Beatles Video:

Editorial Review:
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

Yellow Submarine [Region 2] Reviews:
Yellow Submarine!
2009-11-24 - Truly a psychadelic experience! For any Beatles fan who likes smoking the fatty's! Make sure to check out Q-Bert's Wave Twisters, Style Wars, Savage Planet, Light Years and Across the Universe! Recycle and buy 2nd hand! Have a great winter!

Great Classic Psychadellic
2009-11-23 - As good as I remember it in college. I got this for my 10 year old daughter and 8 of her friends to watch. The loved it! Sang along and knew all the words. Wish it would be re-released. A little weird for kids much younger--some of them thought it was strange and did not understand some of the parts.

It is a bit pricey but make sure you get an original and not a pirate version.

great dvd, but spendy
2009-11-10 - really enjoyed this DVD, however the box seems a bit on the bootleg side with no insert, we do not believe its an original copy but for a wanna be bootleg the video is of good quality, enjoy, we did!

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE!!!
2009-11-09 - Una muy buena historia, los legendarios BEATLES acompañados de sus "alter egos" los chicos de la banda del Sargento pimienta y una gran gama de curiosos, divertidos y simpaticos personajes con una historia fantastica, fuera de lo comun y muy bonita, ideal para chicos y grandes, donde los buenos son muy ingenuos y los malos son muertos de la risa; personajes tan destacables por sus ocurrencias y disparates como el mismo RINGO, el curiosisimo pero tambien tierno JEREMY (el "Nowhere Man"), un capitan muy ansioso pero graciosamente agradable, el lider de los "Blue Meanies" es uno de los villanos mas divertidos y jocosos que he visto en la pantalla, y una tierna historia donde "Todo lo que necesitas es amor", con brillantes y fuertes colores y una amplia gama de psicodelismo que la hacen una DELICIA a los ojos; francamente una JOYA de pelicula que nada tiene que envidiarle a la Disney o a la Warner...es incluso NOSTALGICA!!!

Letterboxing Cuts Off Top and Bottom!
2009-10-03 - I thought this looked odd when I watched it on DVD in the letterboxed widescreen format. My fears were confirmed when I found a copy of the VHS "full frame" version at a yard sale (for 50 cents -- what a deal!).

It turns out that part of the top and bottom of the movie were covered to create the widescreen version (which I think was the only version available on DVD). There is more picture at top and bottom in the full-frame VHS version! Although the left and right are trimmed a little on the VHS full-frame version, that's not nearly as noticeable (and annoying) as the missing top and bottom on the DVD.

If this ever is released again (maybe when the remake comes out), I hope we get the full picture next time. Trying to watch it with the top and bottom or the sides missing is a less than ideal experience, to say the least.