preview

The Beatles

Decent Essays

According to a journal article by David Philp, nearly fifteen million people tuned in to watch the Magical Mystery Tour film. While the Beatles seemed to be pretty close to perfection during most of their music making years together, at times things did not go so smoothly. Much of the chaos that ensued was due to the death of Beatles Manager Brian Epstein. Though the group decided to push forward with Paul’s idea of another film with an accompanying soundtrack, the result was possibly one of the worst Beatles films made. All of this came at one of the best times for the Beatles, their career was once again at a high point. Although the group had good intentions, the album and film simply left critics confused. The atmosphere, production, and …show more content…

Paul had an idea, but that was basically where the preparation ended. Many of the problems stemmed from the fact that there was no Brian Epstein to lean on and take care of the usual needs. The entire process took much longer than planned due to a lack of script and set bookings. According to Geoffrey Stokes in 1980, the Beatles did not hire any professional filmmakers either because they thought they might change too much of the original concept. What resulted was a film that, according to David Philp, critics called, “appalling, naïve, puffle, nonsense, contemptuous”. A movie that started off with an idea of a simple ride through the countryside wound up being disliked by many who saw it. Despite the number of views, the reviews in the UK caused NBC to back out of their deal to show it in the …show more content…

It’s unfortunate though that by this point the Beatles were take a less meticulous approach their song writing. Nevertheless, the album still managed to become a hit and has some of the most memorable Beatles songs such as “Penny Lane” and “Baby You’re a Rich Man”. Edward Komara even states that Magical Mystery Tour contains some of the Beatles best work. While others may not find it to be the Beatles greatest album, it’s still quite enjoyable for what it turned out to be. Despite the lack of Brian Epstein’s guidance causing the movie to bomb, the boys still had George Martin in the studio. Despite the chaotic atmosphere, unfortunate movie attempt and somewhat simple music, the Beatles not only managed to create an enjoyable album, but still go on to record more fabulous

Get Access