Topic: Yellow Submarine (1968)

[Antares]

Yellow Submarine





Year: 1968
Film Studio: Apple Films, King Features
Genre: Animation, Fantasy, Musical
Length: 90 Min.

Director
George Dunning (1920)

Writing
Lee Minoff...Story
Lee Minoff...Screenplay
Al Brodax (1926)...Screenplay
Jack Mendelsohn (1926)...Screenplay
Erich Segal (1937)...Screenplay

Producer
Al Brodax (1926)
Alan Kozlowski
Mary Ellen Stewart


Music
John Lennon (1940)...Song Writer
Paul McCartney (1942)...Song Writer
George Harrison (1943)...Song Writer

Stars
Paul Angelis (1943) as Chief Blue Meanie (Voice)
Paul Angelis (1943) as Ringo (Voice)
John Clive (1938) as John (Voice)
Dick Emery (1915) as Jeremy Hilary Boob, Ph.D - Nowhere Man (Voice)
Dick Emery (1915) as Lord Mayor (Voice)
Dick Emery (1915) as Max (Voice)
Geoffrey Hughes (1944) as Paul (Voice)
Lance Percival (1933) as Young (Voice)

Review
       When John Lennon announced to the world in 1966, that the Beatles would no longer do concerts and would focus their attention on studio projects, it turned Brian Epstein’s job as band manager into a rather pointless position. With the global acclaim of the Sgt. Pepper album and the emergence of George Martin as the guiding force behind the bands album successes, Epstein started to fade into the background. With his untimely death in 1967, only one project remained in the works, an animation film using the Beatles songs as fabric for the narrative. It had taken much cajoling to get the band members to green light this project. They had all hated the popular cartoon show that was created about them and saw no purpose to this film. Epstein realized that the film would turn children into future fans and eased the bands concerns by explaining that it would also fulfill the last portion of their film contract. John & Paul agreed to write four new songs for the project and the remainder of the soundtrack would be filled with songs culled from the Sgt. Pepper, Revolver & Rubber Soul albums. One song from the Revolver album would be the main theme and title of the film, Yellow Submarine.

       Embracing the emerging drug culture and infusing the animation with the vibrant colors of the trendy London fashion scene, Yellow Submarine would transport the viewer on a psychedelic excursion to a fantasy world of Blue Meanies, Apple Bonkers, Snapping Turtle Turks and a deadly Flying Glove. Each of the band members would be animated and involved in the main plot, to save Pepperland from the attack of the Blue Meanies. Although they would be portrayed as animated characters on screen, none would lend their voice to the project. Only after they had viewed portions of the almost completed film did they agree to make a live action sequence for the final scene of the movie. Time has been very kind to Yellow Submarine, a DVD restoration was undertaken in the late 90’s to preserve it for future generations and has elevated this movie to second place, just behind It’s a Hard Days Night in the Fab Fours 4 film output.


Review Criterion
5 Stars - The pinnacle of film perfection and excellence.
4 ½ Stars - Not quite an immortal film, yet a masterpiece in its own right.
4 Stars - Historically important film, considered a classic.
3 ½ Stars - An entertaining film that’s fun or engaging to watch.
3 Stars – A good film that’s worth a Netflix venture.
2 ½ Stars - Borderline viewable.
2 Stars – A bad film that may have a moment of interest.
1 ½ Stars – Insipid, trite and sophomoric, and that's its good points.
1 Star – A film so vacuous, it will suck 2 hours from the remainder of your life.
½ Star - A gangrenous and festering pustule in the chronicles of celluloid.