Re-release of Yellow Submarine - Exclusive Q & A with Apple Representative Jonathan Clyde

Read the exclusive details of the re-release of The Beatles Yellow Submarine in this email interview by Dr. Bob Hieronimus with Jonathan Clyde of Apple Corps in May 2012.

Dr. Bob: How and when was it decided that the ’99 version of the film needed to be refurbished for re-release? Did the decision have anything to do with the DVD being sold out so that a new edition was needed for re-release? Did it have anything to do with the interest of Robert Zemeckis and Disney in creating a live action 3D version of Yellow Submarine?

Jonathan Clyde: It was mainly to do with the fact that the DVD had not been in distribution for nearly 4 years and we really needed to make it available again due to public demand.

Dr. Bob: Who was the person that was most behind this decision that a new edition was needed? Did the Beatles have any particular interest in having a new edition released? Did Sir George Martin have any input in this new edition coming out?

JC: Jeff Jones the CEO of Apple made the proposal. Paul and Ringo, as well as Yoko and Olivia approved the decision. Sir George is aware of the release but didn't have any specific input.

Dr. Bob: Will there be any new licensed Yellow Sub memorabilia released in connection to this new edition? And if not exactly “in connection” to this film’s release, is there any new Yellow Sub memorabilia scheduled for later this year that is particularly interesting?

JC: We are creating YS merchandising all the time and there may be some new items the year but not directly connected to the release of the film on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Dr. Bob: Are there plans for a bonus track on the DVD that would feature the substituted “filler” footage that was replaced when “Hey Bulldog” was reinserted in ’99? Paul Rutan indicated that this was not possible due to some conflict with the rights to a snippet of a song in that footage, but he couldn’t remember any details. Can you elucidate if we’ll see this footage as a bonus track, and if not, why not?

JC: There are no rights issues surrounding the Hey Bulldog sequence. Presenting the sporadic snippets of filler material in a cohesive way was not at all straightforward so we decided to not to do so.

Dr. Bob: Concerning the "Yellow Submarine Songtrack" reissue, are we going to be getting the special remixes of the songs done in 1999 or the remasterings of the original mixes issued in 2009?

JC: The Songtrack will be the same remixes as in 1999 - we just wanted to upgrade the packaging from a jewel case to digipack as has recently been done with The Beatles 1 album, and the Red and the Blue albums

Dr. Bob: Do you know if this new remastered film will be cropped to match the HDTV or letterbox format?

JC: The restored film has been restored to the aspect ratio of the original 1968 theatrical release, of 1.66:1. On contemporary HD televisions, the film will appear pillar-boxed displaying black bars left and right.