The Beatles: Yellow Submarine [Blu-ray]

VIDEO:

Yellow Submarine arrives at blu ray with MPEG-4 AVC 1080p 1.66:1 encode on a single BD-50 disc. To quote from the End Credits: "Due to the delicate nature of this hand drawn artwork, no automated software was used in the digital clean up of the restored photochemical elements used for scanning. All digital clean up was done by hand, frame by frame." This release is also culled from a 4K scan and the results are simply spectacular. Primary colours are unbelievably bold and vibrant. Line detail is exceptionally strong. The overall appearance of Yellow Submarine is amazingly sharp and precise. This proves an animated film doesn't have to be created in a purely digital environment to end up looking nearly picture perfect on Blu-ray. (4.5/5)

AUDIO:

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in Yellow Submarine is simply out of this world. The audio is stupendously effective, with brilliant clarity and excellent fidelity. Being a lover of Beatles' music, it is very gratifying to hear clean, crisp Beatles music in lossless surround. The low end is especially impressive. The surround channels are used consistently not just for the music elements but for the panoply of wild sound effects that fill up the soundtrack, but their use is incredibly effective in the music elements, especially in moments like the phased and chorused vocals in the verses of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". A purely enjoyable Beatles soundtrack in 5.1. (5/5)

PACKAGING:

The packaging consists of slipcover in original pressing DigiPak. The accompanying booklet is well written, with Introduction by John Lasseter. The various aspects of how Yellow Submarine is brought to high definition are detailed. It forms very interesting reading. There are also four transparent telecine cards of the Beatles (priceless), plus other colour symbols cut-out labels.

FINAL THOUGHT:

Being a Beatles fan, collecting all their albums, this Yellow Submarine (blu ray) is indeed a great addition to my library. The fantastic lossless 5.1 audio is worth the price of admission. The above set is very highly recommended.

I pre-ordered Yellow Submarine (blu ray) at $17.99, when it was first announced on March 24, 2012. At one point, the price went up to $22.99, and now it has settled at $19.99. So, my tip for getting the cheapest price of an item from Amazon.ca is to pre-order at the EARLIEST time. In most cases, this price is the cheapest. But you have to know what you want, and scan often to know when it is going to be released. Good luck with your shopping!

I hope the above review and tip are helpful to you.

The remastering is beautifully done and the film is more than well worth watching - loved it. Between the music and the visuals - spectacular.

Wow and I say again wow. The improvement to this film compared to the original DVD release is amazing. The picture is bright. There is almost zero grain and the colours are ..well.. Beautiful. The DTS- HD 5.1 soundtrack is full sounding. Not just for a film that came out in Mono but that has come out in any audio format.
The film it's self is a classic up there with the best juke box movies and is an animation classic. I am not going to get into the story but it is based on Beatle songs (not just John and Paul there are some of George's songs as well). This film is great for children and adults. This film is a masterpiece.
My only complants are. 1) you don't get the audio track of just the songs in 5.1 that you got in the original DVD. 2) you don't have the option of watching the North American version of the film that cut out Hey Bulldog. But you can always skip the chapter. But why would you the song is brilliant and works perfect in the film. My third and last complant is the packaging is of very poor quality. Lots of cool stuff but the box it comes in could have been made of better material.
But again the film it's self is great and has never looked or sounded better.