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Yellow Submarine
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Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Find all by MGM (Video & DVD)
Directed By: George Harrison
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Picture Format: Letterbox
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Theatrical Release: December 31, 1969
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
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Starring: George Dunning (II), John Clive, Paul McCartney, Geoffrey Hughes, Ringo Starr
This restored, animated valentine to the Beatles offers viewers the rare chance to see a work that's been substantially improved by its technical facelift, not just supersized with extra footage. Recognizing that its song-studded soundtrack alone makes Yellow Submarine a video annuity, United Artists has lavished a frame-by-frame refurbishment of the original feature, while replacing its original monaural audio tracks with a meticulously reconstructed stereo mix that actually refines legendary original album versions. What emerges is a vivid time capsule of the late '60s and a minor milestone in animation. The music represents the quartet's zenith--Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The story line, cobbled together by producer Al Brodax and a committee of writers, is a broad, feather-light allegory set in idyllic Pepperland, where the gentle citizens are threatened by the nasty, music-hating Blue Meanies and their surreal arsenal of henchmen, with the Beatles enlisted to thwart the bad guys. Visually, designer Heinz Edelmann mixes the biomorphic squiggles, day-glo palette, and Beardsley-esque portraits of Peter Max with rotoscoped still photographs and film; Edelmann's animated collages also nod to Andy Warhol and Magritte in properly psychedelic fashion, which works wonderfully with such terrific songs. High orthodox Beatlemaniacs can still grouse that the animated Fab Four are (literally) flat archetypes, but that's missing the sheer bloom of the music or the giddy, campy fun of the visuals. Making sense of the story is second to submerging blissfully in the sights and sounds of this video treat. --Sam Sutherland
User Submitted Yellow Submarine Reviews
September 11, 2008
The great animated Beatles classic on DVD!!! If you can find a copy!!!
What a shame,it seems that movie companies only release Beatle classics on a limited term!!! I'm sure that a 40th Anniversary Edition might easily be on the way but I don't know!!! I'm glad I bought a copy of it when it was in print,because it is no out of print and fetching high dollars on auction sites such as Ebay!!! This WAS a great release from MGM,nice vibrant Widescreen(although it was non-anamorpic,it was'nt to bad sice it was 1.66!)transfer,the soundtrack was awesome too!!! And this disc had some choice extras,although not overstuffed with them!!! Let's hope that with Blu Ray here,maybe a reissue is in the near future,as well as a new DVD,well,lets keep our fingers crossed!!! Is it All To Much to have this great film back in print to enjoy,or will the Blue Meanies keep it locked in the vaults in Pepperland along with Let It Be,that has NEVER seen an official DVD release,lets hope it's soon,not When I'm Sixty-Four,come on All You Need Is Love,MGM,make fans happy again,cause like it says in the film a minute is a very long time!!! Cheers!!!
August 10, 2008
Which Beatle is coming over to show this movie? Paul or Ringo?
Next to "A Hard Day's Night", this is my favorite Beatle movie. I thoroughly enjoyed Yellow Submarine when it came out in 1968. I purchased a VHS copy when it first came out in an affordable edition. I wanted to upgrade my tape to DVD. But, c'mon fellas, $25 for a 40-year-old animated film by Peter Max?
This DVD better come with blotter acid & a Nehru jacket from Carnaby street! Oh, and if I have my choice of surviving Beatle to deliver the disc, send Ringo! He knows "It don't come easy"!
---John Paul, Oklahoma City
July 19, 2008
Da Beatles.
Good time & quality on delivery. Good stuff if you are a Beatles fan. Got the Pop Art thing happening. You have to remember, the Sixties' culture advocated the use of hallucinogenic drugs. Far out. >Sam
June 4, 2008
5.1 Surround
To be honest, the only reason I bought the DVD was for the 5.1 Surround Sound of the music tracks. Die-Hard Beatle fan. Saw the movie as a kid. It was just ok. If you want to hear the music in 5.1, don't hesitate. It sounds real good.
March 4, 2008
Beware Shipping and Packaging
I purchased "Yellow Submarine" from Amazon through an outside source in Massachusetts. It took a long time to receive the DVD and once it arrived it was so poorly packaged (no bubble wrap, thin envelope)that the DVD case was damaged so that the DVD was flopping around inside the case.
If you decide to purchase insist on tighter delivery times and better packaging to insure your investment.
This is not a fault of Amazon. Every order I receive directly through Amazon arrives in a timely manner and is well packaged. This particular DVD came from an outside source. Just be carefull.
February 6, 2008
I wish that I owned this DVD...
This film is so freaking awesome. Sadly, MGM discontinued it. Why did they do that before I got a chance to buy it?! Ugh. Anyways, this is a classic, and the reason why I love the Beatles. A childhood favorite of mine. I simply love it.
January 26, 2008
Timeless Animation
Director George Dunning's "Yellow Submarine" (1968) represents a landmark achievement in the history of animation. Like the Beatles' music, the film has a timeless quality. Though the Fab Four's association with the project certainly helped, it was the endless imagination of Dunning, designer Heinz Edelmann and numerous animators that propelled the film to remarkable visual heights. (Regrettably, the Beatles did not provide voices to their animated counterparts. Instead, the producers hired Liverpool actors, who did a passable job emulating the group's deadpan wit.) Accompanied by the Beatles' classic songs, "Yellow Submarine" exposed viewers to a new and innovative vision of the cartoon medium.
December 31, 2007
Greatest Animated Movie of all time
I grew up on Disney animated movies and I will admit there early movies are hard to beat. This movie though does what Disney could not- use Beatles music. The music plays with the scene so well and I love the animation. Although the Beatles do not voice the characters, it doesnt take away the beauty of the movie. If you like animation then you wont be disappointed by the movie and if your a Beatles fan, then you should enjoy the film. Highly recommended.
December 14, 2007
Excellent for 60s memorabilia enthusiasts.
Though I remembered having seen parts of this movie as it was aired numerous times during my boyhood in the Seventies, back in those days much of Yellow Submarine's plot and symbolism were over my head, and I thought of it as just another animated kids' film which the adults didn't care for.
But nowadays, it's easy for me to pick out some of the movie's themes: the British hurling a little World War I-era humor at the Germans, childhood resentment of over-controlling parents, and Sixties druggie humor, all brought together in an animated version of the style of the Beatles' pop artist, Peter Max, with a workable plot. It's easy how kids would enjoy watching this animated gem from another time, and much of the symbolism is far enough over their heads to make it suitable for them to watch. Those of us who grew up listening to psychedelic Sixties music will enjoy it also, as an immersion into "British invasion" pop art.
I thoroughly recommend Yellow Submarine.
November 9, 2007
All Too Short a Voyage
YELLOW SUBMARINE is a great film and was way ahead of its time when it premiered on the big screen. As with most authorized Beatles films it is interesting how short a time the releases are available before further shipments are held up by quarrels between APPLE Corps Ltd. and other involved parties. At the time of this review, YELLOW SUBMARINE joined the ranks of films awaiting re-release.
I own two different versions of YELLOW SUBMARINE. The first is an authorized video cassette version I purchased by mail order in the late 1980s. That particular VHS movie was the version of YELLOW SUBMARINE shown to American audiences in movie theaters and on television for years. For reasons that have never been adequately explained the American version is different than the British release. The primary difference is that the American version is missing the HEY BULLDOG sequence. The 1999 release of the DVD was the first time I was treated to the Bulldog sequence.
YELLOW SUBMARINE evolved out of the Beatles cartoons. Though my father was probably utterly baffled by the movie when he escorted my brother and me to the cinema in 1968 there actually is plot. The undersea world of Pepperland has been overrun by Blue Meanies. The Meanies hate color, art, music and every other sort of happiness and beauty. Fortunately for Pepperland one of its elderly citizens escapes in a largely ornamental submarine in search of help. He stumbles onto the Beatles and convinces them to accompany him back to Pepperland. On the return trip the Beatles and the Yellow Sub encounter various bizzare "seas" before finally arriving in Pepperland and emerging victorious from a musical battle.
Surprisingly the Beatles themselves had very little direct involvement with the film except for a short live appearance at the conclusion.
The quality of the DVD is superb. Most official APPLE collaborations are high quality. For those who missed the release of YELLOW SUBMARINE take strength in the fact that Beatles movies, beginning with A HARD DAYS NIGHT and more recently HELP have been re-released. We can only hope that they will be followed by an official release of MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR, YELLOW SUBMARINE, and the long awaited and much delayed LET IT BE.
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