Yellow Submarine's
Second Strange Odyssey To The Screen
by Karl Cohen
 |
|
Designer Heinz
Edelmann provided Yellow Submarine with a unique look.
All images distributed by and © MGM Home Entertainment,
Inc.
|
Most
animation and Beatles fans know Yellow Submarine (1968) is
a great film, but it took 17 years to get MGM to revive this classic
in theaters and 12 years to bring it back to video stores. The restored
"director's cut" will premiere in 10 to 20 cities starting
with Boston (Brattle) and Seattle (Egyptian) on September 1. Finally
a new generation will have a chance to see one of the most influential
animated films of all-time on a big screen.
The July, 1998 issue of Animation World Magazine ran "The
Beatles' Yellow Submarine
Turns 30: John Coates And Norman Kauffman Look Back" on the
making of the film, and "The
Creators of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine: Where Are They Now?"
which focuses on the people behind the scenes. When the film was initially
released there was hardly any press coverage about the people who
actually made the film, and nothing was said about the nightmarish
story behind the making of this classic. The media continues to publish
many errors about the production including false statements that the
Beatles did the dialog tracks for their animated characters in the
film. This incorrect information can even be found in a well known
Internet movie site. The Animation World article sets the record
straight and includes interviews with John Coates, the film's forgotten
producer, and Norman Kauffman. This new update covers the unusual
circumstances that led to the film's re-emergence on the silver screen.
Drumming Up Support
The original article, "The Beatles' Yellow Submarine
Turns 30," ended with my seeing the film again in Israel
in 1997 and meeting the film's producer. On my return to San Francisco
I told Gary Meyer, a film executive who once booked films for the
UC Theater in Berkeley and the Landmark chain, that somebody should
show the director's cut in 1998, the film's 30th anniversary. Meyer
called MGM distribution and was told nobody else had expressed interest
in seeing it again in theaters. They had no interest in having it
shown again. Meyer talked with other people who book films and was
told that when they had tried to rent it they were told the same story.
Last year there was talk of a video release of the film in 1999. Although
plans for the video release went forward, there was still reluctance
to release the film on film. Meyer was told an MGM video division
executive thought theatrical release of the film would hurt home video
sales.
Meyer talked to Roger Ebert, Leonard Maltin and other critics who
said they would give the re-release excellent coverage. There was
even a possible booking for it at Radio City Music Hall in New York
City if MGM wanted to give it to them. Despite Meyer's efforts, it
seems MGM didn't believe there was a solid market in theaters for
this classic.
 |
Anita Monga, who books films for the Castro
theater in San Francisco, had also been trying for many months to
book the film. She had called and written MGM several times and her
requests were always turned down despite the theater's exceptional
reputation for premiering restored classics. Meyer got word there
was a staff change at MGM and suggested to Monga to try again.
The big break came when an executive from Universal, Bruce Markoe,
joined the MGM distribution staff. He had worked on the successful
release of the restored "director's cut" of Touch of
Evil, so Markov championed the re-release of Yellow Submarine
and having it restored on film before it was going to be transferred
to video. Soon, the Castro got a call inviting them to book the film.
At first Monga believed the Castro was going to be the only theater
to show the restored film. News of her 13 day booking spread to other
cities. MGM now plans to screen the film in 10 - 20 cities starting
in September. All theaters will be equipped with the new DTS stereo
systems. MGM publicity suggests both the restored picture and new
stereo soundtrack are exceptional. There are hints that film prints
will be available next year for 1 and 2 day runs at othertheaters.
|
