Magical Mystery Tour to be released on DVD and Blu-ray

The Beatles’ 1967 television film Magical Mystery Tour is to be reissued on DVD and Blu-ray on 8 October 2012 (9 October in the US).

The film has been fully restored with a remixed soundtrack in stereo and 5.1 surround sound. There will be three new edits of song performances, and previously deleted scenes.

Other special features include a director’s commentary by Paul McCartney, new filmed interviews with McCartney and Ringo Starr, and a 19-minute documentary on the making of Magical Mystery Tour.

A 10″ Collectors’ Edition box set will include a 60-page book, the film in both formats, and a reproduction of the double-disc vinyl EP originally released in the UK on 8 December 1967.

“Ladies and gentlemen, what you’re about to see is the product of our imaginations and believe me, at this point they are quite vivid.” Paul

— The Beatles (@thebeatles) August 22, 2012

George Martin’s son Giles was among the production team involved in the remastering.

@rikgenius it's the film we've mixed, all tracks and dialogue worked on. It all sounds rather glorious- enjoy!

— Giles Martin (@mashupmartin) August 22, 2012

@thebeatles it's night and day compared to the original, so much work has gone into MMT, especially by Sam Okell. Check out the new mixes!

— Giles Martin (@mashupmartin) August 22, 2012

Here’s the full press release:

”Ladies and gentlemen, what you are about to see is the product of our imaginations and believe me, at this point they are quite vivid” – Paul

The Beatles’ Classic 1967 Feature Film Restored For Worldwide DVD and Blu-Ray Release on October 8th

In September 1967, The Beatles loaded a film crew onto a bus along with friends, family and cast and headed west on the A30 out of London to make their third film, this time conceived and directed by The Beatles themselves.

“Paul said ‘Look I’ve got this idea’ and we said ‘great!’ and all he had was this circle and a little dot on the top – that’s where we started,” (Ringo)

In the wake of the extraordinary impact of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album and the One World satellite broadcast of All You Need Is Love, The Beatles devised, wrote and directed their third film, Magical Mystery Tour, a dreamlike story of a coach day trip to the seaside.

The film features a fabulous supporting cast of character actors and performers, (including Ivor Cutler, Victor Spinetti, Jessie Robins, Nat Jackley, Derek Royle, and the inimitable Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band).

Apple Films have fully restored the long out-of-print, classic feature film for October 8th release worldwide (October 9th in North America) on DVD and Blu-ray with a remixed soundtrack (5.1 and stereo) and special features.

A special, boxed deluxe edition will also be available, and, for the first time ever, there will be a limited theatrical release from September 27th.

This new release also feature three new edits of some of the song performances, as well as scenes that were cut out of the original film.

THEATRICAL RELEASE:

For the first time ever there will be a limited theatrical release in certain territories from September 27th.

Apple & EMI have partnered with Omniverse Vision, the leading distributor of music events to cinemas worldwide, to bring exclusive showings of Magical Mystery Tour to the big screen for the first time. Screenings will take place in selected cinemas from 27th September in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, Italy, Japan, and other countries worldwide.

Once confirmed full listings will be available at www.thebeatles.com.

In addition The British Film Institute have announced a special screening of Magical Mystery Tour at BFI Southbank on October 2nd – tickets are now available from the BFI website.

The restoration of Magical Mystery Tour has been overseen by Paul Rutan Jr. of Eque Inc., the same company that handled the much acclaimed restoration of Yellow Submarine. The soundtrack work was done at Abbey Road Studios by Giles Martin and Sam Okell.

SPECIAL BOXED DELUXE EDITION:

Magical Mystery Tour will also be available in a special, 10″x10″ boxed deluxe edition. The deluxe edition includes both the DVD and Blu-ray, as well as a 60-page book with background information, photographs and documentation from the production, and 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.

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.