Amazon.com essential video: 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
Average Rating:
Rating: - 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 ... Read More
Rating: - 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. ... Read More
Rating: - 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 ... Read More
Rating: - 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 ... Read More
Rating: - 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 ... Read More
- The great animated Beatles classic on DVD!!! If you can find a copy!!!
- Da Beatles.
- Beware Shipping and Packaging