When the Beatles' self-directed, hour-long “Magical Mystery Tour†made its debut as a BBC television special on Dec. 26, 1967, viewers were left scratching their heads. One reason was that the BBC's black and white presentation scarcely did justice to the colorful dream sequences and weird travelogue footage that were centerpieces of the group's charmingly naive avant-garde romp â€" its first big project after the release of “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band†and the worldwide live broadcast of “All You Need Is Love,†six months earlier.
But the film's lack of a plot â€" the Beatles drove around England with a busload of actors and filmed whatever occurred to them at the time â€" was also regarded as a drawback for prime-time holiday fare. Apparently, the half dozen new songs, among them, what are now regarded as classic video clips of “I Am the Walrus†and “Your Mother Should Know,†were not enough to save the production from general opprobrium.
Now “Magical Mystery Tourâ€Â is begin given semi-scholarly treatment. A restored version, with a remixed surround soundtrack, a handful of short documentary features and several outtakes, was released on Blu-ray, DVD and as an iTunes download on Tuesday. And a screening at the Paley Center for Media, on Oct. 24 at 6:30 p.m., will be followed by a panel discussion with the singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, the guitarist and actor Steven Van Zandt, the screenwriter and director Tony Gilroy, and Jonathan Clyde, from Apple, the Beatles' company. Bill Flanagan will be the moderator.
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