Search - Magical Mystery Tour Memories on DVD

Well done documentary - but will appeal mostly to TRUE Beatl

Steven I. Ramm | Phila, PA USA | 09/29/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Magical Mystery Tour Memories

This newly produced hour long documentary on the making of the Beatle's third film - "Magical Mystery Tour" - can be highly recommended to TRUE Beatles fans who want ALL the inside info. (These are the folks who covet every CD made of news conference interviews with the Fab Four). For those who remember seeing the film once, or have never seen it at all, it's worth an hour to watch, though references made by the interviewees won't mean much.

Show on high quality video, the documentary is "hosted" by Victor Spinetti, the British actor who appeared in all three Beatles films. He is personable. With two or three exceptions, the persons telling their "memories" are individuals who happened to live in Cornwall when MMT was filmed in 1967. There is the man whose father owned the smal newsstand and the local policeman who had his 15 seconds of fame in the film. We learned how the Beatles were just "regular folks.".

The two "names" in this doc are musician Spencer Davis, who tells a few good short stories, and Neil Innes from the Bonzo Dog (Doo Dah) Band, who actually sings a song. (The rest of the music in the film consists of instrument versions of MMT songs - none performed by the Beatles.)Oh yes, we get Paul McCartney's brother, Mike, - who is back to using the family name after many years as "Mike McGear), mostly slumming off of his sibling's reputation.

There are 11 short interviews on the DVD as "bonus material).

A nicely done package, but as I said above, really aimed at the Beatles completist.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"
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