magically amusing

[johncorrigan]

I haven't watched Magical Mystery Tour for a few years, but really enjoyed the Arena documentary followed by the film on Beeb 2 last night. I do remember watching it in Christmas '67 but I was more interested in the music - some great songs - no wonder folk didn't know quite what to make of it at the time. It was particularly great fun watching Ivor Cutler's Mr Bloodvessel. And great to be reminded of just how funny Ringo can be.

[Belgrove]

I enjoyed the documentary and seeing the film again after all those years. The mention of aunties drinking snowballs on Boxing Day brought the memories flooding back. The music has a rather wistful and melancholy tone, but I was struck by the chemical imagery and how it anticipated and provided a template for the now ubiquitous pop video. The saturated colour vistas accompanying Flying recalled sections from the almost contemporaneous stargate sequence in 2001, and the rather sinister masks worn in I am the Walrus reminded me of the momentary flashbacks that feature in The Shining. Was Kubrick a Beatles fan?

[John Wright]

Must watch that on iplayer (if it is).

I vividly recall watching the film at Christmas 1967, and my folks saying it was rubbish. At the time I didn't think much of the film but the songs were magical.

I think I was the first person in the world to identify lines from King Lear (when Edgar kills Oswald) towards the end of I Am The Walrus, we had just done the play for O-level.

[gurnemanz]

Must watch that on iplayer (if it is).

I vividly recall watching the film at Christmas 1967, and my folks saying it was rubbish. At the time I didn't think much of the film but the songs were magical.

I think I was the first person in the world to identify lines from King Lear (when Edgar kills Oswald) towards the end of I Am The Walrus, we had just done the play for O-level.

At the time I didn't know King Lear at all but can remember tracking down the "serviceable villain" quote. The words came back to me when we saw the Jonathan Pryce Lear at the Almeida last week. On the sound track of the film last night the quote didn't seem as clearly audible as on the disc.