The Beatles Never Existed (apparently...)!

[Tomtomkent]

Magical Mystery Tour had nothing to do with the United Artists deal.

No. I did not mean to imply it was. I mentioned it only as a comparison, and as part of their larger body of work.

It was done by the Beatles themselves as a Holiday TV Special. But it was a mess. A few good moments, some of the musical numbers were well done (sort of a music video before anybody had heard of music videos) but it was obviously the work of amateurs. It was Paul's baby,with John making no secret of his lack of interest.
At least it had a couple of very good original songs (Fool On the Hill and I Am The Walrus) as opposed to the very mediocre originals for Yellow Submarine (Hey, Bulldog and All Together Now).

But to my mind original songs are not the only mark of quality. Sure, it's a great aspect, but then, deprived of the chance to see them live, and with colour televisions a luxury out of the reach of many fans, the chance to see the band playing some songs, in colour, on a big screen, had an appeal. And familiar songs done well, cranked up to eleven, have their own charm.

MMT suffered from budget cuts, being black and white instead of colour, with a long list of pitfalls and setbacks. You could see what was intended, but... When I saw it I stopped feeling quite so curious about what the Beatles Western, or Lord Of The Rings films would have been like.

Let It Be, by being a documentary didn't feel like a valid comparison. And...er... watching it, it doesn't feel like there WAS a Beatles by then. The Pocket Essentials guide described it as a film about three different artists making songs for a compilation album, and Ringo being caught in the middle of everybody else's battles. That always stuck with me, and I kind of think they stopped being the band before the cameras rolled.

 

[dudalb]

"Magical Mystery Tour" was filmed in color, but it's intial showing on the BBC was in black and white;there were only a couple of thousand color sets in the UK at the time.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_Mystery_Tour

That might explain why MMT was such a mess;it was largely Paul playing around with his camera.
For their next project, Let It Be, the Beatles learned from their mistakes, and hired professionals to make the film.

BTW I really like the film Yellow Submarine,but think the original songs are pretty weak. Not terrible, but pretty forgettable.
It's the animated versions of the classic Beatle songs that help make the film memorable

"Eleanor Rigby" and "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" in particular.

 

[LSSBB]

"Magical Mystery Tour" was filmed in color, but it's intial showing on the BBC was in black and white;there were only a couple of thousand color sets in the UK at the time.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_Mystery_Tour

That might explain why MMT was such a mess;it was largely Paul playing around with his camera.
For their next project, Let It Be, the Beatles learned from their mistakes, and hired professionals to make the film.

BTW I really like the film Yellow Submarine,but think the original songs are pretty weak. Not terrible, but pretty forgettable.
It's the animated versions of the classic Beatle songs that help make the film memorable

"Eleanor Rigby" and "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" in particular.

100% agree. Eleanor Rigby stands up pretty well as a music video, in particular, I believe.

I got the Beatles 1+ video compilation and that is a standout, as well as Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane.

 

[Civet]

Thanks to the OP for a good find. I've never encountered this particular conspiracy before. Some material on reptoids in the message boards, but it doesn't look like they've got anything new to offer on that front.