Two Mini DVD Reviews - Yellow Submarine & King of Bluegrass

Hmm, well, I finally got around to watching two music DVDs I'd gotten from Netflix ages ago but had been ignoring. After watching them I guess I realize why I was ignoring them. Both are okay, but only okay... at best.

1) Yellow Submarine by the Beatles -- Man... I remember loving this as a kid... like when I was in first grade, I think... and whew... was that a long time ago. Strangely enough, the stuff I loved in first grade, like say the Dukes of Hazzard, the Misfits of Science, and um, Yellow Submarine really just don't play the same way as an adult. Don't get me wrong, the Blue Meanies are a serious part of anyone's cultural vocabulary. However, this movie was out and out weird. It was just barely on this side of sucking. Pretty close.

It's a very rough cartoon full of odd to grotesque to downright frightening mental images straight out of a bad acid trip. The Beatle's "acting" is barely there. Their accents and the voice sound production are so bad I couldn't understand half of what they were saying anyway. Although, I must admit, Ringo's classic line -- "I've got a hole in my pocket!" -- still made me laugh even almost 25 years later.

All in all, I'm not sure if kids would like it. I think they'd dig the music, but the video and sound production are so out of date -- and some of the "monsters" so odd and disturbing, I'm not sure I'd show this to little kids. Images of birds with smokestacks for heads, a sea of heads that mumble and are open showing "ideas," and the monster that sucks up the world might be too much for little kids, and it might just be too little for older kids. Sadly, I think this movie has outlived its nostalgia potential.

However, this DVD did reunite me with a long-lost favorite Beatles song -- All Together Now! This song will be purchased in some way, shape, or form by me, and at some point before I have kids I'm going to learn it. It's definitely a fun song. "One, two, three, four -- can I have a little more? Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten -- I love you!" I can see lots of fun with kids on this one. "Steer the boat! Chop the wood!" And of course what inner child can resist the heady fun of the namesake song, Yellow Submarine? It's good stuff.

2) King of Bluegrass about Jimmy Martin. It's a short DVD, only an hour, and it's full of Jimmy's swagger and bluster, and more than anything his amazing voice. I like Jimmy Martin a lot, and I think he had a big impact on Bluegrass. However, even after his death this video just seemed to highlight his insecurities and orneriness. Bless his heart, at least they let him into the Grand Ole Opry before he died. This DVD almost seems like two contradictory themes in one -- 1) a plea to the Grand Ole Opry to let Jimmy in as a member, and 2) a big 'fuck you" to the Opry for not including him already. In short, it's very reminiscent of Jimmy Martin's personality and life -- in dire need of people's attention, but quick to dismiss them if they didn't show that attention. Oh, and somewhere in the film they find time to give the story of his life and play some damn fine music. All in all, it's worth a rental, if only to see Jimmy shoot some squirrels and coons.

So, I can't really recommend either of these. However, if you're a serious Beatles or Bluegrass fan, you'll probably have already seen them.