The Beatles' Yellow Submarine Resurfaces On DVD in May
3/20/2012
by Todd Gilchrist


Almost 45 years after it debuted in theaters, the animated Beatles movie Yellow Submarine is set for re-release on DVD.

Following a clean-up of each frame of the film by hand – required because of the delicacy of the hand-drawn artwork – Yellow Submarine will be released May 28 alongside a reissue of the film’s soundtrack.





Home media distribution of Yellow Submarine has been mired in legal problems for decades, resulting in very few iterations available on VHS and DVD.

MGM re-released the film on DVD in 1999, complete with an extensive digital stereo remix of the soundtrack, but that version is now out of print. Although the picture quality of that edition was digitally remastered, the upcoming release marks the first frame-by-frame restoration ever mounted for the film.

No information is currently available about the accompanying soundtrack, but the '99 DVD featured the stereo remix version as well as a music-only track.





Pixar studios chief John Lasseter told the Associated Press that the film was hugely influential on his work.

"As a fan of animation and as a film-maker, I tip my hat to the artists of 'Yellow Submarine'," Lasseter said. "Their revolutionary work helped pave the way for the fantastically diverse world of animation that we all enjoy today."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/beatles-yellow-submarine-dvd-apple-records-302265

I have the original DVD release, the picture is excellent...unless the new release was full of extra goodies not available first time around I doubt I'll double-dip.

I wonder if they'll fix the audio. One major problem with the DVD was when they included the original 1968 mono mix, they, for some reason, had it switch to stereo at one point in the film, and back again.

I have the original DVD release, the picture is excellent...unless the new release was full of extra goodies not available first time around I doubt I'll double-dip.
The 1999 DVD was remastered, but not nearly as extensively as this one will be. The 2012 Blu-ray/DVD release has been given a frame-by-frame HD restoration.

Also, the 1999 DVD, while letterboxed widescreen, wasn't anamorphic, meaning the picture will not fit your widescreen TV. It would look something like this, with "black bars" on all four sides of the image:

http://homepage.mac.com/dtrull/pix/nonanamorphic.jpg

I wonder if they'll fix the audio. One major problem with the DVD was when they included the original 1968 mono mix, they, for some reason, had it switch to stereo at one point in the film, and back again.
I'm sure that they're restoring all audio tracks, which would probably fix all the anomalies of the 1999 DVD in the process. It would be a shame not to do an audio restoration for Blu-ray, which is capable of lossless. I would also think the audio for the DVD would be due for a good remastering after 13 years.

Here's the cover of the new Blu-ray/DVD, which mashes up the artwork from the 1969 Yellow Submarine album with the cover of the 1999 Yellow Submarine DVD:

http://www.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_full_width_scaled/hash/1332250299_hirescover.jpg