however.
I received the American MMT album for Christmas and loved it!
Cheers and thanks for the video Andrew.
Nice post, Robert!
@@Parlogram Merci monsieur !
Many new wave movies were the same. Godard's "Last Breath" is pretty much improvised for example.
MMT had some script but not entirely.
@@marguskiis7711Agreed. Breathless has a definite improv vibe. European films tended to be "character-driven" as opposed to "plot-driven" American films. A tendency which persists today. MMT had a "skeleton" script.
(most) Fans, critics and the general public hadn't been "experienced". It was a film made by head's for heads essentially. It wasn't a flop with them, they understood it perfectly well. It's bloody brilliant, and captures the feeling of the medicine journey fantastically.
My favorite part from MMT is the scene on the beach where Mr. Bloodvessel is showing Ringo’s aunt his love for her to the tune of All My Loving by drawing a heart in the sand, it was a very moving scene for me.
@@DavesTVZone mine's when they day 10 miles north on the Dewsbury Road. Dewsbury got its minute of worldwide fame.
One of my favorites too.
I have always loved the Magical Mystery Tour album and was happy that it got a CD release in 1987 along with the other UK albums making it part of the official Beatles canon. My first copy of the album had the last three songs in duophonic stereo and did not include the booklet which had been discontinued by the 1980s. I didn’t see the movie until 1990. Although not my favorite Beatles film I am glad I have it at least to see the I Am The Walrus sequence. Thanks for another great video Andrew!
One reason editing took so long is that during the filming, the Beatles appreciate why clapboards were used and thought they could be dispensed with. It was tedious work to sync up the sound during the editing of the film.
Here in the US, the Beatles reputation was not rocked by the film, as no one saw it for years. I awaited its broadcast for months, and couldn't find out any reasons why it wasn't, other than it got a few bad reviews. It would still have gotten good ratings- it was the invincible Beatles. I didn't see the film until the early 1970's at a university showing. The print quality was so bad I asked the presenter why he even bothered showing it. I didn't want to pass judgement until I saw a decent print, but that was well into the 1980's before that opportunity arose. I like it very much, but it does not work in black and white.
I got tired of hearing how bad Magical Mystery Tour was... In 1967 I was enthralled and hadn't seen anything like it. I was gobsmacked seeing I Am the Walrus performed (mimed), while my mum liked seeing the Beatles in white suits doing a soft shoe shuffle to Your Mother Should Know...Also great telly then was the first screening of the Prisoner, also featuring Beatles music, with both MMT and this series having little Angelo Muscat in the cast. Great memories, and both of these TV shows have stood the test of 🕒
I bought an Italian pressing of MMT in 1984 on vacation.
I remember distinctly Strawberry Fields sounded different on this pressing than on the Blue Album, the guitar sounded softer. I was confused, I thought all songs should sound the same. I know now better thanks to this channel.
Glad to be of help!
I think the main reason why it was a flop was that people were expecting a cozy Christmas film and got a psychedelic avantgarde movie. I live in Sweden and to this day it has never been shown on Swedish television. The first time I got the chance to watch it was when it was released on VHS in the late eighties. To my surprise I really liked it, and I still do.
I still love Jimmy's "ah, but if you look to your right" intro to Flying ... That part really works well in my opinion
@@paulg2733 who’s Jimmy btw?
@@Bella-nt7ec Jolly Jimmy Johnson the Courier on the coach
@@paulg2733 oh now I remembered it! Thanks a lot!
MMT is one of my favorites!! No such thing as a bad Beatles song,album or film!! They are the template for bands!! But mainly because they are the greatest talent in rock and roll!! Great work Andrew!👏✌️🥳
Almost nobody mentions it, but the MMT film's best aspect is its editing, which I'm sure went on to influence the Monty Python show a few short years later.
I first saw "Magical Mystery Tour" in San Francisco in 1968. A group of DJ's had gone on strike against the radio station they worked for, and to support the strike John Lennon had a print of the film sent to San Francisco so the strikers could organize a benefit showing. I remember being puzzled by the film and writing it off as five great Beatles music videos with little or nothing of interest in between. After the Monty Python TV shows were released in the U.S. the devil-may-care, anything-for-a-laugh spirit of "Magical Mystery Tour" made a lot more sense. Also, the German "MMT" LP, in addition to having all the side two songs in real stereo, contains a longer version of "Strawberry Fields Forever" in which John says whatever he says at the end - "I buried Paul," "I'm very tall" or "cranberry sauce" - twice.
I used to work in Bodmin so used to walk past several film locations in Higher Bore street to catch the bus. I noticed they were filmed out of sequence. I usually manage to bore the pants off my family, pointing out various landmarks whenever we wander around Newquay. It's the little snippets at the beginning...Treningle Garage and Innis Downs that I find fascinating. Cornwall is lovely, I'm glad they came.
Nice memories, Steve!
Don't they go "bodmin" in DOC MARTIN? 😅
Let's not overthink this. The Magical Mystery Tour film was a flop, because it SUCKED! The Beatles were so successful that they thought they could throw together a "mad romp" with "interesting people" such as a fat lady and a midget. It wasn't "ahead of its time", it was just BORING and BAD.
But the failure of the film seems to have had no negative impact on the band's popularity, so I don't understand that thought at the end of this video. And yes the album is fantastic, especially the full LP version with Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane, Baby You're a Rich Man, and All You Need is Love tacked on. I even like Blue Jay Way (the song, not the film sequence).
A refreshingly honest take. I finally watched MMT a few years ago. I found myself blushing, alone in my living room, at how cluelessly awful and embarrassing it was. My older sister once told me how confusing it was, in late 67, that both the Beatles and the Stones (with the Satanic Majesties album) both suddenly appeared to suck. It was a strange time, I guess. Btw, I should mention that Hello Goodbye, the Beatles' concurrent single, is one of my all-time favourite singles.
Ha! "Don't be historical!"
I thought it was a great film. Here are my reasons.
1) It predated Monty Python (and their shows MP's Flying Circus and Rutland Weekend Television, and their films) with their humor and skits.
2. It paved the way for the Monkees' "Head" movie, which, like MMT, is also considered a cult classic.
3. It paved the way for the Beatles mockumentary, "The Rutles: All You Need is Cash," a decade later, which featured Monty Python and the SNL cast. The Rutles movie had George making a cameo as a reporter, and the late Neil Innes, who was a member of the Bonzo Dog band featured in MMT during the strip club scene, played John's Rutle counterpart Ron Nasty; he also wrote and composed the songs for the Rutles. There were also cameos from Mick Jagger, Bianca Jagger, Ron Wood, and Paul Simon. There is a hilarious spoof of MMT in the Rutles movie (Tragical History Tour), which parodied "I Am the Walrus" called "Piggy in the Middle."
The Rutles movie is worth checking out and is on YT.
3 a. The Rutles also paved the way for the mockumentary SPINAL TAP.
MMT was truly ahead of its time for those reasons.
Very appropriate to mention the "crisis meeting" at Paul's house. In "Good Ol' Freda," Freda Kelly reveals that after the death of Brian Epstein, Paul felt that if the Beatles didn't put out something straight away they'd be finished.
During the 70s when I was in high school I got to see "Magical Mystery Tour" for the first time. It played at a local theater as part of a (past) midnight matinee on a double-bill with a Jimi Hendrix feature. I snuck out of the house to see them!
Then about a year or so later I saw a VHS copy of the Magical Mystery Tour film in my local record store for $80. I couldn't afford a VCR in those days, much less an $80 video tape. Probably my first big disappointment as a Beatles collector.
Another great video, Andrew! I always look forward to Sundays.
How can it be a flop? Still popular today. It was ahead of its time.
@@TheDunc1 it was a flop at the time
@@TangibleAndroid it was a critical flop. Ratings wise it was very highly rated.
Ironically, just had this discussion with a friend (who dismissed the movie as inconsequential) a few days ago. I explained the usual cited problems/mistakes (UK debut broadcast in B&W etc) but the friend insisted that the band was only fulfilling a contractual film obligation and had little involvement. While the trippy, free for all direction of the film (driven by Paul) initially turned some off, it’s now a cult favorite and even studied at some film schools. Like I told my friend, where else can you see the band play “I Am The Walrus ???”.
We should all have flops as cool as that movie. Also shows that the band were not afraid to step out of a commercial film format and instead opt for avant-garde.
@@TangibleAndroid Part of the problem was negligence by the B.B.C. who had a staff member go through the film to check there was nothing offensive. If it had been viewed by a group they might have decided to put it out on B.B.C. 2 from the start. a flop is something that is never seen again. The E.P. set sold well as did the international album. The boys were justly proud of their film and it was low budget. A cult film today.
@@MartysPopParty Your friend is mistaking the 'Yellow Submarine' animated film for the contractual film obligation!
The Beatles got cocky, just like with the Get Back sessions. "Why not do it ourselves and cut out the middlemen?" Then they discovered that the middlemen make the difference between an amateur project and a professional one. An amateur movie can be fun, but when you've seen great Beatles movies, MMT is quite a letdown.
Thank God Alfred Hitchcock didn't think, I make great movies, I could make a killer rock'n'roll album.
I don't think the Beatles reputation suffered because of this at all, they were still very successful after this, getting plenty more number 1s topping the charts round the world etc.
Thank you for the video! Magical Mystery Tour is one of my all-time favorites, and I loved and grew up with the album in Canada. When I became a Beatles collector, my prized possession was that double EP imported from England. The quality of the printing of the cover and booklet were superior to the North American release, which suffered a bit with photographs being fuzzy from being enlarged too much, and a printing error that did not line all of the layers up perfectly on top of each other. However, with addition of the singles from side two, that LP is a strong entry into the Beatles permanent catalog, and much beloved. Thanks again for your excellent videos! 🙂
Thank you for watching 😊
You must remember, despite the showing on BBC2 a week later in colour, hardly anyone had a colour TV in the UK in 1967. Colour TVs didn't start selling until all 3 channels were broadcast in colour
That's vital information😁 we should consider too.
I remember getting the stereo LP in the early 1970s. Loved that record. I received a copy of the double EP as a birthday gift several years ago. Thank you for another fab video! - Anthony
Thanks for listening, Anthony!
Magical Mystery Tour LP was a huge success in the USA. It was a perfect followup to Sgt Pepper's and I know I played my copy to death, spending many a late night with it spinning continuously.
I’m in the US, and I have owned Magical Mystery Album since I was a kid. And I loved that album, almost as much as Sergeant Pepper. But I understand why the film didn’t do well on broadcast TV. Another great video, thanks for sharing.
I'd love to know where that footage was sourced from, it looks immaculate!
The one thing that Capital absolutely did right.
Great video Andrew! Great movie regardless of what the critics say. Years ahead of it's time and wish I could put that German vinyl copy behind you on the platter and crank it up! All the best from Australia 🎸
“Ahhh but if you look to your right…” one of my favorite intros to one of my favorite MMT tunes “Flying”.
Being in the states the LP was what we had! I thought it was a brilliant psychedelic pt 2 of Sgt. Pepper’s! I did see the movie in a small theater but can’t remember when or where🥴…
I enjoyed the grown up nonsensical surreal qualities of the film. I love the early films but this one after 2 minutes into it I was ready to “float downstream”. Lovely little film.
Thanks for the stroll down memory lane Andrew!
(The German pressing still remains one of my favorite records)
Thanks for the memories, Brian!
Can Apple ship all the raw, unseen footage to Peter Jackson? He’s the only person who can make a decent film out of this McCartneyesque calamity.
Was literally thinking the same thing!
I also hope for a new mix of Magical Mystery tour album. Certainly most of the songs have been mixed already, but they could include the four from Yellow Submarine, and Carnival of Light, along with some of the incidental music from MMT movie. Considering they've done that for everything else from Revolver onwards, it feels like a glaring omission.
@@rexmundi2986Walrus needs to be mixed again. The end of the 2023 mix is an abomination.
I particularly enjoyed the love version mix; I mean, its got the added on ending, but essentially, that's the mix they should use right there, Id say.
@@rexmundi2986 that's my go to mix as well
The I am The Walrus 2023 remix was strange
you didn't mention the lovely Wendy when you discussed some of the cast members. still, thank you for another informative video that was fun to watch. MTV was where I first saw MMT, and I think it was Christmastime 1984. my favorite part is the strip show with The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.
Following the movie’s disappointment and shown in midnight movies, “Magical Mystery Tour” was released on home video in 1978 by Media Home Entertainment under the MEDA brand, but it was later released in 1982 with a newer Media logo where it remained until the mid 1980’s. The MEDA release had a poor quality print of the film which was washed out and the audio was poor due to the picture quality wasn’t that good. The film was later released on home video in the late 1980’s with a much better print of “Magical Mystery Tour” with better print and the audio was clean, and the picture quality was good.
A friend of mine got that (very expensive) MEDA VHS for Christmas in the late '70s, his family was the first I knew of to have a VCR, and he had many tapes of Saturday Night Live, which was on past his bedtime. Those were like gold at the time! I made a dub of MMT from his copy when we finally got our own VCR, and I agree the quality (probably made from a 16mm reduction print) was less than stellar.
I would say that "Magical Mystery Tour" is my favorite Beatles film, as it seems almost like a precursor to what Monty Python would do a few years later. Weird, zany scenes with non sequitur segments and some of the craziest stuff that you'll ever see.
The album is fantastic also. I will admit that "Flying" and "Blue Jay Way" aren't my cup of tea, but all the other songs are just brilliant.
The "Pie Chart" plan for the film was called the "Scrupt" by Paul. I saw here on RUclips where someone else used that "scrupt" to explain the "plot" of the movie by section... If you could call it a "plot". A lot of people were originally very confused by the movie, myself included, but It made a lot more sense after watching that video. Sorry, but I don't remember the title or I'd post it here for you to check it out. I found it very enlightening, and it gave me a greater appreciation for what the Beatles' had done in this movie. Once again, thanks for this commentary Andrew!! George B., Boston
Thanks George! Glad you enjoyed it.
I still remember the original showing of the black and white Magical Mystery Tour on Boxing Day 1967. In fact, the memory of it keeps fresh other memories of that particular day. The film wasn't very good but I believe the expectancy of what they would do next was greatly hightened not only by the fact that their audience was still in awe at the Sgt Pepper album and were waiting to be dazzled further, but also the death of Brian had raised the question as to how they would continue without him. We didn't have a colour tv in 1967 but I still watched the repeat showing on BBC 2 only because of the weirdness of the song 'I Am The Walrus' which to this day remains my favourite Beatles track.
I'm still waiting for the Walrus segment of the film to be properly edited and officially released as a standalone 4K videoclip of the song on The Beatles' RUclips channel. Over the years, I've favourited several fanmade attempts which have, obviously, been soon taken down. All the more so because, AFAIK, the audio of the 2012 DVD/Bluray release is the only ever officially released mix of the song to contain the second half of it in true stereo.
I thought that the love mix of the song had a true stereo second half (and that they remixed the second half in true stereo for the 2009 remaster)
@@leopoldseidl6161 fairly sure the 2009 remaster of I Am The Walrus is a combination of stereo at the start and mono at the end.
@@dougieadam1no, the end was in fake stereo on all releases, but was in mono on the 1987 VHS reissue, supervised by Ron Furmanek.
Agree.
You can call MMT a flop, boring and chaotic, but it 's all worth it, because of the I'm The Walrus clip. It's so ahead of it's time.
Just listened to this great album today. Thanks again for a very cool video and hope to hear from you soon!
Why was MMT a flop? Three reasons. 1) It was the follow-up to Pepper. Expectations were so high, that anything short of the Second Coming would have been considered a let-down. 2) They made it themselves. They were amateur filmmakers, and it shows. Also, Brian had died. If he had been part of the project, he would have insisted on the best: best equipment, best crew, best sets and stages, an AD to shoot b-roll, etc., followed by good, tight editing. It would have looked and felt a lot better. And 3), combining the first two, it was oversold. It was presented as The Beatles Next Major Film, when in fact it was just four guys goofing off with a camera. Now, I love it for that very reason. And if it has been presented as the Beatles' home movies / what we did on our vacation, I think audiences would have been more receptive, as their expectations would have been ore in line with what they were getting.
(I just read The Python's Autobiography, and apparently they had planned to release Holy Grail and MMT as a twin bill. But Palin said, after watching MMT for the first time since 1967, they realized it was not, in fact, an unheralded masterpiece, and ditched the idea.)
" best equipment, best crew, best sets and stages, an AD to shoot b-roll, etc., followed by good, tight editing" which an amateur can't do in 5 months. McCartney tried again in 1984 and the result was such rubbish he hasn't even archived any part of the project. I love the Beatles but color or black&white MMT is one step above a grade school project. Even the performance of I Am the Walrus is below any standard as film making.
@@hugofaceplant4723 Give My Regards to Broadstreet was a piece of crap. Its a 2 hours of just Paul wondering. He can't act. Even Ringo can't saved the movie from its obscurity. The only highlight of the film was SO BAD or WANDERLUST.
Very spot on. With regards to Brian Epstein, I often wonder how things would have progressed (or digressed) with The Beatles had he not met such a premature end.
maybe it’s time to resurrect a editors edition of magical mystery tour with all of the cut scenes reinstated
Saw it when originally released in black & white on the BBC 26th December 1967, then managed to watch it when reshown in colour on 5th January 1968 as my Uncle who was a gadget geek was one of the few with a colour tv.
Interesting that the "Flying" sequence in MMT uses aerial photography for Stanley Kubrick's 1964 Dr. Strangelove that was never used. The scrapped footage was given to The Beatles and they added wild colorization to it for the film.
I was 10 in 1967 and was excited at the thought of seeing a Beatles movie on the TV. Previously I had only seen the Shea film.
So as a family we sat down to watch it on our big boxy black and white Rediffusion TV. It was a difficult view with my parents exchanging confused glances and my brother and sister looking bored. I felt very disappointed and The only thing I took away from it was John saying Georgie a lot and the mention in I am The Walrus of knickers down, which prompted a giggle from me and Crabberlogger which reminded me of an episode of Thunderbirds!
OK, now I want a 10-hour cut of MMT with all the deleted scenes, a la "Get Back".
LOL!!!
It was the world's first album video.
No one knew what an album video was.
They wouldn't really know such a thing until 1982.
That's how far ahead of the game they were.
West Malling is pronounced "moor-ling" by us in Kent. Only the control tower exists today... the rest has become a housing estate. Great video Andrew as always... and possibly my favourite Beatle period. "Roll Up, Roll Up!".
The 1st time I ever saw MMT was March 1985 on a show called "Night Flight" on the USA Network. My 3 favorite scenes from the MMT was the scene on the beach where Mr. Bloodvessel showed Ringo’s aunt his love for her to the tune of All My Loving by drawing a heart in the sand, Fool on the Hill, and Your Mother Should Know in their tuxedos.
Actually the Beatles began recording MMT in April 1967, prior to Pepper’s release.
Hi Andrew, thanks for a great video! I used to have the Magical Mystery Tour on vhs 📼 when I was a teenager. In the Beatles Anthology book Paul McCartney says it was an art film! I remember seeing the 6 song MMT e.p in antique fairs during the 1990s. It was expensive!
I bought it recently from a local record stall and the u.s. album. I will keep a look out for the German version!!!
I remember my pals older brother (whom I learned a lot from in popular music) having the original EP. I was fascinated by it. When I eventually saw the movie I was also left perplexed, but as you say, I later realised it is a snapshot of the time really and the best parts are the Beatles performing those tracks. The EP and the Capitol album are amongst their best work. Your videos never disappoint Andrew. Thanks
Great video, Andrew! I love MMT, always have. Still need to track down a 1st UK mono ep though, but for stereo, the German A1/B3 you recommend is the gold standard, and sounds incredible! The early 80's DMM cut isn't bad either.
Although the film may have lacked focus, there's no denying that the MMT music is some of the best they ever recorded. It's certainly one of my favourite Beatles CDs! Really enjoyed this video, Andrew!
Thanks Nick, Glad you enjoyed it!
Imagine working in a chipper in August 1967 and one day the 4 lads just stroll in…!
MMT is an underrated Beatles film for several reasons
1. It predated Monty Python (and their shows MP's Flying Circus and Rutland Weekend Television, and their films) with their humor and skits.
2. It paved the way for the Monkees' "Head" movie, which, like MMT, is also considered a cult classic.
3. It paved the way for the Beatles mockumentary, "The Rutles: All You Need is Cash," a decade later, which featured Monty Python and the SNL cast. The Rutles movie had George making a cameo as a reporter, and the late Neil Innes, who was a member of the Bonzo Dog band featured in MMT during the strip club scene, played John's Rutle counterpart Ron Nasty; he also wrote and composed the songs for the Rutles. There were also cameos from Mick Jagger and Paul Simon. There is a hilarious spoof of MMT in the Rutles movie (Tragical History Tour), which parodied "I Am the Walrus" called "Piggy in the Middle." The Rutles movie is worth checking out.
a. The Rutles also paved the way for the mockumentary SPINAL TAP.
MMT was truly ahead of its time for those reasons.
The Monkees Head had Bob Rafaelson & Jack Nicholson who had at least 5 years of film experience & Roger Corman in his background. Head is at least like an off the wall Monkee's episode. MMT has none of that level of engagement. Python has a cast of guys with some stage & tv experience who knew the minimum of what they had to do together. MMT is just playing with a camera with no script.
Also the scene with the Bonzo Dog Dooh-Dah Band had the song "Death Cab For Cutie" which inspired the band of the same name after they saw it in the film.
@@hugofaceplant4723 You do know that "Head" was also hated by critics and audiences too right? Also Spielberg and Scorsese have publicly stated that MMT was a big influence on them as filmmakers. "For me it certainly still holds up. The freedom of the picture was very important." - Scorsese.
I can see how older people like parents would have seen it at the time, there would be major Beatles burn out, they wouldn't be into what they saw as something that maybe to them glorified their kids being messed up (probably while consuming massive amounts of booze) along with the special not working as well in black and white.
There was a special when they remastered the special I saw on PBS and I loved the segment with the viewer letters. The one that stood out to me was the viewer who said they found it relatable cause they also have weird day dreams when they're on a bus or coach bus trip.
Also Kudos to Capitol for stumbling into such a great way to give us a Beatles Psych album. When I became a fan in the late 80's and early 90's used to make Beatles singles collection tapes when I realized from reading guide books that if you combined MMT and Past Masters you had an instant collection of all the non album singles and EPs.
It was precisely in 1987, when The Beatles' complete discography was being set up on CDs, that the most appropriate way to publish the complete official catalogue was discussed. The previous attempt with the Box Set on vinyl with Rarities did not do so, since the "62-66" and "67-70" were still needed to obtain the Non Album Tracks.
The options were a 3-CD Past Masters that also included all the singles and EPS from 1967 (in short, the American MMT album), or to make the American MTT official as an independent album.
Fortunately, the latter option was chosen. Thus, MMT became the best "non-compilation" compilation that exists, since it maintains the usual integrity of albums without becoming one, since it captures the Beatles' psychedelic concept and sound from 1967, not included in Sgt. Peppers. In fact, I would dare say that MMT surpasses this one. It's a matter of taste.
According to an old friend of the family, told me 40+ years ago that one of the US TV networks showed it on late night, prior to 1970.
The film? This was worse than what became LET IT BE. Recent articles state that it was all Paul's doing and John, George and Ringo just followed along, reluctantly. I first saw it at a movie theater in 1979. When it was over, most people were saying; "so that was IT?" The book from the EP and LP had more of a "storyline?" I guess. In a way, MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR gets you ready for YELLOW SUBMARINE. GREAT tunes, in a confusing film.
The album, assembled by Capitol, is a brilliant work. Years ago, a good friend of mine gave me one of his spare copies of the German pressing. Phenominal! Pound for pound, the MMT album stacks right up there with SGT. PEPPER. Some of my old friends would give better ratings to MMT than SGT. PEPPER. Others have stated, and it's true, with all the hits assembled for Side 2 of the album, this was "amost" a Greatest Hits collection. Kind of a brother to the later HEY JUDE album in the US.
The US Capitol pressing of MMT was heavily imported into the UK so EMI were forced into importing it themselves and selling it through their usual British distributors via the high street record shops. So many of these US import copies were sold in the UK, the American version actually entered the British LP charts. It was the very first American import album I ever saw in a record shop and seemed both very exotic and very expensive!
An imported copy can be seen in the record store scene in "A Clockwork Orange."
14:20 On this side of the pond they showed Beatle films on New Years Eve after midnight, which is when I first saw Hard Day's Night and Yellow Submarine, I think 1977 and '78. They never showed MMT though
I still think that had they shown it on BBC 2 in colour on Boxing day '67 it would've been more successful and appreciated more. I've always loved the film and the album. As Paul commented on the Anthology series it was worth it to see their performance of I am The Walrus..
According to Wikipedia, only 20,428 people had a Colour television in the UK in 1968.
Given that one would cost the equivalent of £6500 today, no teenage Beatle fan would have been able to afford one, and would be reliant on a wealthy parent or older relative who would probably have been more interested in viewing Great Expectations over on ITV. No remote control in those days to channel hop...
BBC1 was still using the old B/W 405-line television system from the 1930s at that time. Colour was introduced first on BBC2 in 1967, which broadcast on the much more modern 625-line system from the start in 1964. It was only when BBC1 and ITV also started using 625 in colour in 1969 that people started to buy or rent colour sets, and it took several years for colour to gain critical mass.
I know I’m in a few and in the minority on this. But there’s a special place in my heart for the Magical Mystery Tour film. Yes it’s erratic and a bit crazy. I see it as another creative peak in their career. I would say John shoveling spaghetti on aunt Jesse’s plate. Crazy and hilarious! and of course the album is one of my favorites! Especially the mono mix! Thanks, Andrew for another great video. I always enjoy them!
I'm sure if MMT was shown in colour on BBC2 a lot less people would have seen it. Because to receive BBC2 in 1967 required a new dual-standard 625 line UHF capable TV.
I didn't see colour TV myself until 1969, when we watched the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales at Carnavon Castle.
I was only 4 years old when MMT was first screened. My first viewing was the December '79 broadcast. I was so excited to finally get a chance to see it. We had our first colour TV in 1975.
Great Video - The ad shown for an LA show at the New Vagabond was from May, 1974, but understandable for visual effect. The showing in LA mentioned here had two different weekends in support of striking KPPC Disc Jockeys: One on May 10'th and 11'th, 1968 at the Los Feliz (I think a 770-seat theater) and the other during May 17'th-19'th at the Esquire Pasadena with the final day (May 19'th) hosting two Matinee shows - the rest were right at home at Midnight. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times had a short story about the first weekend on May 14'th (Section 4, Page 7). The ads for both shows in the Times (form what I have seen at least) were word-only blocks (I wonder if The Los Angeles Free Press had any great ads...).
According the the story, there were reportedly some 550 people at the first Los Feliz show, but word spread quickly and the Saturday show had people turned away at the door.
Worth remembering that colour TV in the UK took a surprisingly long time to catch on, in part due the the high cost of sets. My family were quite early adopters (July 1969), and even by 1970, people would come round to watch the World Cup in colour.
I was just wondering that. Even if MMT had been broadcast in color to begin with, how many people in Britain would have the color sets to watch it on?
We didn't have colour tv until 1975. I remember the only programme I really wanted to watch in colour was Dr Who when Jon Pertwee was in the role.
One of the few things did Capitol did right with a Beatles album release.. they screwed up a lot of UK studio albums, holding back, greedy with fewer tracks on US releases, but at least they gave us the stereo "magical mystery tour" album..
Stereo? Fake stereo on 3 tracks on side 2. Criminal.
Outside of the Los Angeles theater showing in 1968, the Magical Mystery Tour film would be relegated to midnight showings at theaters around America, competing with The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and other types of non-PG rated fare. I can't remember where I first saw the movie, perhaps a VHS tape I borrowed from a local library. That was where I also came across The Compleat Beatles from MGM. and the film performance of the Broadway hit Beatlemania. I bought the Capitol Records album due to my wanting to complete my Beatles' album collection, plus with owning the Blue album, I was exposed to a few songs from the MMT album.
Good stuff as always. Really digging the old school cinema shtick.
Hi Andrew, thanks for this very entertaining and informative video. Cheers Fred.
My pleasure!
I have never seen it as a flop; every single song “video film” is memorable and iconic and of course every song is fantastic. I also think it taps into not only all thing Beatles of Vintage 1967 but also, for me personally, captures England in 1967 and I can’t help but cry with pride watching the last two or three minutes. (the reprise of Hello Goodbye etc) There is a MMT documentary that accurately captures tv audiance letters from young and old expressing how much they enjoyed the film and “got” the wacky humour! One last thing from me; That film is Way ahead of its time; I can think of none other that includes a collection of charachter actors and people of all ages and backgrounds and is wonderfully diverse. Good on The Beatles - and a shame that the tabloid press had to be so negative.But what did they ever know!! “I told You”
I was 17 when I saw MMT for the first time - on the big screen in a movie theatre in late 1978. It was on a double bill with Watership Down! Sat through both films twice because I could 😄 It was a limited theatre release for MMT and remember it being advertised as the first time it was shown on the big screen (dubious), but no idea where else it was shown in the US. I was in central California at the time.
I remember a Canadian magazine article covering "The Beatles Film You Won't Be Able to See" (or words to that effect.) I might still have it tucked away somewhere. I saw the film in the summer of 1971 at a movie theatre in Vancouver that showed all 5 Beatles films. (A Hard Day's Night, Help!, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine and Let It Be)
Great presentation! Magical Mystery Tour and film proved who were the Beatles “deep divers” as opposed to the general snorkeling public. Loved the late 70s midnight showings here in the US along with Let it Be. Good times!
Good morning Andrew! And many thanks!✌️
My pleasure!
I first saw it in '79 too. I do like the US LP as an album and am lucky enough to have the German vinyl. I once had a 16mm print of MMT but it was in bad shape and a bit dupey so I sold it. Funny to see from the Radio Times that Leslie Crowther was broadcasting on Xmas Day from Queen Mary's Hospital for Children in Carshalton, the former site of which is now a park and housing estate and a lovely woodland walk just five mins from my house where I was walking my beloved Old English Sheepdog (what else?) this very morning. How's that for meaningless synchronicity?!?
I always think the excuse that MMT was badly received was down to it being broadcast in B&W is a bit fatuous given that almost nobody apart from The Beatles and The Queen could afford a colour set in '67 but there you go... I love it so much I've trawled through endless outtakes on bootleg DVDs over the years and some of those are in B&W!
Great memories, David!
The album was great, and yes my copy had the duophonic of the three songs, but the film is yes so. This really was the beginning of the end for the group. An art film to be sure. Great as always Andrew.
This is one of the first Beatles LPs that I bought (around 1980) and it has always been a favorite. The one reconfiguration LP that Capitol actually did right excusing the small flaws that the German release corrected of course, but I did not hear that one until around 10-15 years ago! I also have the double EP version from the CD EP box set and do have the deluxe reissue on my want list!
The film perhaps, was a flop in England, but not the music. I remember hearing all day long, one day around the end of december 1967 "The fool on the hill" from the radio transistor that I brought on a grapefield on a hill. The song "Emmenez moi" by Charles Aznavour was played for the first time that very same day. Both songs were played many times.
I think it's a classic👍🏻 'Your Mother Should Know' follows the Beatles musical journey and is one of my favourites👍🏻
Your Mother Should Know
Song by The Beatles
"Let's all get up and dance to a song
That was a hit before your mother was born
Though she was born a long long time ago
Your mother should know (your mother should)
Your mother should know
Sing it again
Let's all get up and dance to a song
That was a hit before your mother was born
Though she was born a long long time ago
Your mother should know (your mother should)
Your mother should know
Lift up your hearts and sing me a song
That was a hit before your mother was born
Though she was born a long long time ago
Your mother should know (your mother should)
Your mother should know
Your mother should know (your mother should)
Your mother should know
Sing it again
Da da dada da da da dada dada dada da da
Da dada da da
Though she was born a long long time ago
Your mother should know (your mother should)
Your mother should know
Your mother should know (your mother should)
Your mother should know
Your mother should know (your mother should)
Your mother should know, yeah"
Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul McCartney
Your Mother Should Know lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
The best that can probably said about the film is the Pythonesque scenes in the film. Jessie’s dream sequence and the Walrus segment are reminiscent of what would be done by the Pythons just a few years later. Not to mention the fact we wouldn’t have the Rutles song, “Piggy in the Middle” if it weren’t for MMT. The HMV box set book from 1987 includes other stories, such as Paul placating “fat ladies” and little people who had to share rooms because the hotel was overbooked and Lennon taking down the signs from the bus to discourage fans following them.
The album, however is brilliant. You can’t go wrong with Walrus, Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane and Rich Man all on one album.
Roy Carr and Tony Tyler mention in their Beatles book that two songs, Jessie's Dream, and Shirley's Wild Accordion were never released.
@@silverinkpot7 my dad had a copy of that. I would like to get one of my own, just for that reason.
I was 14 when MMT was first shown on TV, even in black and white it certainly made my christmas!
Thanks again Andrew! 😊
The US Capitol album of MMT (stereo edition) is also noteworthy for the following:
I Am The Walrus: this stereo/mock-stereo mix has its intro trimmed, unlike its UK counterpart;
Strawberry Fields Forever: this mix differs from the 1973 mix that superseded it on the German MMT album;
Penny Lane: this is the first mock-stereo mix to be issued in the US. A second one appeared on '1967-1970'.
Also of note is the 'missing beats' mono mix of 'I Am The Walrus', found on the contemporary US single, 'Hello Goodbye'.
Do we thank poor Dave Dexter?
I remember a holiday in Devon around 10 years ago, driving around Dartmoor looking for that bridge..Found it, and gladly didn't get stuck...Stopped off for fish and chips in Taunton on the way home..(yes , it was still a chippy).
I was very disappointed that MMT’s scheduled US showing was cancelled at the last minute after it flopped at home. I’d received the album as a Christmas gift and wondered what the heck was going on in the numerous photos of the scenes, and wanted to find out. It wasn’t till the middle 1980s that I finally was able to watch a poor-quality copy more than once on the cable show “Night Flight”. It turned out to not be very good, but I was very pleased to finally see the darn thing.
I think they could have released the songs as a 10" medium play record
MMT is, by far, the most popular Beatles album that I play in my classroom for my students. And thanks to Eric Idle, it will always be known (to me) as Tragical History Tour. 🙂
Great clip/research material/editing & commentary as usual. Thanks mate. GAZ (Melbourne/Australia)
Thanks Gaz. Glad you enjoyed it.
The only Capitol album us Yanks did better than Parlophone!
It's the only one to join the official canon, too.
(FWIW: Some would argue that the Capitol Rubber Soul is better than the Parlophone one - turning it into a much more concise folk-rock album.)
Rubber Soul US is better too.
@@leamanc Everybody always says that, but it’s just bandwagon. If it hadn’t joined the Beatles canon, you’d be saying it was a silly mistake. In truth, the Capitol albums had plenty of good releases
@@doncorleone1553 I was being cheeky because it’s all a matter of personal preference. I became a Beatles fan at 14 in 1987 as the CDs came out. So I grew up with the standardized catalog, and as a kid who didn’t know much backstory, Magical Mystery Tour seemed to me one of their best albums. I also fully acknowledge there’s a case to be made for Meet The Beatles and the US Rubber Soul over their UK counterparts.
It's never a good idea to go into a film project without a script thinking something good might happen. All films begin on paper but you need more than a drawing.
If there were many hours of filming, they should release something like a Get Back cut from the MMT footage.
I saw it on Boxing Day 1967 with a few mates, we were all 17 or 18 and surprisingly we all found it 'childish' I think it was a probably a good idea when under the influence but most of the audience were not. On viewing a couple years ago I soon began to fast forward to the songs which is still the film's only redeeming feature ...
Mystery tours were popular back in the 50’s and 60’s were you booked on a coach trip not knowing here you were going.The were often stories in newspapers of people going on holiday to the coast,booking a mystery trip only to find the trip was to their home town.
Actually happened to my Nan that one.. Went to Butlins at Minehead and went home to Hereford on the "mystery tour"
My introduction to the film was when I bought the VHS from Our Price around 1989. 10 year old me didn't really know what to make of it but I kinda liked it. I now think of it as somewhat of a precursor or forerunner to the long form videos of the 80s. It is a bizarre film. But then maybe that sense of the bizarre is why we love the Beatles so much!
I have ALWAYS preferred MMT over SPLHCB.
There was really nothing BBC could have done anyway. No-one except the people like the Beatles themselves had colour televisions anyway.
You should do a story on the Rolling Stones Rock n Roll Circus.
It wasn't terrible, but the main reason it likely went unreleased was that the Stones were upstaged by The Who.
@@simonbone yup