Although Scorsese talked incisively and passionately, we didn’t learn if (or when and how) Magical Mystery Tour was broadcast in the States. Nor, by name, was Monty Python or its precursors. Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters bus trips – a known influence – weren’t mentioned. Yet Magical Mystery Tour corralled a raft of recherché end-of-the-pier/music hall style entertainers of the type familiar from The Beatles’ own childhoods – just like this type of coach trip and the inspirations for “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane”. Lennon had been at the 14 Hour Technicolour Dream. McCartney was a habitué of alternative bookshop Indica and and made Super-8 films he soundtracked with Albert Ayler. The role call of ingredients included experimental musicians AMM and filmmakers Bruce Conner and Luis Buñuel. The biggest ambiguity was the contradiction between who The Beatles were and who the viewing public thought they wereĪmbiguities were central to this Arena documentary and Magical Mystery Tour itself, whether ones that ran counter to perceptions or reality.
“Whether it succeeded was besides the point,” offered Scorsese. Back then, defending Magical Mystery Tour to David Frost, he said “I think a lot of people were looking for a plot and there wasn't one”. McCartney noted that “they had been cheated out of their Christmas special”. Judging by the letters of complaint, a vocal percentage of viewers really hadn’t noticed that The Beatles and the times had changed. Was Magical Mystery Tour really that surprising? Wedged into the prime-time schedule the day after Christmas, it apparently was, even though the image of the cheeky mop tops was already history. The Beatles’ fascination with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi had filled newspapers. had been out for six months, “Strawberry Fields Forever” ten. Surely, a great deal of them realised things were and had changed, both for The Beatles and the world? Sergeant Pepper. Linda Dickens, then 15, said it “was telling the older generation things were changing”.Ī quarter of the British population watched the black and white broadcast of this quite determinedly colour experience. One contributor said his eyes were covered by his dad during the strip club scene. Testimonies of those who saw the original Boxing Day 1967 broadcast were utterly fascinating. Terry Gilliam appeared, but did he have any involvement? John Lennon was heard via recordings of radio and magazine interviews.
#MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR MOVIE ARCHIVE#
Also seen were Ringo Starr, George Harrison (via archive footage), Neil Innes, Martin Scorsese, Peter Fonda, Terry Gilliam, Losey and, less pertinently, Paul Gambacini, Paul Merton and Annie Nightingale. That was written by Barry Miles who, along with McCartney, cropped up. Indeed, much of the contextualisation retrod over-familiar territory, especially Paul McCartney’s centrality to the London underground of 1966/7, which the book Many Years From Now was equally keen to emphasise.Ī quarter of the British population watched the black and white broadcast of this quite determinedly colour experience
The co-producers of …Revisited were The Beatles’ Apple organisation, so it was never going to upset the applecart too much or dig too deep.
#MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR MOVIE MOVIE#
The negative reception received at the time seems to have skewed the collective consensus.Įveryone involved in Magical Mystery Tour should be proud of it, and the contributors to this splendid but thin tribute to the film were (even though they still trotted the home movie line out). Although a self-originated vanity project, none of this points to it being a home movie.
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