Written and directed by The Beatles and released in 1967, Magical Mystery Tour was the third film from the group and the one that never had a US broadcast. Only 53 minutes long, Magical Mystery Tour is a “dreamlike story of a coach day trip to the seaside” created when the group gathered their friends and cast onto a bus and headed out of London.
“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,” explained 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’,” said Paul.
The resulting film used a loose narrative created by six songs – “Magical Mystery Tour,” “The Fool On The Hill,” “I Am The Walrus,” “Flying,” “Blue Jay Way,” and “Your Mother Should Know” – to tell a story.
Now fully restored, Magical Mystery Tour is coming to DVD and Blu-ray with a remixed soundtrack in October following a very limited theatrical release on September 27th. The DVD and Blu-ray packages will include unseen footage, new interviews, and an audio commentary by Paul. A deluxe edition will include a 60 page book and a reproduction of the mono double 7″ vinyl EP with the six songs from the film.
Magical Mystery Tour Special Features:
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.
Source: Apple Films / EMI
