Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4727 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-09-14
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 85 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
This restored, animated valentine to the Beatles offers viewers the rare chance to see a work that's been substantially improved by its technical facelift, not just supersized with extra footage. Recognizing that its song-studded soundtrack alone makes Yellow Submarine a video annuity, United Artists has lavished a frame-by-frame refurbishment of the original feature, while replacing its original monaural audio tracks with a meticulously reconstructed stereo mix that actually refines legendary original album versions.

What emerges is a vivid time capsule of the late '60s and a minor milestone in animation. The music represents the quartet's zenith--Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The story line, cobbled together by producer Al Brodax and a committee of writers, is a broad, feather-light allegory set in idyllic Pepperland, where the gentle citizens are threatened by the nasty, music-hating Blue Meanies and their surreal arsenal of henchmen, with the Beatles enlisted to thwart the bad guys. Visually, designer Heinz Edelmann mixes the biomorphic squiggles, day-glo palette, and Beardsley-esque portraits of Peter Max with rotoscoped still photographs and film; Edelmann's animated collages also nod to Andy Warhol and Magritte in properly psychedelic fashion, which works wonderfully with such terrific songs.

High orthodox Beatlemaniacs can still grouse that the animated Fab Four are (literally) flat archetypes, but that's missing the sheer bloom of the music or the giddy, campy fun of the visuals. Making sense of the story is second to submerging blissfully in the sights and sounds of this video treat. --Sam Sutherland

DVD features
The scope of Yellow Submarine's 1999 restoration is idealized on the DVD version, which beyond its slightly letterboxed original aspect adds a stunning 5.1 sound mix that showcases the audio team's wizardry; music fans can hear the entire score without dialogue, the better to focus on such revelations as "Nowhere Man," boasting a gorgeous, full-stereo chorus, and "Only a Northern Song," with a first-time-ever stereo mix that exploits the full surround array for appropriately mind-blowing effect. Other special features include three storyboarded sequences, two of which are not seen in the final film; behind-the-scenes photos and featurette; a full-length audio commentary; and the original theatrical trailer. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews

Masterful restoration of 60's Classic
After reading the New York Times article about the restoration process for Yellow Submarine, I had high hopes for this DVD. I was not disappointed.

The color saturation is sumptuous. There are some imperfections, but on the whole this is a first class restoration. If you want appreciate the restoration, look at the original theatrical trailer or the "making of" documentary extras.

The re-mastered audio brings new complexity and detail to familiar Beatle material (even on my strictly middlebrow home entertainment system). The opening a cappella chorus of "Nowhere Man" sounded like it was recorded yesterday.

For a generation that has not seen this film, Yellow Submarine is a perfect time capsule for 60's psychedelic era. The film begins in under the sea in Pepperland, an idyllic musical community, which is attacked by the music-hating Blue Meanies. "Young Fred" manages to escape the attack in the Yellow Submarine, which takes him to England. He recruits the Beatles to return with him to Pepperland to join the battle between the forces of order (the Blue Meanies) and the forces of creativity and love. The plot is pretty much as hokey as it sounds, but it is merely a vehicle for the music, humor, surrealism, artistic and social sensibilities of the psychedelic 60's. And it is there that the movie emphatically succeeds.

The animation is certainly not as sophisticated as some more modern efforts, but it stands up remarkably well. There was a lot of revolutionary (for the 60's) integration of animation and live action. The colors are gorgeous. Visually, this is still a very entertaining film.

If you don't like the Beatles music, or are bored by animation, stay away. If you are on the fence about getting this DVD, buy it. You won't be disappointed. And if you love the Beatles, this DVD should move to the top of your list.

Campy fun from The Beatles
You're browsing the video rental racks, and there it is: a blue background with yellow lettering and a trippy submarine (yellow at that) on the cover. The movie? THE BEATLES: YELLOW SUBMARINE.

Having only seen this movie (well, and MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR, which you probably haven't seen, and there's a reason for that....) of The Beatles I cannot compare it to the other 3 (HARD DAY'S NIGHT, HELP!, and LET IT BE). So I can only operate in this sphere of knowledge.

YELLOW SUBMARINE, simply put, is one weird movie. They take elements of The Beatles mythology and throw it all together and end up with a place called Pepperland which, for some strange reason (I don't think the film says why, though I may be wrong) is being invaded by Blue Meanies. Oh yes...... The Blue Meanies want to make everything blue. It has the very hippy or 1960s message of love and music will save the day, which is what happens. Through the way we get several visually dynamic (and altogether strange) music video segments. The Beatles were ahead of their times, let me tell you. I AM THE WALRUS is one of the first music videos.

Anyway, its campy fun, though when watching the film it seems a lot longer than it actually is. The animation portrays a convoluted world, full of unique beings found only in a drug-induced cosmos. Throw that in with the fact its mainly about The Beatles, and we have a very trippy and fun movie. Jeremy is the most memorable character.

And no, The Beatles do not play themselves. In that respect, this isn't really a Beatles movie at all, its just a film produced by their company about them, and they did a little afterword (you see them for like a minute or 2). It also put in the excised "Hey Bulldog" sequence from the American version. They advertised that there was a lost Beatles song that would be included with the new release of Yellow Submarine. It wasn't a song at all, just the lost footage. Liars. No, I'm not bitter at all!

Mike London

The music is worth the price of admission
Just a short review on the remastered DVD. The animation jumps of the screen with all the new post production work they have done rematering the movie. But what really makes this a great buy is the music. Hearing the Beatles in the rematered multichannel format is nothing short of stunning. I sat in between my home theater speakers in awe. The Beatles were masters of making colorful layered music and this DVD makes it so you can almost see the music. Along with George Martin's surprisingly nuanced score, the music alone in this DVD is worth the price of admission.