"Yellow Submarine" DVD? (The Beatles animated movie) (1 Viewer)

[buttmunker]

http://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Submari...4700231&sr=1-1

Its for sale on Amazon, but apparently used, and quite expensive (over $50.00). Was this release initally a Region 0 (Canada), or something? It's never been officially released, by the looks of it.

I watched a clip of it on the "Anthology" series, and it looked cute (with the exaggerated british accent by actors).

***
Also, what's the status of Beatles "Promotional Films" being released to DVD in their entirety? Only a few were complete in the "Anthology," and many were either short clips, or missing altogether.

 

[GlennH]

Yellow Submarine was released officially by MGM in Region 1 (U.S. and Canada) in 1999, but it is now out-of-print. I have it. This appears to be what many are selling on Amazon for $55+. Guess I should have bought some spare copies.

 

[Greg_M]

Why has it gone out-of-print? did the right lapse?

 

[Derek Miner]

Exactly.

 

[Jeff Kuykendall]

Wow, I had no idea this had gone OOP. It's an excellent DVD, and a brilliant restoration. It was a lot of fun to see the restoration on the big screen back in 1999 or so.

And if you haven't seen it yet, and like the Beatles, you owe it to yourself to seek it out. It's a masterpiece of animation (and very psychedelic), and widely regarded as a classic.

 

[buttmunker]

The Rights lapsed. Was there a problem renewing the Rights? I don't understand why this happens. So, another distributor has to buy the Rights in order for this to be re-released? Is that how that works?

 

[Brandon Conway]

Guess so.

The only downside to the 1999 disc is that it's non-anamorphic.

 

[Patrick McCart]

Apparently, Apple Films owns the rights, while MGM/UA only has/had distribution rights.

 

[Mark B]

I saw it that year on the big screen and it was amazing, due to the energy of the audience as much as the film itself. Every song was a sing-along and lines of dialogue were shouted out. It was a fantastic way to experience the film.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Just a note, although this is out of print I still see it on the shelves of retailers in my area.

 

[ScottR]

I think this ran in syndication alot in the late 1970's and very early 1980
's....when I got the dvd, it seemed like I used to watch it when I was little.

 

[Sam Favate]

Speaking of Yellow Submarine, just this past weekend, Little Steven dedicated his Underground Garage radio show to the movie and the songs. He tells an interesting story of how the rights to the animated series found their way to King Syndicate, which then talked the Beatles into letting an animated movie become their third feature, thus meeting a requirement for a feature under a contract with United Artists.

You can listen to the whole show here; it's great stuff:

http://www.littlestevensundergroundg...y/archive.html

 

[buttmunker]

Which retailers? Maybe if I visit their website I'll get a surprise?

 

[AnthonyC]

I saw it at Circuit City not too long ago. Don't know if it'll be available on the website though.

Re: the promo films, word is they were going to do it to coincide with the 1 compilation, but Neil Aspinall rejected it as, and I quote, "too obvious."

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I've seen it at FYE locations, Borders, and Newbury Comics. Pretty much every FYE store I've been in had it and almost every Borders. I'm in Massachusetts by the way in case that matters. I've seen it for sale as recently as last week. The price is always the same everywhere I've seen it. $29.99, steep for a single disc but it is out of print.

 

[buttmunker]

I went online to Borders.com and checked all the Borders in my area, and none of them have it. :frowning: I crossed my fingers and asked for it to be ordered. Fat chance.

 

[Patrick McCart]

There's an excellent book on the making of the film, "Inside the Yellow Submarine." Lots of great inside stuff about the rushed production and all the difficulties. Most of it is made up of actual quotes and interviews, including all four Beatles. There's also some information on the restoration of both the picture and sound.

 

[Brian Kidd]

I second the recommendation of the book. It's chock full of information, even if I found it a little unorganized at times. One of our local libraries even has the novelization that came out with the film and has an almost entirely different storyline to the film due to the constant changes to the film up to its release. Fascinating stuff.

 

[buttmunker]

Too obvious? I'd have stamped on his foot! What's obvious - that fans want the promo videos intact in one collection? We often expect that a CD compilation might open the floodgates to more merchandise...

Anyway, since I now spent $50+ dollars for Yellow Submarine, I'll betcha it will be re-released soon.

 

[Brian Kidd]

If there's one thing you can count on, it's that one never knows when or if Beatles product will get (re)released. :frowning: Although in this case, I'd welcome it. It's a gorgeous film.