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"The Meanies are
coming! The Meanies are coming!" Yes, those blue devils are back to
take over Pepperland, and its up to the fabulous Beatles to stop
them. On the 30th anniversary of its original release, "Yellow
Submarine" has been completely restored with enhanced sound and
previously unseen footage. Now including the previously deleted
"Hey, Bulldog" sequence, "Submarine" is sure to satisfy both diehard
Beatles fans and their kids.
To say that The
Beatles were incredibly prolific would be an understatement. In just
4 short years, their music grew from "She Loves You" to "A Day in
the Life". As their music expanded, their appearance changed from
the lovable moptops of "A Hard Day's Night" to the psychedelic gurus
of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". The film "Yellow
Submarine", based on a Lennon-McCartney ditty from the 1966 album
"Revolver", took the look and feel of "Pepper's" and put it in
cartoon form.
Being a
self-professed Beatlemaniac, I must admit I was never a big fan of
"Submarine". As much as I love all The Beatles' music, I prefer the
upbeat and vibrant rock'n'roll of their early albums. Even as good
as the "Let it Be" film is, it captured the disintegration of the
group in all its depressing glory. I'd much rather watch the
happy-go-lucky fab four in "A Hard Day's Night" or "Help". By the
time I finally caught "Submarine" on its brief video release in
1989, I liked it, but I was not blown away.
Now that I've
seen "Submarine" on the big screen for the first time, my opinion
has changed. With the lush colorization and attention to detail,
here's a film that was meant to be seen on the big screen. The
soundtrack has been completely remixed for theaters, and it sounds
great on today's state-of-the-art sound systems. It makes that much
of a difference, and I cannot recommend this film enough. Also,
seeing parents bring their kids was touching, since this is one film
that should be handed down from generation to generation.
That "Yellow
Submarine" even got made is a miracle. Having The Beatles appear in
an animated film was one of the last things manager Brian Epstein
set into motion before he died in 1967. By the time work for
"Submarine" got underway, The Beatles showed little interest. They
didn't provide the voices for their characters, and they contributed
only 4 average songs (average for The Beatles, that is!) to the
soundtrack. When they finally saw how well the project was going,
they decided to film an appearance as themselves in the live-action
finale.
By the time it
was released, the Summer of Love was long over. The year 1968 was
one of the most volatile years of the twentieth century. The feeling
of free love and wearing flowers in your hair was replaced by race
riots, violent anti-war demonstrations, and talk about a revolution.
What a difference a year can make. Fortunately, "Yellow Submarine"
was able to capture the spirit of the "All you need is love"
generation and spread some much needed good vibes.
"Yellow
Submarine" certainly has the look of its day, but the music of The
Beatles is timeless. As we embrace the start of the new Millennium,
the message is loud and clear. The submarine is symbolic for the
world in which we live, and love is still all you
need.
From Scott's Movie Reviews
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