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
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Fast shipping and excellent product:
The DVD was brand new and in excellent sealed condition. It arrived quickly and I was happy with the transaction.
Yellow Submarine:
They did a great job of restoring it to its original color, and the sound quality was good, too. I shared it with my art students, and they loved it (although some thought it was a little weird!).
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... more info
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"!more info
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