Review of Yellow Submarine (1968) by Hm F — 02 Jun 2012

Saw this at my local AMC, a total surprise to find it playing at my local cineplex. Having only seen it on television it was quite an experience to see the vibrancy of the colors of Pepper-Land on a big screen. The movie is hardly a widescreen spectacle, but regardless its a film clearly meant to be watched on a big screen where the psychedelic imagery can swallow you in along with Beatles classics ('Nowhere Man', 'All You Need is Love') and some not so classic songs. Some of the songs come naturally to the plot such as 'Nowhere Man' and 'When I'm 64', while others like 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' and "Elenore Rigby' just seem to pop in for no reason; although both are some of the visual highlights of the movie.

The Beatles themselves are somewhat low-key in this film, given they are portrayed by voice actors its probably not surprising. Paul Angelis as Ringo gets most of the humor and John Clive as John saves the day getting 'LOVE' from 'GLOVE'. Many of the designs in the movie are really quite fantastic in their simplicity, Glove being one example.

The most surprising moment for me was The Beatles themselves suddenly appearing after the movie, talking direct to the audience. Sitting in a theater in the year 2012 and watching these guys looking still in their prime in such a crisp image was really marvelous. Having John Lennon send you off with the warning that there are Blue Meanies sighted near your theater and the only way to stop them was to sing along was a magical moment for me.