Beatles Laser Discs.....

[Greatest Hits]

This kind of ties in with the 'Help!' laser disc thread but I figured I should just start a new thread.

There have been numerous Beatles laser discs that have yet to appear on DVD (Let It Be) and some that have appeared on DVD in slightly different form.

Is The Beatles Anthology LD set better than the DVD's (picture-wise)?

What are some other Beatles LD's I should seek out (and don't say all of them!)?

[Drifter]

Is The Beatles Anthology LD set better than the DVD's (picture-wise)?

What are some other Beatles LD's I should seek out (and don't say all of them!)?
I personally find the Anthology DVD picture better but I prefer the audio mixes of the Beatles songs on the laserdiscs to the remixes on the DVD.

I still say the laserdisc CLV criterion "HELP!" is much better than the DVD so I recommend that one. I've heard the remastered "Compleat Beatles" laserdisc is supposed to be very good.

[Greatest Hits]

What exactly is 'The Compleat Beatles'? I've heard it's nothing but film clips. True?

[Drifter]

No, it's a two hour documentary on the Beatles with interviews by Gerry Marsden (of Gerry & the Pacemakers), George Martin etc...

Some of it's a bit overdone perhaps, but it's still an enjoyable documentary.

[Michael]

Here's something for ya...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083752/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0 dD1vbnxwbj0wfHE9dGhlIGNvbXBsZWF0IGJlYXRs ZXN8aHRtbD0xfG5tPW9u

[DavidF]

I had Compleat Beatles, but sold it. It was a documentary, narrated by Malcolm McDowell.

There are some on eBay. VHS and DVD too. Didn't know that was on DVD.
http://search.ebay.com/Compleat-Beatles_W0QQsofocusZbsQQsbrftogZ1QQsojsZ 1QQfromZR10QQcatrefZC6QQsotrtypeZ1QQsotr valueZ1QQsadistanceZ200QQsopostalZQ5AIPQ 2FPostalQQsosortpropertyZ1QQcoactionZcom pareQQcopagenumZ1QQcoentrypageZsearch

I have Yellow Submarine, but I put my old Pioneer player away years ago.

[Michael]

I had Compleat Beatles, but sold it. It was a documentary, narrated by Malcolm McDowell.

There are some on eBay. VHS and DVD too. Didn't know that was on DVD.


...the DVD must be a boot? I don't recall hearing any release info.

[Drifter]

Yep a Beatleg...it has never been released on DVD officially.

[reechie]

...the DVD must be a boot? I don't recall hearing any release info.
It's a boot. Apple bought the rights to The Compleat Beatles to keep it off the market, and from competing with Anthology. No official DVD release, and probably never will be.

[Michael]

It's a boot. Apple bought the rights to The Compleat Beatles to keep it off the market, and from competing with Anthology. No official DVD release, and probably never will be.

I heard something to that effect...I still have my original VHS copy...quite enjoyable.

[Rachael Bee]

This kind of ties in with the 'Help!' laser disc thread but I figured I should just start a new thread.

There have been numerous Beatles laser discs that have yet to appear on DVD (Let It Be) and some that have appeared on DVD in slightly different form.

Is The Beatles Anthology LD set better than the DVD's (picture-wise)?

What are some other Beatles LD's I should seek out (and don't say all of them!)?

There's a little 8" LD of the Beatles that I've seen. The guy who had one here locally worked, stille does, in a used media store. Somebody brought it in there. I can't remember if it was songs or interviews or some mix....? I wanted it for collectings sake. I offered him $50 for it but he didn't accept. I haven't ever asked him but I presume he put it on E-bay. He does that...

I remember it was an Analog Sound disc. I can't recall the date. ...seems like it might have been 82-84...? That fits with the Analog Sound heyday. The 8-incher has got to be the rarest Beatles LD, surely? There could be some worthwhile Japanese stuff? I should go look this up and see what the databases say....

[Larry Geller]

There's a little 8" LD of the Beatles that I've seen. The guy who had one here locally worked, stille does, in a used media store. Somebody brought it in there. I can't remember if it was songs or interviews or some mix....? I wanted it for collectings sake. I offered him $50 for it but he didn't accept. I haven't ever asked him but I presume he put it on E-bay. He does that...

I remember it was an Analog Sound disc. I can't recall the date. ...seems like it might have been 82-84...? That fits with the Analog Sound heyday. The 8-incher has got to be the rarest Beatles LD, surely? There could be some worthwhile Japanese stuff? I should go look this up and see what the databases say....I have the 8" (The Beatles Live!). It is The Beatles' performance section from the Around The Beatles special, put out by Dave Clark. I have the Digital Sound reissue of it. I was always under the impression that this was a pretty common release, certainly nowhere NEAR as rare as the Let It Be LD (which I also have). Unless. of course, you are referring to a different 8" that I don't know about.


BTW, the DVD of Anthology is MUCH better than the LD (but I DID keep the LD for the original mix & the large size cover).

[Rachael Bee]

Larry, I'm not sure about much since this was 7 or 8 years ago and I haven't thought about it much since. About the only otrher thing I remember was that it was in B & W. I really doubt it was produced in huge quantity and having the Beatles name on it might make it far more collectable than other 8" LD's produced in similar quantity. It might not be really rarer but the demand must surely be greater.

I didn't know the Let It Be LD was so rare. My focus was on movies mostly but I picked up about 40 music titles along the way. :)

[Larry Geller]

I didn't know the Let It Be LD was so rare. My focus was on movies mostly but I picked up about 40 music titles along the way. :)It's probably the rarest non-promo Beatles release in the digital age. Came out in 1982, along with videotape versions, deleted in around 1984. Never reissued.

[-Ben]

My Beatles Laserdisc collection...

Beatles Live (Pioneer)
A Hard Days Night (CAV Criterion)
Help (CLV Criterion)
Magical Mystery Tour (Apple video)
Yellow Submarine (first full screen MGM version)
Yellow Submarine (letterbox version)
Let It Be (UA)
Anthology Set

A direct comparison between the two Yellow Submarine versions reveals that the letterbox version actually trims the image on the top and bottom but shows more information on the sides.

[Rachael Bee]

Larry, 1982 was a very bad year for LD manufacturing. The edge seal glue problem hadn't been solved yet. Does your's stille play at all well? You're very lucky if it does! A Philips-Magnavox employee involved in LD & CD research once told me not to buy LD's before 1984 because of the edge issue and his advice has proved prudent in my experience. Red laser players will play rotters as best they can be played if it came to that for your disc.

[-Ben]

Larry, 1982 was a very bad year for LD manufacturing. The edge seal glue problem hadn't been solved yet. Does your's stille play at all well? You're very lucky if it does! A Philips-Magnavox employee involved in LD & CD research once told me not to buy LD's before 1984 because of the edge issue and his advice has proved prudent in my experience. Red laser players will play rotters as best they can be played if it came to that for your disc.

I'm not Larry, but two weeks ago I played my Let It Be LD (after someone posted here that theirs was laser-rotted) on a brand new Pioneer LD player I've just got...first movie I played..... Looks as fine as it did in 1985 when I bought it. :thumbsup:

[Larry Geller]

Larry, 1982 was a very bad year for LD manufacturing. The edge seal glue problem hadn't been solved yet. Does your's stille play at all well? You're very lucky if it does! A Philips-Magnavox employee involved in LD & CD research once told me not to buy LD's before 1984 because of the edge issue and his advice has proved prudent in my experience. Red laser players will play rotters as best they can be played if it came to that for your disc.Mine plays fine.

[Ken_McAlinden]

My only knock on the Beatles Anthology DVDs vs. the Laserdiscs is the ugly player generated captions, but that's just nitpicking. The DVDs win hands down.

Regards,

[Drifter]

A direct comparison between the two Yellow Submarine versions reveals that the letterbox version actually trims the image on the top and bottom but shows more information on the sides.
But the "Hey Bulldog" sequence is a misframed mess.

[Rachael Bee]

Ya'all are lucky those Let It Be discs are holding on. The failure rate on LD's from the very early 80's in way high. I'd certainly think over 50%. I have a disc from that period of multiple jazz keyboardist, ONE NIGHT STAND. It's so rotted that on most players it looks like blank video tape. The X9 plays it with almost no colour and noise in the audio. It's dated '82. '82 or before LD's that play at all on non-red laser players are a bonus so to speak. My disc is more typical.

Philips had a bunch of plants here in Tennessee. The last one recently closed. I met a guy at a party who was involved in LD & CD abuse and research, about '85...? They baked 'em, threw 'em, frooze them, sat on them, and so forth. His team, he said were the ones to discover that the original edge glue was oxidizing into the disc interior. Figuring that out was the big U-turn in LD reliability he said. Everything he told me that eve has seemed to be true.

If ya'all's discs falter and you need to recover what's on 'em, call me. My X9 can read 'em and I could put them on other media for ya. Right now I can make DVD's and D-VHS. It's my understanding that LD-S2's have a laser diode that can see through some rot too. I've been told it's not as effective as the X9 though. I've never had an S2. I've come close to snaring one on E-bay a few times... :)

[Drifter]

Ya'all are lucky those Let It Be discs are holding on. The failure rate on LD's from the very early 80's in way high. I'd certainly think over 50%.
I bought a copy of "Let It Be" for big bucks on ebay that was listed as "perfect". It is awful, tons of rot. I got ripped off on that one. Never was able to resolve the sale. :cry:

[-Ben]

But the "Hey Bulldog" sequence is a misframed mess.

That's why I kept both. :agree:

[-Ben]

I bought a copy of "Let It Be" for big bucks on ebay that was listed as "perfect". It is awful, tons of rot. I got ripped off on that one. Never was able to resolve the sale. :cry:

Now I remember...it was your post that made me check my Let It Be disc.
I know I bought mine around 85 so its probably NOT from the 1982 batch but a later pressing.
I remember trying to get 10% off list price and the guy behind the counter said...Not on that one...that's last of them its OOP.

[Larry Geller]

Now I remember...it was your post that made me check my Let It Be disc.
I know I bought mine around 85 so its probably NOT from the 1982 batch but a later pressing.
I remember trying to get 10% off list price and the guy behind the counter said...Not on that one...that's last of them its OOP.There was only 1 pressing. Yours was a leftover.