The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour [VHS]
This 1968 oddity is probably a film only a total Beatlemaniac could  love, but it carries both musical and historical resonance. It also gives  intimations of what would happen in the next 30 years as artists gained more and  more power over how they were presented. The roots of virtually any rock star's  vanity project (including Prince'sUnder the Cherry Moon) can be traced  to this little Liverpudlian home movie. Fresh from the success of their filmsA Hard Day's NightandHelp!, and still under the influence of the  intoxicants of the era, the Beatles set out to make their own fancifully  psychedelic project. What they got out of it was, essentially, aknock-off albumwith a few good  songs and a lot of filler, which is more than can be said for this alternately  self-indulgent and mildly amusing British version of Ken Kesey's magic bus tour.  Using some of their favorite actors (including Victor Spinetti, who was in their  first two movies), the Beatles make an alternative British travelogue, stopping  occasionally to sing songs like "I Am the Walrus" and "The Fool on the Hill."  Strictly for completists.--Marshall Fine