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The Beatles only starred in four films together (not counting the animated Yellow Submarine which they didn’t even voice) yet two of them have been virtually impossible to see in any home viewing format for decades. A Hard Day’S Night and Help were both acclaimed successes with long histories of VHS and DVD releases but Let It Be, a 1970 documentary showing how the Beatles rehearsed in preparation for a new live tour, despite winning an Oscar for Original Song Score, has never been seen since its original theatrical release. Let It Be captured the Fab Four as they were in the process of breaking up, bickering and acting chilly to each other in a most un-Beatle-like fashion. The other “lost” Beatles film is the 1967 Magical Mystery Tour, a 53-minute psychedelic road trip first broadcast on the BBC. Magical Mystery Tour is now available on Blu-ray from Capitol Records...

Songs you.ll never forget, the film you.ve never seen, and a story that.s never been heard. In 1967, in the wake of the extraordinary impact of the Sgt. Pepper.s Lonely Hearts Club Band album and the One World satellite broadcast of All You Need Is Love, The Beatles devised, wrote, and directed their third film, Magical Mystery Tour, a dreamlike story of a coach day trip to the seaside. Apple Films has fully restored the long out-of-print, classic feature film for October 8th release worldwide (October 9th in North America) on DVD and Blu-ray with a remixed soundtrack (5.1 and stereo) and special features. For the first time ever, there will be a limited theatrical release in certain territories from September 27th.

Magical Mystery Tour will be available in DVD and Blu-ray packages, and in a special 10″x10″ boxed deluxe edition. The deluxe edition includes both the DVD and Blu-ray,...

Songs you’ll never forget, the film you’ve never seen, and a story that’s never been heard. In 1967, in the wake of the extraordinary impact of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album and the One World satellite broadcast of All You Need Is Love, The Beatles devised, wrote, and directed their third film, Magical Mystery Tour, a dreamlike story of a coach day trip to the seaside. Apple Films has fully restored the long out-of-print, classic feature film for October 8th release worldwide (October 9th in North America) on DVD and Blu-ray with a remixed soundtrack (5.1 and stereo) and special features. For the first time ever, there will be a limited theatrical release in certain territories from September 27th.

Magical Mystery Tour will be available in DVD and Blu-ray packages, and in a special 10″x10″ boxed deluxe edition. The deluxe edition includes both the DVD and Blu-ray,...

TV and film make-up artist with a gift for applying prosthetics

The television and film make-up artist Jane Royle, who has died aged 78, was admired by fellow professionals for her all-round ability to bring a look to the screen that was as important as that contributed by the director of photography or production designer. She could go from ensuring Izabella Scorupco looked stunningly beautiful as a Bond girl in GoldenEye (1995) to making actors appear hideous, old, scarred, bruised, bearded or bald. Royle particularly enjoyed applying prosthetics – to which she referred as "the stickies".

For the 1979 Sherlock Holmes film Murder By Decree, she simulated the wrenched-out innards of prostitutes killed by Jack the Ripper. One of her most memorable transformations was the complete prosthetic makeover – wrinkled face, bulbous nose, pointy ears and flowing hair and whiskers – she gave Billy Barty for his cowardly dwarf character, Screwball, in the fantasy film Legend (1985).

Later,...