Yellow Submarine (And a Special Top-100 List)

yellow submarine

1. a kiddie song by the Beatles. Ever heard of them?

2. a cool animated cult classic movie based on the hit Beatles song. It's a funky mind-expanding trip. Show this at your party for a wild psychedelic ride.

3. a marijuana joint. A reefer.

Every color imaginable is present in this animated film, one truly unlike any other. This is Yellow Submarine, the 1968 movie based on the Beatles' 1966 song featured on their album Revolver, and it's how many children are introduced to the Fab Four. Aside from how much joy children take from watching animation, maybe this was the compromise made back in the day by strict parents, many of whom had strong opinions about these four blasphemous musicians all those years ago. "Let the kids listen to 'Why Don't We Do It in the Road,' or let them watch a cartoon?" The Beatles' drug use during this period has been well documented, and while as far as I can tell this isn't really a "drug movie," per se, one cannot help but notice how trippy it is. And if a "yellow submarine" is indeed slang for a marijuana joint, then that's good enough for me. Drugs or not, it's all good fun.

The introductory scene of the movie is a happy one, in a land beneath the sea where it lay ("or lie, I'm not too sure," the narrator tells us). Here, in Pepperland, men, women, and children dance to wonderful orchestral music by Beatles producer George Martin. But not every creature in this universe likes music. There are blue fiends (called Meanies) who so hate music that they attack the inhabitants of Pepperland by destroying all music and dropping apples on everyone's heads, rendering them stuck in stone. Most horrifying of all, probably, is the giant flying glove that the vicious Chief Blue Meanie (voiced by Paul Angelis, who also voices Ringo and George) takes particular delight in seeing destroy the village. This glove, with its blue hue, menacing eyes, and thirst for carnage, rivals the horror of the giant whale in Pinocchio.

However, there is one inhabitant who manages to avoid the green apples and run away from the giant glove. This is Old Fred (voiced by Lance Percival, who also voiced Paul and Ringo in the cartoon show The Beatles), and Chief Blue Meanie's fury at his escape is only matched by his maniacal laugh at the thought of destroying him. Old Fred hops in a yellow submarine and escapes. From here, the story gets a bit muddled. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band has been criticized for supposedly being the first concept album and yet not really following any concept. Yellow Submarine, as a film, sometimes suffers from the same problem. There's a ten-minute burst of energy and then the yellow submarine escapes to London (I think), and the next song is "Eleanor Rigby," the one about all the lonely people. Why? No reason.

Here in London (I think), Old Fred escapes and finds Ringo, who sulks that "nothing ever happens" to him. A yellow submarine bumping into him surely is something, though. Here, the movie embraces its meta moments. "Won't you please, please help me?" Old Fred begs. "Be specific," Ringo replies, almost sardonically. We meet the other three, none of whom, disappointingly, are voiced by the Beatles. This is probably the biggest fault I found with the film, but when you're the world's biggest rock and pop group (and you're relatively close to breaking up), there's only so much time.

A word on George and Ringo. The two, who probably remained the closest of the four after the not-so-amicable split, were being interviewed in the late 80s around the time of George's exceptional album Cloud Nine, which features Ringo, was released. The interviewer asked the two if there were groups or types of people that were attracted to each of the four. According to Ringo, he got the mothers and the children; Paul got the tweenies; John got the academic, intellectual types; and George got the mystics. Conan O'Brien once asked Ringo why children love him so much. His answer was succinct and immediate: "I'm lovable." As for the mystics, that rings true in this film, as George's first appearance is a mysterious one and of course features the sitar. (For the record, there's nothing "intellectual" about John's appearance here, though like the animated Beatles TV series but not in real life, he's sort of the de facto leader, and there's nothing in Yellow Submarine that really would suggest tweenies being glued to Paul.)

The interior of the submarine is remarkably elaborate and just as unrealistic and fantastical as anything in Pepperland. Gadgets and gizmos abound. One way or another, though, they're on their way, as we get to see gorgeous fish and hear the four sing "All Together Now." There are a number of their greatest hits included in the film, chiefly "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "Nowhere Man," "All You Need Is Love," "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," and "When I'm 64," which are mixed with songs heard for the first time like "Hey Bulldog," "It's All Too Much," and "All Together Now," all of which are a joy to hear. "Only a Northern Song," a Harrison creation, features the most innovative animation, though the song itself is one of the more forgettable. Amidst all this, the characters in their submarine see another ship just like theirs, right before they suddenly turn old, white hair spreading furiously without warning. Just when things can't get any trippier, a furry, fluffy, Jar Jar Binks-esque character shows up named Jeremy Hillary Boob, a rhyming physicist, biologist, and dentist, among other things. "A boob for all seasons," George says.

Suffice it to say, this is probably the closest I will ever know what it's like dropping acid.

This movie may not have as long-lasting a legacy as the Beatles' music itself, but that's mainly a comment on how high the bar is in relation to their music. Yellow Submarine is largely credited with helping to make animation be perceived as a serious art form. Beyond that, there are obvious influences as far as Terry Gilliam's work with Monty Python and the French animated film Fantastic Planet. And there's little doubt that most children, even these days, would be mesmerized by the animation, especially during sequences like "Nowhere Man" or the dizzy Sea of Holes, a scene unlike anything ever produced in pictures. Some adults, though, might be overwhelmed or possibly disinterested (or might suffer from a headache). Still, what a wonderful way to introduce young children to the Beatles, especially the last few moments of the movie.




In honor of the upcoming Ringo Starr album, here is a list of the Beatles' best songs in their post-Beatles careers. (For my list of the greatest Beatles songs, click here.)

100. King of Broken Hearts (Ringo)
99. Marwa Blues (George)
98. Junior's Farm (Paul)
97. Cleanup Time (John)
96. The No No Song (Ringo)
95. We're On the Road Again (Ringo)
94. Weight of the World (Ringo)
93. Oh My My (Ringo)
92. Whatever Gets You Thru the Night (John)
91. Apple Scruffs (George)
90. Hi, Hi, Hi (Paul)
89. Helen Wheels (Paul)
88. Deliver Your Children (Paul)
87. Shanghai Surprise (George)
86. Sue Me, Sue You Blues (George)
85. Beaucoups of Blue (Ringo)
84. (It's All Da Da Down To) Goodnight Vienna (Ringo)
83. Dream Away (George)
82. Woman (John)
81. The Back Seat of My Car (Paul)
80. Sunshine Life for Me (Ringo)
79. Wanderlust (Paul)
78. Easy For Me (Ringo)
77. I'd Have You Anytime (George)
76. That's What It Takes (George)
75. Mrs. Vanderbilt (Paul)
74. When We Was Fab (George)
73. No More Lonely Nights (Paul)
72. Got My Mind Set On Your (George)
71. Working Class Hero (John)
70. Bangladesh (George)
69. Coming Up (Paul)
68. Listen To What the Man Said (Paul)
67. Jet (Paul)
66. That's the Way It Goes (George)
65. You (George)
64. End of the Line (George)
63. Every Night (Paul)
62. Who Can See It (George)
61. Try Some Buy Some (George)
60. Beautiful Night (Paul)
59. Stand by Me (John)
58. Back Off Boogaloo (Ringo)
57. Let Em In (Paul)
56. Living in the Material World (George)
55. Early 1970 (Ringo)
54. Oh Woman Oh Why (Paul)
53. Hold On (John)
52. Smile Away (Paul)
51. With a Little Luck (Paul)
50. Cloud Nine (George)
49. Beware of Darkness (George)
48. All Those Years Ago (George)
47. Eat at Home (Paul)
46. How? (John)
45. Let Me Roll It (Paul)
44. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five (Paul)
43. Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll) (George)
42. Monkberry Moon Delight (Paul)
41. The Devil's Radio (George)
40. Ding Dong Ding Dong (George)
39. Mull of Kintyre (Paul)
38. Instant Karma (John)
37. Crippled Inside (John)
36. Walk With You (Ringo)
35. My Valentine (Paul)
34. Oh My Love (John)
33. Love (John)
32. Only You (And You Alone) (Ringo)
31. Live and Let Die (Paul)
30. All Things Must Pass (George)
29. If Not For You (George)
28. Behind That Locked Door (George)
27. I'm the Greatest (Ringo)
26. Handle With Care (George)
25. I Dig Love (George)
24. (Just Like) Starting Over (John)
23. Mother (John)
22. Too Many People (Paul)
21. #9 Dream (John)
20. Cheer Down (George)
19. Awaiting On You All (George)
18. You're Sixteen (Ringo)
17. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace) (George)
16. Watching the Wheels Go Round (John)
15. Jealous Guy (John)
14. Mind Games (John)
13. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey (Paul)
12. Beautiful Boy (John)
11. Band On the Run (Paul)
10. Maybe I'm Amazed (Paul)
9. Isn't It a Pity (George)
8. It Don't Come Easy (Ringo)
7. Give Peace a Chance (John)
6. Wah-Wah (George)
5. Photograph (Ringo)
4. What Is Life (George)
3. Happy X-Mas (War Is Over) (John)
2. My Sweet Lord (George)
1. Imagine (John)

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Let It Be

Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, who today are the two remaining Beatles, dash to a piano and have some fun with it. Even with his beard and long hair, Paul is still the "cute one" (though no one would imply that the other three were ever ugly). They're eventually joined by George Harrison and John Lennon to sing "Don't Let Me Down," before "Maxwell Silver's Hammer." George is still the quiet one; in five minutes, he's hardly uttered anything. Paul seems a bit bossy, which he reportedly had a reputation for being. They all sing a silly version of "Two Of Us" before "I've Got a Feeling," two of their least appreciated songs. This iconic documentary is "Let It Be," which presents for audiences the Beatles recording their album of the same name, and yet it seems to have been forever remembered as the film documenting the breakup of the most iconic, influential, and excellent group of musical individuals in practically all of human history.

But the center of "Let It Be" seems to be focused on Paul. He calls Ringo "Rich" (the latter's real name, as in Richard Starkey) as they have a ball at the piano, sings with John, and annoys George to the point that during their slightly heated argument, George tells him, "I'll play, you know, whatever you want me to play, or I won't play at all if you don't want me to play. Whatever it is that will please you, I'll do it." He's frustrated, and it's more than clear that he's had it with being "pushed around" like a kid brother from his band mate.

It's almost sadistic of me to say so, but I really preferred to see more scenes like this. The back part of my conscious was yearning for something akin to the hysterical fight between the four in India in the film "Dewey Cox: Rock Hard," when Lennon (Paul Rudd) wonders if McCartney's (Jack Black) songs will "still be shit when I'm 64," before telling Ringo (Jason Schwartzman) that he should just feel lucky that they still let him play with his drums. Ringo smiles and says he just likes having fun, then waves his ever-present peace sign, barely opening his eyes. "Beatles," they are told, "stop fighting in India!" But for the most part, in "Let It Be," the four of them appear surprisingly cordial, which is intriguing especially considering all the tension behind the scenes. What's remarkable is that they stayed together for so long; George did, after all, have an affair with Ringo's wife. "No woman was out of bounds," George's ex-wife Pattie Boyd has said. And yet, here George is giving Ringo some tips on "Octopus's Garden," though he's cheekily grinning; perhaps he's teasing Ringo, or something. Everyone knows that despite their divisions, they all collaborated with each other in some form or another post-breakup, and my favorite consortium is an usual choice: "Photograph," which Ringo and George wrote for Ringo's album "Ringo." As Ringo pointed out at the "Concert for George" event Eric Clapton and Jeff Lynne organized in 2002, the song's lyrics, originally about a hopeless lost love, can also be applied to the death of a loved one. And this is a song he co-wrote with someone who had an affair with his wife.

The documentary won Best Original Song ("Let It Be"), but none of the four were present at the Oscars that year to receive the award. It's a shame we never saw them all together -- the closest was during the making of the "Anthology" documentary in the '90s. There are certainly highlights in "Let It Be," among them "Two of Us" and, of course, the rooftop concert. The director, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, caught some almost surreal-looking scenes, such as a closeup profile of Lennon's lips as he sings, and an almost mesmerizing dance with Yoko. Speaking of, she appears, some might say, in an icy state, and fans probably are still under the impression that she broke up the band and will forever remain a terrible person. If you still think she did breakup the band, consider that McCartney has claimed that this isn't true, and if you think she's the real wicked one, consider that she and Lennon once received a letter from McCartney where he called her Lennon's "Jap tart."

Despite this being an essential for rock fans, and definitely Beatles fans, it's a letdown nonetheless. The music is great. The documentary, not so much.

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Bottoms

Every once and a while there comes along a film that totally makes you speechless. And if it's about walking buttocks, than perhaps this is one of them.

In 1966, Yoko Ono released a five-and-a-half minute video consisting exclusively of nude bottoms; according to IMDb, she meant this to be a dialogue for world peace. She made it with her then-husband Anthony Cox, and according to the credits their daughter Kyoto Ono Cox is involved, which would mean she was about three at the time. To Yoko Ono the film is referred to as "No. 4." Since its release, however, it has been known simply as "Bottoms." It was a time of experimental and minimalism movie making--the period of Andy Warhol and George Landow. Ono and husband John Lennon would direct "Fly," a forty-five minute following of a fly crawling on a woman's body.

I have never had more difficulty in writing a review than attempting to do so for a five-and-a-half minute film about naked asses.  There's no acting (is there?).  Nothing really to mention about the cinematography.  No screenplay.  I presume the direction consisted of Ono telling her nude performers to shift their cheeks and such.  I admire the advocacy of peace and dialogue; I'm not sure how naked rear-ends achieves those goals.

I don't know much about Yoko Ono but I've never bought the myth that she ruined the Beatles (and he can confirm it for me).  If you've seen Martin Scorsese's new documentary on George Harrison, many of the interviewers, including Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, argue that Harrison felt that the Beatles were keeping him down, and that his motivation to write his own music, along with the general tiring the group members had of each other, contributed more to the band's breakup than anything Ono did.  I don't know enough about her art to say if she has made any lasting impact; at least I have seen "No. 4."

According to a writer on IMDb who remembers seeing the premiere decades ago, a UK critic wrote that "Bottoms" was only temporarily relieved by the occasional glimpse of scrotum.    

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The Strangest Movies of the 1970s

El Topo
Alejandro Jodorowsky's Western features a man in black accompanied by a naked child throughout the desert against little people and maimed people and naked women with a background of religious symbolism and drug-induced cinematography. This film, recently released on DVD and once a feature of midnight cinemas, is a better film than his follow-up, the even more psychadelic "Holy Mountain," and has its share of famous fans, from John Lennon to David Lynch. The element of absurdism is admirable and it's not an intolerable film; it's certainly an interesting step further to the left of Serigo Leone's Westerns, and it sure would make John Wayne furious. Still, this is one odd movie.


Arabian Nights
Famed Italian Pier Paolo Pasolini spent over two years in various different countries filming this silly wonder. The third part of his "life trilogy," (the other parts are a more watchable "The Decameron" and "The Cantebury Tales"), there is a nude character--full frontal, guys and gals--about every five minutes or so, and they're usually giggling, rarely acting, and often poorly-dubbed (even in its original Italian). Still, Pasolini somehow managed to get these naked actors to feel comfortable, and it properly prepared him for his next film and his actual masterpiece "Salo: 120 Days of Sodom." Beyond that, "Arabian Nights" is a chaotic, seemingly hastily-made movie that jumps from scene-to-scene with little thought. For further reading/viewing, read here, here and here, and view here (not work appropriate).


Black Samurai
Kierkegaard's "Fear and Tremblin" tells us that absurdism does not necessarily mean what is logically impossible but what is humanly impossible. "Black Samurai" is both. From 1977 (the year of "Star Wars" and "Annie Hall") this was blaxoitation gone far, far wrong. Jim Kelly from "Enter the Dragon" is a badass agent out to get a whiteass bad guy (who simultaenously plays with snakes and worships pagean gods). And Kelly has a pretty cool rocket pack.


There are others, like "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy" and "Harold and Maude" which are all absurd in a good way. They are also more widely known and therefore not as relevant for a discussion here. I can't necessarily say if these first three films are recommendable or not. Pasolini was a gifted man and his "Salo" is a haunting film worth the watch for brave viewers; "Arabian Nights" was not. Jodorowosky is an acquired taste and not for everyone. "Black Samurai" might rank as an it's-so-bad-it's-good film. Regardless, they are three of the oddest movies I have ever seen.

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