Magical Mystery Tour (1976)

Very disappointing...

Too much of everything

I'll tell you why so serious

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

(53%) Before the days of the music video, publicising music on TV was a bit more tricky than it is today, but the Beatles had more clout (and money) than most so they could create a just shy of an hour long TV movie, first aired at Christmas to tens of millions, plugging songs from their new hit record. Well that was the plan anyway, but the end result is something of a mix of the good, the bad, and the very odd. Quite honestly though this is one of the better TV movies I've ever seen simply because it is so far removed from the typical dull and uninteresting dross you usually get with films that never see the inside of a cinema meaning you cannot help but admire its sheer craziness and fun. Plot wise there is nothing here at all, things just happen a pure random, while the Beatles themselves oddly don't actually do a great deal in terms of actual performances and are largely lost in their own film, with good old George Harrison hardly getting more than a couple of lines. It's clear why many disliked this, it's too weird and evidently cobbled together to be a hit with the drunk masses after eating too much turkey and chocolate, but looking at it now purely as a slice of 60's madness with a superb soundtrack, Monty Python style comedy, and sheer nostalgic fun meaning this is more noteworthy than most would have you think, just don't have high expectations beforehand.

(Spoilers) Mostly the songs are rather unconnected little moments of joy, but the way that Mr. Bloodvessel's little speech-- "I am concerned, that you enjoy yourselves.... within the limits of British decency"-- segues into "I Am The Walrus" is just *perfect*. More broadly it's just, you know, quite a trip. I'd never heard of a "mystery tour" (day-trip to nowhere in particular) before reading the little pamphlet that came with the DVD, and it's a swell little idea. Also, I just love Paul, and it's kinda neat how this was to some extent Paul's little project.... It's great how he performs "The Fool on the Hill". It's just as good "A Hard Day's Night"-- actually the bit with Ringo and his aunt is a little reminiscent-- as well as an interesting contrast. It's a nice little picture of where the band was at the time, as well a bit of an image as to why they gave up touring in favor of a different kind of.... they certainly seem to have a bit more fun, is what I mean. And really no matter what anybody else says when the little doors of the old TVs were opened up to this little offering in 1967, I think it must have been quite the gift. (9/10)

Context is everything, and I cannot think of a worse way of watching this film than how it was first presented; on Christmas Day evening, with a disapproving dad and bewildered uncles and aunties, on a small black and white telly. While much of Sgt Pepper raised a glass to the older generation, and was both out there and inclusive, Magical Mystery Tour takes the brakes off to deliver a total freak-out, and it really should end up like the finale of The Italian Job, with the coach dangling off a cliff. 'Hang on lads,' Macca might shout. 'I've got an idea!' A recent showing on BBC2 may have helped with the documentary preceding it, with both Ringo and Macca on good form, along with lowered expectations, but I really enjoyed this film. It's not too long - only about an hour - with some fine Beatle songs in it. Much of it isn't really dreamlike, but more an odd nightmare, but it did put me in mind of a David Lynch film, in particular Mulholland Drive. It's true there isn't much 'magic' in it, it seems to seek to alienate, or disturb. I'm thinking of the dream sequence where a grinning Lennon - at his most Michael Caine-like - heaps spaghetti onto a fat woman's plate.I am the Walrus looks rubbish on youtube, but in the context of this film looks quite quirky and polished, the Beatles' animal outfits anticipating the Soft Bulletin and Coldplay. Same with Fool on the Hill, a bit rubbish on youtube but in the film seems to be inspired from the Bergman classic The Seventh Seal.A lot of the humour seems less out there since Python and Vic and Bob came along.I know this isn't meant to be the best Beatle film, but honestly I've had worse times watching the others. I can't always get away from the fact that a lot of A Hard Day's Night is aimed at young teenage girls, or that the fabs are stoned throughout Help!, which has a goofy, lethargic, let's spoof Bond plot. Yellow Sub can be a protracted bore and of course Let it Be is no one's idea of fun. In some ways Magical Mystery Tour is the less dated of the lot, but it's also a bit of a time capsule. I'm glad it exists, and while Paul may have instigated it, it's the last time John Lennon looked truly happy to be a Beatle.

I'm an old Beatles fan, and I saw this when I was a teenager. The enjoyment I recall cannot be disentangled from the time and place. I enjoyed it back then, and watching it now is a sort of nostalgia rush.Certain aspects of it are great: There's a raw, improvisational energy to it that will strike many as artless, but works pretty well for me. Some of the dream/subconscious spew sequences approach Fellini or Brunuel for their purity of creative expression.And, of course, Magical Mystery Tour was one of the Beatles' best albums, and all the songs are showcased here.And how nice it is to see the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band, led by Stanshall, doing their thing!