The Beatles / Magical Mystery Tour Special Boxed Deluxe Edition
As previously revealed on this blog, The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour film is coming Blu-ray (and DVD) on 8 October (worldwide) and 9 October in North America – the news is now official.
Even better news is that as well as standard releases on DVD and Blu-ray, a special, boxed deluxe edition will also be available with the following contents:
- • Set housed in a 10″x10″ box
- • Both DVD and Blu-ray included
- • 60-page book with background information, photographs and documentation from the production,
- • A faithful reproduction of the mono double 7″ vinyl EP of the film’s six new Beatles songs, originally issued in the UK to complement the film’s 1967 release!
This sounds superb, and the set is currently retailing for £59.99 on Apple’s online store.
Pre-order Deluxe Box from amazon.com here (US)
The film has been fully restored by Paul Rutan Jr. of Eque Inc., the same company that handled the much acclaimed restoration of Yellow Submarine. The soundtrack has been remixed into 5.1 surround! This work was done at Abbey Road Studios by Giles Martin and Sam Okell. This means DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 for the Blu-ray!
SPECIAL FEATURES:
All of the packages contain a host of special features, packed with unseen footage. There are newly-filmed interviews with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and other members of the film’s cast and crew, as well as a director’s audio commentary recorded by Paul.
Director’s Commentary – by Paul McCartney
The Making of Magical Mystery Tour (19m 05s)
– Features interviews with Paul and Ringo, along with other cast members and crew. Includes unseen footage.
Ringo the actor (2m 30s)
– Ringo reflecting on his role in the film.
Meet The Supporting Cast (11m 27s)
– 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” (2m 35s)
“Blue Jay Way” (3m 53s)
“The Fool On The Hill” (3m 05s)
– Three new edits of these performances all featuring footage not seen in the original film.
“Hello Goodbye” (3m 24s), as featured in Top of the Pops 1967
– 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 (2m 50s)
– A scene directed by John featuring Nat Jackley and not included in the original film.
Ivor Cutler – “I’m Going In A Field” (2m 35s)
– 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” (1m 53s)
– 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 used in the final edit.
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16 thoughts on “The Beatles / Magical Mystery Tour Special Boxed Deluxe Edition”
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This is currently available on the Amazon.co.uk website for a very respectable £29.99, this is the cheapest of any UK retailer by some way, so for those interested i’d jump on that price pretty quickly before it jumps up again.
nice one…..purchased.
It’s the vinyl in these sets that I’m not interested in. I realise there may be some retro ‘they sound the best’ movement happening, but I (and a lot of people) haven’t had a turntable for 20 years. If anything should get a seperate release for a niche market, it should be the vinyl. I’ll just take a Blu-ray or Blu-ray/DVD combo, thanks.
Also, on the subject of the BD/DVD combo, I’m a fan. I do have blu-ray players in two rooms for adults/kids viewing. With movies like the recent release of ‘The Avengers’, I can keep the pristine BD for me and the kids (who don’t care about bit rates!) can watch the DVD in the other room til it’s destroyed, and it’s not a big deal. For a few extra bucks, I like the option.
I’ll weigh in for a second as well. I personally love combo packs. I think they are a great idea for the exact reasons previously explained. I have one Blu-ray player in one room. But when you add other rooms, laptops, and portable players, I have about 6 DVD players. I don’t want to buy the same thing twice. Getting both formats in one shot is perfect and makes complete economical sense from the perspective of both the manufacturers and the consumer. In Canada, the average DVD is about $20 and the average Blu-ray is about $24. But a combo is around $28. So, for an extra $4.00, I get both formats. I personally don’t think there should be DVD alone releases and Blu-ray alone releases. I think all should be combos. The fact that The Beatles offer both is absolutely perfect and certainly the way to go. I hope others take notice. And that goes beyond Mr. Gabriel. In U2’s recent box they released it as DVD only and then released the documentary as a standalone Blu-ray later on. Why? Include them both in the box and add $5.00. Then release the standalones for those who won’t shell out for the box. You actually make more money that way (I’m assuming most people are like me and bought the box but refused to buy the same thing later on Blu-ray).
Paul – the “hypocritical” line was in reference to myself, not you. I’ve bleated on here about the duplication of So on CD and vinyl and the Athens gig on CD and DVD, so I had to mention it in regard to this release. Having said that, and given your response, I now bow down to both yours and Greg’s superior logic, ha ha! I see what you mean now, as far as this release is concerned. Still doesn’t explain why movies are released in combo packs, though
Paul,
Movies are released in combo packs for several reasons:
1) People with Blu-ray players in their living room may still have DVD players in other rooms (eg bedrooms), not to mention portable players etc. They appreciate the extra format.
2) Combo packs offer a level of future-proofing – and hence incentive – to customers who have not yet switched to Blu-Ray (more people than the industry might care to admit to)
3) Combo packs are actually cheaper for publishers and distributors, especially those in niche markets. After the Sony warehouse fire, the Masters of Cinema label switched to combo packaging because of the previous expense of carrying separate DVD and Blu-ray lines.
Well explained, Chris. Thank you!
I know that, Greg, but it’s not an answer, is it? I don’t get the concept of releasing any movie in DVD/blu-ray combos. Maybe it’s just me, but I only need my movies in one format, thanks! :)
To paul the answer to your question is simple. Go into any dvd store and you will find bluray packages with both bluray and dvd in the same package . It is very common. It is a very nice box. Getting it will be all dependent on price for me.
Hmmm… bit hypocritical, following So-gate, to not dwell on the duplication here. Really, what is the point of including the DVD and the blu-ray? Pointless and, like the So box, back-filling with a useless extra. Sorry, don’t get it!
Don’t think so Paul. For a start it was more of a news article rather than any kind of in-depth analysis, but putting that to one side, one of the criticisms about “So” was no Blu-ray, and therefore no hi-res audio and no hi-def pictures. I think in the ‘rip-off’ article I actually say, why couldn’t they have gone the ‘movie’ route with a triple play scenario DVD+Blu-ray+digital. I also point out that is what Pink Floyd did successfully with their “Dark Side of the Moon” immersion box (ie provide DVD+Blu-ray).
It’s the right decision to provide both because they are covering “the best available” with Blu-ray, and the mass market with DVD. No one is left disappointed.
If they’d just offered DVD then we’d all be complaining how we ‘have’ to buy the box and the individual Blu-ray. If they just offered Blu-ray, loads of people that don’t own Blu-ray players would be pissed off.
A Deluxe Edition that includes both the DVD and the Blu-ray?!? What a novel idea. Sorry, but I’m still on the Gabriel Bitter Bus. But The Beatles will take me away from this on a bus of their own. Great News! There were rumours that “Yellow Submarine”, “Magical Mystery Tour”, and “Let It Be” would be released on Blu-ray by the end of 2013. Well, 2 of the 3 prove to be correct. Fingers-crossed for a release of the granddaddy of all Beatles films.
It’s already up on amazon for around $67 – http://amzn.com/B008RTE066