Influences of ’60s counterculture and cinéma vérité, once condemned as inexplicable, now seem ahead of their time. Running just under an hour and anchored by a series of extravagant musical sequences, Magical Mystery Tour is essentially the blueprint for the modern visual album popularised by the likes of Beyoncé and Janelle Monáe. While contemporary audiences may have been confused by the film’s amateurish production and lack of a conventional narrative, the film has become more accessible over time. Savaged by critics at the time, it is often regarded as one of the band’s few misfires – an indulgent and incomprehensible spasm of drug-induced absurdity. But more ambitious was their self-produced 1967 TV movie Magical Mystery Tour. Most influential were their appearances on the small screen in short musical promotion films which laid the groundwork for the modern music video. While earlier rock-’n’-roll acts like Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard had made (largely forgettable) movies at the behest of their management, The Fab Four embraced film as a means of artistic expression in its own right. I only wish they would now put out a sequel made up from the parts they left on the cutting-room floor.Among the endless innovations which may be attributed to The Beatles is the marriage of pop music with video. But praise to all of them for making a most entertaining film. ![]() 'I Am The Walrus' has four of them togged up in animal costumes switching at times to them bobbing across the screen as egg-men.Ī special word of praise for Ringo, who more than the others comes over very, very funnily. It's a pity that most TV viewers will be able to see it only in black and white. For 'Blue Jay Way' George is seen sitting cross-legged in a sweating mist which materialises into a variety of shapes and patterns. The film sequences for the musical numbers are extremely clever. I am convinced they are extremely capable of writing and directing a major movie for release on one of the major cinema circuits. After watching a rough cut of their 'Magical Mystery Tour', which BBC viewers can see on Boxing Day. If they aren't already planning so, the Beatles should start planning their next full-length film immediately. ![]() The US release made # 1 in early January 1968 and stayed there for eight weeks. "Baby, You're A Rich Man" and their current single, "Hello, Goodbye". These titles were "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Penny Lane", "All You Need Is Love" - their anthem that had been broadcast around the world via Satellite in June. In the US, the double-EP format was not considered viable so instead, Capitol Records created an album by placing the six songs from the EP on side one of an album and drawing side two from the titles that had appeared on singles in 1967. 2 in the UK singles chart, held off the top spot by their own single. The EP was a runaway success and reached no. A lyric sheet was also stapled into the centrespread of the booklet. The booklet contained stills from the show along with a comic strip telling the story. ![]() It was decided that the soundtrack for the programme would be released on two seven inch discs which would be packaged with a booklet in a gatefold sleeve.
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