Somehow a print of this film was obtained by a cinema in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, about 1970 or so, just three years after it had been shown on British television. I eagerly went to a midnight showing of it, as "Magical Mystery Tour" had never received a general release in theaters across America or on television. There we were, a sophisticated audience of international university students, laughing hysterically and some were even falling into the aisles unable to get up from the floor. Of course, some of the audience were stoned. I was completely sober, and found the audience reaction to be the funniest thing about the movie. It seemed as if everyone realized The Beatles were deliberately trashing their own circa-1964 wholesome image while making fun of traditional concepts of entertainment. For example, the "Your Mother Should Know" number is a satire of Hollywood musicals and dancing girls. The sillier this movie got, and the poorer the editing and sound quality became, the more the audience roared with laughter. They knew it was complete trash, but the feeling seemed to be that it was honest trash at the same time. The Beatles had always been known for speaking their minds, whether it was discussing Jesus Christ and rock music or complaining about U.S. foreign policy in Vietnam. So young people tended to respect their honesty and odd sense of humor. The movie was like an early version of the Monty Python comedy show ..... utter nonsense, but fun and zany nonetheless. I actually liked the songs in it, even though there was no rhyme or reason for them to be placed where they had been inserted into the picture. It is easy to see why it was misunderstood and panned when shown on British TV during the Christmas holiday season .... it was clearly not what was expected at the time by the general public.
Review of Magical Mystery Tour
