Rating: Summary: Still Missing Review: Speaking as someone who already owns three of these titles on DVD, this box set makes no sense at all. "A Hard Day's Night" would be the only reason to buy it, and it's missing. Surely it will be available again, as will "Let It Be" I hope, so I will wait till they assemble ALL the Beatles movies before buying a set of them.
Rating: Summary: OK, but not great Review: The first movie I watched out of this set was "Help!" and I was very, very impressed with the quality of the digital restoration work that was done on this movie. And "Help!" is the best Beatles movie anyway. Packing "Magical Mystery Tour" along with it strikes me as a questionable choice, especially when we also have a documentary about the making of "A hard day's night" - so why wasn't that movie included? And MMT is clearly the weakest of all the Beatles films. The documentaries are interesting and do have their moments, but some of the editing, the interrupted interview style is a bit irritating. The packaging of the whole set strikes me as a bit cheap and one would have wished for a nicer box and a good set of liner notes - this after all wants to be a collector's set! Having been a Beatles fan for a while I am getting a bit tired of the medium-quality repackaging of previously released material. More quality, less quantity, please!
Rating: Summary: A couple of good documentaries. Review: The two documentaries,one about the Beatles first US visit and one about the making of A Hard Days Night turned out to be more interesting than the disappointing Magical Mystery Tour movie and equally poor "Help" movie. Hopefully one day the actual movie "A Hard Days Night" will be released along with the Anthology DVD and others.AHDN was withdrawn from DVD for some absurd reason,apparently to do with the movies cinema re-release a few years back,and the powers that be have not put it back into DVD release. It is absurd that so little Beatles product is available. Despite the Anthology DVD set being promised in 2001,that did not happen and we are still waiting. There is no "A Hard Days Night" DVD,no "Compleat Beatles" DVD,none of the Beatles UK TV performances on "Go" which is available on video,and what happened to Paul McCartney's eccellent 1993 world tour movie which was available on computer disc in 1998 but not on DVD? The Beatles company handling DVD releases is doing a very poor job.
Rating: Summary: A must see for all Beatle fans Review: To some, Hard Day's Night would be considered boring due the fact it's in black and white. But I feel that's what makes the film more enjoyable. John, Paul, George and Ringo are very natural in their acting. They look like they are really having a good time.
Rating: Summary: The Best Available DVD offering of the Beatles Review: Until A Hard Day's Night and Anthology are released in DVD, this, along with the remastered Yellow Submarine DVD, is basically it. You can save money by buying the packaged product. The First US Visit is like traveling in a time machine. Note how George is the only one who looks into the camera and mugs for it on the Sullivan Show debut. As far as I can tell, all the Sullivan appearances are on here.Help! is essential for the true Beatles fan & collector. Making of AHDN is loads of fun, as well. A nice preview for the upcoming release of that cinematic classic this fall. Yes, Mystery Tour is tough to watch, though the Walrus Video established an MTV type years later. Love to have Let It Be out on DVD, as well, but no signs of that just yet.
Rating: Summary: The Best Available DVD offering of the Beatles Review: Until A Hard Day's Night and Anthology are released in DVD, this, along with the remastered Yellow Submarine DVD, is basically it. You can save money by buying the packaged product. The First US Visit is like traveling in a time machine. Note how George is the only one who looks into the camera and mugs for it on the Sullivan Show debut. As far as I can tell, all the Sullivan appearances are on here. Help! is essential for the true Beatles fan & collector. Making of AHDN is loads of fun, as well. A nice preview for the upcoming release of that cinematic classic this fall. Yes, Mystery Tour is tough to watch, though the Walrus Video established an MTV type years later. Love to have Let It Be out on DVD, as well, but no signs of that just yet.
Rating: Summary: Help, indeed! Spare us this lame marketing ploy. Review: With the "A Hard Day's Night" DVD currently out of print, Bealtes fans have had to make due with the DVDs presented in this dubious "Collector's Set." All are available separately, so save you dollars! As much as I love the group, I see little reason to own "Magical Mystery Tour" on DVD. The "documentary" of the making of AHDN isn't bad, but my VHS copy will suffice. Which leaves "Help!" and "...Their First US Visit." Personally, I'm holding out for the deluxe editions of the feature films. Hello Criterion? You did a nice laser disc of AHDN, where's the DVD? And how about a proper "making of" documentary, with more Lester and less Phil Collins? "Help!" is a great film, but would also benefit from similar additional first-hand recollections. Which leaves "The Beatles: Their First US Visit." Of this foursome (pending the arrival of an expanded "Help!" DVD), this is the only true must-have disc: a cinema verite look at Beatlemania from the boys' perspectives (...a car, a room, a car, a room...), beautifully observed by the Maysles brothers in 1964. The Ed Sullivan show bits are wonderful, but my favorite moment is John noodling on the melodica, playing what you'll recognize as the intro to "Strawberry Fields Forever." This documentary is a rare, amazing glimpse into a world we'll never see again. I'm saving my money for the Anthology DVDs slated for late 2000/early 2001.
Rating: Summary: Help, indeed! Spare us this lame marketing ploy. Review: With the "A Hard Day's Night" DVD currently out of print, Bealtes fans have had to make due with the DVDs presented in this dubious "Collector's Set." All are available separately, so save you dollars! As much as I love the group, I see little reason to own "Magical Mystery Tour" on DVD. The "documentary" of the making of AHDN isn't bad, but my VHS copy will suffice. Which leaves "Help!" and "...Their First US Visit." Personally, I'm holding out for the deluxe editions of the feature films. Hello Criterion? You did a nice laser disc of AHDN, where's the DVD? And how about a proper "making of" documentary, with more Lester and less Phil Collins? "Help!" is a great film, but would also benefit from similar additional first-hand recollections. Which leaves "The Beatles: Their First US Visit." Of this foursome (pending the arrival of an expanded "Help!" DVD), this is the only true must-have disc: a cinema verite look at Beatlemania from the boys' perspectives (...a car, a room, a car, a room...), beautifully observed by the Maysles brothers in 1964. The Ed Sullivan show bits are wonderful, but my favorite moment is John noodling on the melodica, playing what you'll recognize as the intro to "Strawberry Fields Forever." This documentary is a rare, amazing glimpse into a world we'll never see again. I'm saving my money for the Anthology DVDs slated for late 2000/early 2001.
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