I know some of you Film Buffs here can't stand Horrorpalooza 2012 and loads of horror news and contests this month, but we have a DVD Giveaway for you. EMI Music Group has send us over a copy of "The Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour" to giveaway to one lucky reader. The DVD was released this past Tuesday, but we are giving it away here on Film Arcade.net.

To enter: send us an email to facontest@gmail.com with your name and address.

Please put "Magical Mystery Tour" in the subject line of the email.

Contest Ends: October 16th, 2012 and is open to US residents only.

Plot Synopsis:

In September 1967 The Beatles embarked on making their third film, this time conceived and directed by themselves.

Based on a loose unscripted narrative, in the spirit of the experimental mood of the time, and directed by The Beatles themselves, the film became the vehicle to present 6 new songs - Magical Mystery Tour, The Fool On The Hill, Flying, I Am The Walrus, Blue Jay Way and Your Mother Should Know.

Now, 45 years on, the virtually forgotten film has been fully restored and is being presented properly for the first time.


MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE

Director’s Commentary – by Paul McCartney

“The Making of Magical Mystery Tour” [19:05]

- Features interviews with Paul and Ringo, along with other cast members and crew. Includes unseen footage.

“Ringo the Actor” [2:30]

- Ringo Starr reflecting on his role in the film.

“Meet the Supporting Cast” [11:27]

- A feature on the background and careers of Nat Jackley, Jessie Robins, Ivor Cutler, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Victor Spinetti, George Claydon, and Derek Royle.

“Your Mother Should Know” [2:35]

“Blue Jay Way” [3:53]

“The Fool On The Hill” [3:05]

- Three new edits of these performances, all featuring footage not seen in the original film.

“Hello Goodbye,” as featured on “Top of the Pops” - 1967 [3:24]

- The Beatles allowed the BBC to film them in the edit suite where they were working on Magical Mystery Tour. This was then turned into a promo by the BBC, who shot their own additional footage. It was then broadcast on “Top of the Pops” to mark the “Hello Goodbye” single going to No. 1 in December 1967.

“Nat’s Dream” [2:50]

- A scene directed by John featuring Nat Jackley and not included in the original film.

Ivor Cutler – “I’m Going In A Field” [2:35]

- Ivor performs “I’m Going In A Field,” in a field. This scene was not included in the original film.

Traffic – “Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush” [1:53]

- The filming of Traffic acting out their 1967 hit single “Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush” was commissioned by The Beatles for possible inclusion in Magical Mystery Tour, but was not included in the final edit.

Apple Films and EMI Films has send us information of the upcoming release of The Beatles "Magical Mystery Tour". Apple Films has fully restored the long out-of-print, classic feature film for October 9th on DVD and Blu-ray with a remixed soundtrack (5.1 and stereo) and special features.

DVD and Blu-Ray special features include Director’s Commentary – by Paul McCartney, “Ringo the Actor”, Meet the Supporting Cast, Three new edits of “Your Mother Should Know”, “Blue Jay Way” and “The Fool On The Hill” featuring footage not seen in the original film, “Hello Goodbye,” as featured on “Top of the Pops”, “Nat’s Dream”, Ivor Cutler – “I’m Going In A Field”, Traffic – “Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush”.

Press Release:

Songs you’ll never forget, the film you’ve never seen, and a story that’s never been heard. In 1967, in the wake of the extraordinary impact of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album and the One World satellite broadcast of All You Need Is Love, The Beatles devised, wrote, and directed their third film, Magical Mystery Tour, a dreamlike story of a coach day trip to the seaside. Apple Films has fully restored the long out-of-print, classic feature film for October 9th on DVD and Blu-ray with a remixed soundtrack (5.1 and stereo) and special features.

Magical Mystery Tour will be available in DVD and Blu-ray packages, and in a special 10”x10” boxed deluxe edition. The deluxe edition includes both the DVD and Blu-ray, as well as a 60-page book with background information, photographs and documentation from the production, and a faithful reproduction of the mono double 7” vinyl EP of the film’s six new Beatles songs, originally issued in the UK to complement the film’s 1967 release.

The restoration of Magical Mystery Tour has been overseen by Paul Rutan Jr. of Eque Inc., the same company that handled the much acclaimed restoration of Yellow Submarine. The soundtrack work was done at Abbey Road Studios by Giles Martin and Sam Okell.

All of the packages contain a host of special features, packed with unseen footage. There are newly-filmed interviews with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and other members of the film’s cast and crew, as well as a director’s audio commentary recorded by Paul.

In September 1967, The Beatles loaded a film crew onto a bus, along with friends, family and cast, and headed west on the A30 out of London to make their third film, this time conceived and directed by The Beatles themselves.

“Paul said, ‘Look, I’ve got this idea,’ and we said ‘Great!’ and all he had was this circle and a little dot on the top – that’s where we started,” explains Ringo. “It wasn’t the kind of thing where you could say, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, what you are about to see is the product of our imaginations and believe me, at this point they are quite vivid’,” says Paul. The film follows a loose narrative and showcased six new songs: “Magical Mystery Tour,” “The Fool On The Hill,” “I Am The Walrus,” “Flying,” “Blue Jay Way,” and “Your Mother Should Know”.

Magical Mystery Tour features a fabulous supporting cast of character actors and performers, including Ivor Cutler, Victor Spinetti, Jessie Robins, Nat Jackley, Derek Royle, and the inimitable Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.

Although the 53-minute film was shot in glorious color, it premiered on UK television in black and white. Broadcast by BBC1 at 8:35pm on Boxing Day, the film immediately attracted widespread controversy as middle England and the establishment media erupted with indignation. “How dare they?” they cried, “They’re not film directors! Who do they think they are?” they howled. Where were the four loveable moptops of Help! and A Hard Day’s Night? Those Beatles were out of control!

Partly as an upshot of this adverse reaction, the film never had a US broadcast and very limited distribution in the rest of the world.

Operating at the time as the world’s de facto “cultural mission control,” The Beatles were already influencing filmmakers, artists, and musicians, while also drawing inspiration from their contemporaries.

Apple Films and EMI have partnered with Omniverse Vision, the leading distributor of music events to cinemas worldwide, to bring exclusive showings of Magical Mystery Tour to the big screen for the first time. Screenings will take place in selected cinemas from September 27th in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, Italy, Japan, and other countries worldwide. Once confirmed, full listings will be available at www.thebeatles.com. In addition, The British Film Institute has announced a special screening of Magical Mystery Tour at BFI Southbank on October 2nd. Tickets are now available from the BFI website.

EMI Music has send us over copy of the classic animated film "Yellow Submarine" starring The Beatles, which recently was re-released on DVD. "Yellow Submarine" is fully restored in 4K and presented in the original aspect ratio of 1:66-1. Film Arcade.net has a copy to giveaway to one lucky reader.

Plot Synopsis:
Once upon a time… or maybe twice, there was an unearthly paradise called Pepperland, a place where happiness and music reigned supreme. But all that was threatened when the terrible Blue Meanies declared war and sent in their army led by a menacing Flying Glove to destroy all that was good. Enter John, Paul, George and Ringo to save the day! Armed with little more than their humour, songs, and of course, their yellow submarine, The Beatles tackle the rough seas ahead in an effort to bring down the evil forces of bluedom.

To enter: send us an email to facontest@gmail.com with your name and address.

Please put "Yellow Submarine" in the subject line of the email.

Contest Ends: June 21st, 2012 and is open to US residents only.

"Yellow Submarine": Official Trailer

“Yellow Submarine”
Year: 1968
Director: George Dunning
Stars: The Beatles, Paul Angelis, and John Clive
Studio: EMI Music / Apple Films
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 90 Mins.

Plot Synopsis:
“Yellow Submarine” is based on a Beatles song that was released in 1966. Two years later, the song would be the basis of a feature film. Forty Six years later, the film is digitally re-mastered and making its DVD re-release.
The film follows The Beatles, as they journey to the land called Pepperland. It’s a place, where music and happiness that is spread across the land. Everything is threatened there, when the Blue Meanies sends an army that is bent on destroying everything that is good. This enters John, Paul, George and Ringo to save Pepperland from theses menaces. Armed with their humor, songs and the yellow submarine, they tackle the evil force and try to save Pepperland from impending doom.

Film Review:
I was kind of surprised that I enjoyed “Yellow Submarine”, considering that I’m not a big fan of The Beatles. One of the reasons that I enjoyed it, the direction was very good. Director George Dunning does a very good job with the way that he handles the direction of the animation. The animation looks very good for a film that was released in the 1960’s. He and his animators did a very good job making the images feel magical. Maybe it was the fact that everything was digital restored. Even with that, the animation looks better from other cartoons that came out during that time period. The other thing that I liked about Dunning’s direction, he does a very good job getting all the vocal performance to fit the film. He does a very good job getting his performances to bring a certain kind of tone to the characters. It makes the characters likable and you’re caught up in this fantasy world.

The screenplay written by Lee Minoff, Al Brodax, Jack Mendelsohn, and Erich Segal does a very good job making the story work with the music. What I liked about the screenplay, you didn’t needed to be a fan of The Beatles to enjoy this film. The writers do a very good creating a story that is magical that all ages would enjoy. To me, the film needed to have that sort of charm for it to work for me. They did that successfully. The other thing they did well, they placed the music to fit with the film’s story. When you’re using a rock bands album, the placement of the songs is important to the film’s success. The writers do a very good job placing the songs at the right moment to fit with the film’s story. It helps enhance the scenes and the song. That’s what you want, when you’re watching a musical.

DVD Extras:

The first featurette on the DVD is the audio commentary track with production supervisor John Coates and art director Heinz Edelmann. More the most part, this was a good track. I liked how, they were able to talk about the production of the film. From the music to the animation, they go into great detail about how the film was made. The only drawback on this track was there were some dead spots, where the talking stops and you just hear the music. Still, the track is worth a listen.
Next on the DVD, “The Beatles: Mod Odyssey”. This short documentary was created in 1968. It goes into the creation of the film and its characters. Not a bad nostalgic featurette, as it goes into the basis of the film and the behind the scenes of it.

The next featurette was the interviews, which was divided into five chapters without a play all option. It features interviews from Paul Angelis (voice of Ringo and Chief Blue Meanie), John Clive (voice of John), David Livesey (key animator), Millicent McMillan (Heinz Edelmann’s assistant), Jack Stokes (animation director), and Erich Segal (co-writer). Not much information here, as the interviews felt too short and not that interesting. It would have been nice to have a documentary on the film, instead of having five short interviews.

The disc wraps up with storyboard sequences, original pencil drawings, behind the scenes photos and the film’s original trailer.

Final Summary:

I was very surprised, that I had a very good time with this film considering that I’m not a fan of The Beatles. “Yellow Submarine” is filled with great animation and a story that makes sense with music.
Review Rating: Four Stars
DVD Extras: Three Stars.

EMI has send us information for their upcoming Blu-Ray and DVD Release of The Beatles' classic animated film, "Yellow Submarine". The film features classic Beatles songs like “Eleanor Rigby,” “When I’m Sixty-Four,” “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” “All You Need Is Love,” and “It’s All Too Much".

Special features on the DVD and Blu-Ray include a short making-of documentary titled “Mod Odyssey” (TRT: 7:30), the film’s original theatrical trailer, audio commentary by producer John Coates and art director Heinz Edelmann, several brief interview clips with others involved with the film, storyboard sequences, 29 original pencil drawings and 30 behind-the-scenes photos. Both Digipak packages will include reproductions of animation cels from the film, collectible stickers, and a 16-page booklet with a new essay by Yellow Submarine aficionado John Lasseter (Chief Creative Officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios).

"The Beatles: Yellow Submarine" makes its way to DVD and Blu-Ray on June 5th.

Press Release:

The Beatles’ classic 1968 animated feature film, Yellow Submarine, has been digitally restored for DVD and Blu-ray release on June 5th in North America. The film’s songtrack album will be reissued on CD on the same date.

Currently out of print, the film has been restored in 4K digital resolution for the first time by Paul Rutan Jr. and his team of specialists at Triage Motion Picture Services and Eque Inc. Due to the delicate nature of the hand-drawn original artwork, no automated software was used in the digital clean-up of the film’s restored photochemical elements. This was all done by hand, frame by frame.

Bonus features for the Yellow Submarine DVD and Blu-ray include a short making-of documentary titled “Mod Odyssey” (TRT: 7:30), the film’s original theatrical trailer, audio commentary by producer John Coates and art director Heinz Edelmann, several brief interview clips with others involved with the film, storyboard sequences, 29 original pencil drawings and 30 behind-the-scenes photos. Both Digipak packages will include reproductions of animation cels from the film, collectible stickers, and a 16-page booklet with a new essay by Yellow Submarine aficionado John Lasseter (Chief Creative Officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios).

Lasseter writes in his essay, “As a fan of animation and as a filmmaker, I tip my hat to the artists of Yellow Submarine, whose revolutionary work helped pave the way for the fantastically diverse world of animation that we all enjoy today.”

Directed by George Dunning, and written by Lee Minoff, Al Brodax, Jack Mendelsohn and Erich Segal, Yellow Submarine began its voyage to the screen when Brodax, who had previously produced nearly 40 episodes of ABC’s animated Beatles TV series, approached The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein with a unique vision for a full-length animated feature.

Yellow Submarine, based upon a song by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, is a fantastic tale brimming with peace, love, and hope, propelled by Beatles songs, including “Eleanor Rigby,” “When I’m Sixty-Four,” “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” “All You Need Is Love,” and “It’s All Too Much.” When the film debuted in 1968, it was instantly recognised as a landmark achievement, revolutionising a genre by integrating the freestyle approach of the era with innovative animation techniques.

Inspired by the generation’s new trends in art, the film resides with the dazzling Pop Art styles of Andy Warhol, Martin Sharp, Alan Aldridge and Peter Blake. With art direction and production design by Heinz Edelmann, Yellow Submarine is a classic of animated cinema, featuring the creative work of animation directors Robert Balser and Jack Stokes with a team of animators and technical artists.

“I thought from the very beginning that the film should be a series of interconnected shorts” remembered Edelmann. “The style should vary every five minutes or so to keep the interest going until the end.” These styles included melding live-action photography with animation, 3-dimensional sequences and kaleidoscopic “rotoscoping” where film is traced frame by frame into drawings. The entire process took nearly two years, 14 different scripts, 40 animators and 140 technical artists, ultimately producing a groundbreaking triumph of animation.

On April 24, Candlewick Press will release a new, compact hardcover edition of the Yellow Submarine picture book, a read-aloud journey for the whole family. Featuring the lighthearted wit of the film’s script alongside original artwork from the movie that has charmed children and adults through several generations, the beautiful, 40-page book will be sold by retailers everywhere and on the Beatles Store (www.thebeatles.com). An interactive digital version of the book is also available as a free download on Apple's iBookstore for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch at www.iTunes.com/TheBeatles.

www.thebeatles.com

Yellow Submarine synopsis:

Once upon a time… or maybe twice, there was an unearthly paradise called Pepperland, a place where happiness and music reigned supreme. But all that was threatened when the terrible Blue Meanies declared war and sent in their army led by a menacing Flying Glove to destroy all that was good. Enter John, Paul, George and Ringo to save the day! Armed with little more than their humour, songs, and of course, their yellow submarine, The Beatles tackle the rough seas ahead in an effort to bring down the evil forces of bluedom.

“Across the Universe”
2007
**** out of ****
Director: Julie Taymor
Cast: Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, Joe Anderson


2007 was known as the year of the three-quels, but could it also be known as the year of the musicals? Four musicals came out that changed me some way or another. There was “Hairspray,” a cheery musical that changed my opinion on John Travolta (and Queen Latifah and Zac Efron, but they changed back to what I originally thought of them after “Mad Money” and “High School Musical 2”). There was a little musical called “Once,” the best romantic movie since “Brokeback Mountain.” “Sweeney Todd” wasn’t one of my favorites, but it gave me a reason to be cynical and fucking angry.

And then, in the middle of all of them, was a little musical called “Across the Universe.”

Possibly the most unique movie of the year, “Across the Universe” mixes fun and depression within one film. It has been done before, and lord knows that I still have nightmares over that “Sgt. Pepper” movie, but I can’t possibly remind you the last time I came to the theater with a smile on my face. The trailer hit me harder than Amy Winehouse smacking around her husband, and if the movie was as half as good as the trailer, I was to love it. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but “Across the Universe” gave me hope in the world that maybe there is a little word that begins with an ‘l’.

Jude (Jim Sturgess) travels from Liverpool, England to America in the 1960s to find his father (Robert Clohessy). Along the way, he meets an Ivy Leaguer named Max (Joe Anderson) and they hit it off. Max has a sister Lucy, (Evan Rachel Wood) a wonderful young lady who acts more mature than her older brother. Her boyfriend (Spence Liff) has been in the military for a few months, and just a few days before he’s scheduled to come back home, he is killed. Max and Jude live in an apartment owned by a wannabe rock-star named Sadie (Dana Fuchs). She finally gets her band started when she meets JoJo (Martin Luther McCoy). Within these next few years, these individuals fight for a cause to the Vietnam War, struggle to voice their opinions, and discover that all you really need is love.

“Across the Universe” is an original musical with songs by The Beatles, but I think it’s more than that. Many know about The Beatles lives outside of music, especially the life lived by the late John Lennon. The adventures that these few people encounter are ones that symbolize the real adventures The Beatles encountered during their time. We’re left with the impression that “Across the Universe” is really supposed to be a metaphor to what times were like back then. After watching it a third, fourth, fifth, and sixth time since it was released in the theaters, I figured out why I loved it so damn much.

Julie Taymor creates a wonderful atmosphere before the war started to affect everyone. Lucy and her boyfriend were literally the perfect couple, and before the war came along, nothing could really cross them. There’s Max, an Ivy Leaguer who has nothing but a care in the world, until he gets drafted into the military. Before everyone gets affected by the war, they all lead happy and enjoyable lives. Then the war does come along, and Julie Taymor creates a dark but accurate portrayal of what really happened back in the days of protests and riots. The music is not to just be there so we can sing to it, but it tells another story that describes what the characters are going through. For the first hour, I became so interested into the story that when the sudden change in mood came, I never noticed it.

There’s a long fifteen minutes in “Across the Universe” that could decide whether you love the movie or whether you hate it. Many people say that it doesn’t fit in with the rest of the film, but I say “go to hell.” These fifteen moments symbolize just how imaginative The Beatles were. During the number “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite,” we’re introduced to a trippy universe. Even Eddie Izzard, giving an excellent cameo, fits right in with the music. He fills in his own material as well as singing the words to The Beatles’ own song. Also within these fifteen minutes, we get an excellent cameo by Bono, singing John Lennon’s “I Am The Walrus,” probably the best version of the song next to the original.

I love it how people say that “Across the Universe” never made sense. One of the problems that everyone will have with the film is how the film skips around. One of the characters played by T.V. Carpio leave suddenly during the film, and we’re never informed why she left. When Joe Anderson’s character fights in the war, the next scene, he’s suddenly in a hospital. We’re never told why he is, but we’re left asking those questions. There are a few more plot-holes every now and then, but I figured that I think the film is best off with the plot-holes intact. Since when did The Beatles ever make sense? Why should THEY make sense now? I’m still trying to figure out which one is the Walrus…

The best part about the film, however, is the music. Before going into the film, I never really listened to The Beatles. I pretty much tried to avoid them whenever I heard them just because I didn’t want to listen to a band that everyone called “the greatest band ever.” After watching the film, I bought the soundtrack to the film and downloaded some of the music from The Beatles, and I was surprised when I later discovered that almost all of the songs were done just as well as (and in a few instances, better than) the versions from The Beatles.

The cast have some excellent voices to add to the film. Evan Rachel Wood finally does something in a film instead of standing there looking pretty for the past two years. T.V. Carpio performs a fantastic rendition of “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” a song that changes tempos throughout. Joe Anderson really adds a lot of heart to the film. But the two cast members that I’m still in awe about are Dana Fuchs and Jim Sturgess. Dana Fuchs definitely has the voice of Janis Joplin, which helps a lot. Jim Sturgess is definitely one of the best actors that you never heard of. I’ll be keeping in touch with him in March when I purchase my ticket for “21.”

“Across the Universe” is more than a film. It’s an experience. It’s a story about love. It’s a story that you will never forget. To watch it is to love it. I know I listed “No Country for Old Men” as my favorite film of 2007, but I can’t decide between which one is better. On February 5, when your Best Buy opens, walk inside and ask someone who works there to point you to the loaded 2-disc DVD of “Across the Universe.” If you find the reason to shank me after watching it, you don’t deserve to watch movies. Plain-n-simple.

And to Taymor, Wood, and Sturgess, could you PLEASE let me know about the “Spider-Man” show on Broadway? For me…