11.05pm
8 November 2012
meanmistermustard said
I haven’t seen the extra’s, i haven’t bought the dvd yet, i’m not paying £15 for a film i’m not that keen on and recorded when the BBC screened it back in 2012. I also recorded and kept the Arena documentary that was shown immediately before it.
Eventually I’m going to get the deluxe set, not only for the extras like the alternate Fool on the Hill video
but to get the reproduction of the booklet that came with the EP.
parlance
11.29pm
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1 May 2011
1.14am
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4 February 2014
Matt Busby said
I’m sure some of you have seen the Monty Python movie Life of Brian? There’s that scene where they keep dumping food onto this large person’s table until he…has had too much. Maybe they got the idea from the MMT spaghetti scene? (speaking of which, in a series of disconnected scenes, I think that was the most disconnected)
I was just about to type this! Then I looked up thread.
Do I have no original ideas?
I say this a lot in person (to friends and family who probably don’t care), whenever Monty Python is mentioned. I think the scenes are very similar, Python just had a way of making it more disgusting. Although John’s mustache is possibly creepy enough to tie it.
And the movie is Meaning of Life. Life of Brian was funded pretty much by George and he has a cameo.
“Just one more cracker.” Boom…
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I can see John playing the role of the head waiter in ‘The Meaning Of Life’ and it was the wafer thin mint that was the fuse for the explosion of Mr Creosote not the cracker @Mr. Kite.
And just for its brilliance here’s the clip (any reason to post Monty Python videos).
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7.21pm
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14 April 2010
Mr. Kite said
Life of Brian was funded pretty much by George and he has a cameo.
Yep – in this clip, he is to the (stage) right of John Cleese and wearing red.
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8.16pm
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4 February 2014
Now here’s a joke in George’s cameo that you probably won’t know, and that whoever gave him his character might not have been trying to make. (Is that coherent?)
He’s credited as Mr. Papadopolous, his name as we know is George, George Papadopolous was a Greek dictator, and considering their twisted humor, calling George Mr. Papadopolous might’ve alluded to that.
But that’s just speculation after mentioning George and his name in Life Of Brian to a Greek acquaintance.
7.03pm
8 November 2012
9.18am
8 September 2014
I saw it yesterday and honestly, Magical Mystery Tour was the weirdest movie I’ve ever seen.
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parlance, Beatlebug"Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.” - John Lennon.
1.22am
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1 May 2011
I’ve just learnt that Buster Bloodvessel (he of Bad Manners fame) was named so after the character of the same name in ‘Magical Mystery Tour ‘. I had never made the connection thinking i was remembering the names incorrectly.
Beatles influence knows no bounds.
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5 January 2015
12.02am
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29 November 2012
parker2011 said
I agree she looked amazing!
To whom are you referring?
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20 August 2013
DrBeatle said
parker2011 said
I agree she looked amazing!To whom are you referring?
The mods PM’d this member to ask for clarification. We haven’t received a response. Perhaps they were quoting something earlier in the thread and didn’t realize it wouldn’t be in context.
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3.54pm
8 February 2014
I found this interesting review of MMT from the show Great Performances that first aired in late 2012.
4.17pm
8 February 2014
meanmistermustard said
Beatles influence knows no bounds.
Most of you probably know this already but the band is named Death Cab for Cutie after a song known from a very short snippet from A Hard Day’s Night , I think it’s just half a scene with girls in a rushed taxi maybe? The odd little, obviously (to me) Elvis-influenced 1967 song is by Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.
1.52pm
11 November 2013
My comments from a while ago:
Picture me at Christmas 1967. I’m a British 15 year-old lad, absolutely mad about everything Beatles. I’ve had the Magical Mystery Tour double EP on the record player since the day it came out (nineteen shillings and elevenpence!) and I know the music backwards, forwards and inside out. I’m almost dying with excitement, and finally Boxing Day comes around, we’re all in front of the telly…
Within 15 minutes I’m shrivelling with embarrassment. By the time it’s over, I want the floor to open up and swallow me.
Some years later – 1979, I think – it was shown on British TV, in colour this time, and I watched it again because I couldn’t believe that it was actually as bad as I had remembered.
It was.
Yes, the music sequences were good and, yes, there were some good moments (those with Nichola, the little girl, for instance), but even those tended to go on and on long after they’d made their point (the spaghetti dream sequence). And it was just crammed full of stuff which rambled and had no point – the mad race round the aerodrome, the perfunctory attention paid to the other travellers, Victor Spinetti’s unfunny recruiting sergeant gobbledegook, the wizard interludes, even the stripper (which was a massively embarrassing sequence to have in your living room at teatime in 1967).
As a teenager and Beatle fanatic I was well aware of how bad it was, and my opinion has never changed. Yes, I “get” mystery tours, and the whole thing of a boozy day out on a charabanc, but this was supposed to be a film which entertained people, and it simply wasn’t very good.
So Spielberg as a film student held it in high regard, eh? I bet he did, if only for the lessons he learned from it: one, start with a proper script, not a circle divided into segments. Two, get a proper director. Three, only one editor, please. Oh, and four, start with a proper script (so important it’s worth repeating). MMT is an object lesson in what not to do.
So why did I buy it on Super 8, then VHS, and why will I snap it up on DVD the day it comes out…..?
Update: Otober 2012
Yes, I did buy the Blu-ray the day it came out, and I add these comments:
1. The musical bits are still great, only in better definition and surround sound.
2. The rest of it is still rubbish, only in better definition and mono sound with occasional surround effects. I was happy to see a couple of bits (John and Nichola, for instance), but almost all the good bits (and definitely all the cr*p bits) are extended far beyond their natural life. I loved the orchestral arrangement of All My Loving accompanying the Jessie/Mr Bloodvessel romance sequence.
3. McCartney’s director’s commentary is full of aggressive defensiveness, explaining how wonderful and ahead of its time it was (competing with Fellini, Truffaut etc. – oh, please!), with an air of knowing what complete sh*te it was (and his voice was massively croaky, good job he wasn’t singing it).
4. The “Making of” and other documentaries are middling interesting if somewhat sketchy. You get to see stripper Jan Carson’s nipples at last. I have been waiting so many years for that, I can now die knowing my life is complete.
5. The additional/revised visual material accompanying Your Mother Should Know , Blue Jay Way , I Am The Walrus , Fool On The Hill, is worth watching once or maybe twice. These are NOT alternative versions, they just have outtake visual material over the songs.
6. The new video for Hello Goodbye comprises some footage of assorted folk including Fabs in the editing suite, intercut with some incomprehensible stuff involving four young people in the snow. All in b/w. WTF. Seriously. WTF.
7. I was intrigued to at last meet the lost Lennon/McCartney piece Jessie’s Wild Accordion. This is the soundtrack to a sequence called Nat’s Dream which was cut from the film. The tune – played by accordionist Shirley Evans in a session produced by John (who also “directed” Nat’s Dream, so I’m guessing he wrote the piece) is a jaunty, cheerful little rambling accordion piece with some mild percussion. I rather liked it. The Nat’s Dream video material accompanying Jessie’s Wild Accordion involves “comedian” Nat Jackley (one of John’s favourites, but not one of mine – he has a single piece of schtick and it’s not funny), an ageing weird looking bloke in pants and string vest, flat cap and stick on Hitler moustache, sniffing round after young ladies in bathing costumes. It makes him look like a pervert and I’m not surprised it was cut. I’m glad to have this, though.
8. Also cut was I’m Going To A Field, a musical number by Ivor Cutler (Mr Bloodvessel). Very straight faced weird humour, I rather liked this and wished they had left it in. I’m glad to have this, too.
9. Also cut was a video for Traffic’s Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush. Heaven knows what it was doing in there in the first place, but it would have been better than some of the stuff they left in. Another one I’m glad to have.
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1 May 2011
vectisfabber said
My comments from a while ago:
<snip>
6. The new video for Hello Goodbye comprises some footage of assorted folk including Fabs in the editing suite, intercut with some incomprehensible stuff involving four young people in the snow. All in b/w. WTF. Seriously. WTF. <snip>
If i remember correctly that clip is from an episode of ‘Top of the Pops’ when it couldnt show the promo for ‘Hello, Goodbye ‘ due to a ban on miming. The first week of the ban ‘TOTP’ showed clips from ‘A Hard Day’s Night ‘ (which annoyed The Beatles), the second featured this quickly put together promo and it had never been scene since then and i believe was considered lost.
I dont have the DVD, i have the film sky+’d from when the BBC broadcast it. I do agree with you on your comments @vectisfabber in regards to the film. Aside from Little Nicola with John and George, parts of the race, and Aunt Jessie and Buster on the beach with the orchestral ‘All My Loving ‘ playing, the rest of the non-musical parts are garbage, trite or worse. The Victor Spinetti/Sergeant Major skit is unwatchable unamusing s**t at its worst, the stripper scene incredibly uncomfortable viewing as i never ever want to see two of my hero’s perving over a stripper nipples showing or not (tho i do like the Bonzo Doo-Dah Band’s ‘Death Cab For Cutie’).
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2.51pm
8 November 2012
For me, the alternate version of Fool on the Hill with Paul in his dapper suit is worth the price alone.
parlance
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18 October 2013
vectisfabber said
My comments from a while ago:Picture me at Christmas 1967. I’m a British 15 year-old lad, absolutely mad about everything Beatles. I’ve had the Magical Mystery Tour double EP on the record player since the day it came out (nineteen shillings and elevenpence!) and I know the music backwards, forwards and inside out. I’m almost dying with excitement, and finally Boxing Day comes around, we’re all in front of the telly…
Within 15 minutes I’m shrivelling with embarrassment. By the time it’s over, I want the floor to open up and swallow me.
Some years later – 1979, I think – it was shown on British TV, in colour this time, and I watched it again because I couldn’t believe that it was actually as bad as I had remembered.
It was.
Yes, the music sequences were good and, yes, there were some good moments (those with Nichola, the little girl, for instance), but even those tended to go on and on long after they’d made their point (the spaghetti dream sequence). And it was just crammed full of stuff which rambled and had no point – the mad race round the aerodrome, the perfunctory attention paid to the other travellers, Victor Spinetti’s unfunny recruiting sergeant gobbledegook, the wizard interludes, even the stripper (which was a massively embarrassing sequence to have in your living room at teatime in 1967).
As a teenager and Beatle fanatic I was well aware of how bad it was, and my opinion has never changed. Yes, I “get” mystery tours, and the whole thing of a boozy day out on a charabanc, but this was supposed to be a film which entertained people, and it simply wasn’t very good.
So Spielberg as a film student held it in high regard, eh? I bet he did, if only for the lessons he learned from it: one, start with a proper script, not a circle divided into segments. Two, get a proper director. Three, only one editor, please. Oh, and four, start with a proper script (so important it’s worth repeating). MMT is an object lesson in what not to do.So why did I buy it on Super 8, then VHS, and why will I snap it up on DVD the day it comes out…..?
Update: Otober 2012
Yes, I did buy the Blu-ray the day it came out, and I add these comments:
1. The musical bits are still great, only in better definition and surround sound.
2. The rest of it is still rubbish, only in better definition and mono sound with occasional surround effects. I was happy to see a couple of bits (John and Nichola, for instance), but almost all the good bits (and definitely all the cr*p bits) are extended far beyond their natural life. I loved the orchestral arrangement of All My Loving accompanying the Jessie/Mr Bloodvessel romance sequence.
3. McCartney’s director’s commentary is full of aggressive defensiveness, explaining how wonderful and ahead of its time it was (competing with Fellini, Truffaut etc. – oh, please!), with an air of knowing what complete sh*te it was (and his voice was massively croaky, good job he wasn’t singing it).
4. The “Making of” and other documentaries are middling interesting if somewhat sketchy. You get to see stripper Jan Carson’s nipples at last. I have been waiting so many years for that, I can now die knowing my life is complete.
5. The additional/revised visual material accompanying Your Mother Should Know , Blue Jay Way , I Am The Walrus , Fool On The Hill, is worth watching once or maybe twice. These are NOT alternative versions, they just have outtake visual material over the songs.
6. The new video for Hello Goodbye comprises some footage of assorted folk including Fabs in the editing suite, intercut with some incomprehensible stuff involving four young people in the snow. All in b/w. WTF. Seriously. WTF.
7. I was intrigued to at last meet the lost Lennon/McCartney piece Jessie’s Wild Accordion. This is the soundtrack to a sequence called Nat’s Dream which was cut from the film. The tune – played by accordionist Shirley Evans in a session produced by John (who also “directed” Nat’s Dream, so I’m guessing he wrote the piece) is a jaunty, cheerful little rambling accordion piece with some mild percussion. I rather liked it. The Nat’s Dream video material accompanying Jessie’s Wild Accordion involves “comedian” Nat Jackley (one of John’s favourites, but not one of mine – he has a single piece of schtick and it’s not funny), an ageing weird looking bloke in pants and string vest, flat cap and stick on Hitler moustache, sniffing round after young ladies in bathing costumes. It makes him look like a pervert and I’m not surprised it was cut. I’m glad to have this, though.
8. Also cut was I’m Going To A Field, a musical number by Ivor Cutler (Mr Bloodvessel). Very straight faced weird humour, I rather liked this and wished they had left it in. I’m glad to have this, too.
9. Also cut was a video for Traffic’s Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush. Heaven knows what it was doing in there in the first place, but it would have been better than some of the stuff they left in. Another one I’m glad to have.
I felt the same……(exactly the same) embarrassment on that boxing day…..My family didn’t want to compound it…..but my dad couldn’t help himself . “What a load of old tosh’
I agreed with him. Thing is……. even my parents had expected something great.
Agree with everything else you write.
Anyway I will buy it again someday ………for the extras you mention and to vividly re-live, (alone of course now) that shared family disappointment.
2.53am
10 March 2015
My brother got me the deluxe box set for my birthday last year. It was a nice bit of memorabilia to have. I liked looking through the booklet. But it is on the bottom of a bookshelf in the corner of the room now gathering a bit of dust. I gave away my original DVD copy of the film to a fellow Beatlemaniac. I’ve never hated the film, but it’s never been one of my favourites either. I like to put it on when I want to watch something but am too tired, simply don’t want to have to focus too hard on a plot or am doing something else and want something on in the background, much like playing music. Though that last option has really gone since we got the chromecast and I can put youtube videos on the big telly.
"Y'know" - Paul McCartney
2.57am
8 November 2012
Maybe it helps that I didn’t see it when I was a kid, but I love MMT. It’s hot 1967 Paul the Beatles at their psychadelic best. It’s just goofy fun to me.
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