News and Media

Published: May 15, 2012

SAVANNAH, Georgia - The Beatles' classic 1968 animated feature film "Yellow Submarine," now digitally restored to re-capture the film's Pop Art magic, will be screened at Trustees Theater as part of the SCAD Cinema Circle at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 24. The screening will be followed by a brief discussion and Q-and-A session on the history and cultural impact of the film.

This event is free and open to the public.

The film is being released on DVD and Blu-ray June 5 in North America. The film's song track album will be reissued on CD on the same date.

Carefully restored

Currently out of print, the film has been restored in 4K digital resolution for the first time by Paul Rutan Jr. and his team of specialists at Triage Motion Picture Services and Eque Inc. Due to the delicate nature of the hand-drawn original artwork, no automated software was used in the digital clean-up of the film's restored photochemical elements. All work was done by hand, frame by frame.

Bonus features for the "Yellow Submarine" DVD and Blu-ray include a short making-of documentary titled "Mod Odyssey," the film's original theatrical trailer, audio commentary by producer John Coates and art director Heinz Edelmann, several brief interview clips with others involved with the film, storyboard sequences, 29 original pencil drawings, and 30 behind-the-scenes photos.

Both Digipak packages will include reproductions of animation cels from the film, collectible stickers, and a 16-page booklet with a new essay by "Yellow Submarine" aficionado John Lasseter (chief creative officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios).

Directed by George Dunning and written by Lee Minoff, Al Brodax, Jack Mendelsohn and Erich Segal, "Yellow Submarine" began its voyage to the screen when Brodax, who had previously produced nearly 40 episodes of ABC's animated Beatles TV series, approached The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein with a unique vision for a full-length animated feature.

A fantastic tale

"Yellow Submarine," based on a song by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, is a fantastic tale brimming with peace, love and hope, propelled by Beatles songs, including "Eleanor Rigby," "When I'm Sixty-Four," "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "All You Need Is Love," and "It's All Too Much."

When the film debuted in 1968, it was instantly recognized as a landmark achievement, revolutionizing a genre by integrating the freestyle approach of the era with innovative animation techniques.

Inspired by the generation's new trends in art, the film resides with the dazzling Pop Art styles of Andy Warhol, Martin Sharp, Alan Aldridge and Peter Blake. With art direction and production design by Heinz Edelmann, "Yellow Submarine" is a classic of animated cinema, featuring the creative work of animation directors Robert Balser and Jack Stokes with a team of animators and technical artists.

SCAD Cinema

The mission of the SCAD Cinema Circle is to provide film lovers and students with an enriched viewing experience of first-class, award-winning and cutting-edge films from around the world. All screenings are hosted by SCAD's cinema studies department.

SCAD: The University for Creative Careers

The Savannah College of Art and Design is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution conferring bachelor's and master's degrees at distinctive locations and online to prepare talented students for professional careers. SCAD offers degrees in more than 40 majors.