The Rutles - All You Need is Cash

OK, just think of the "mathematical possibilties" here: this was produced by Lorne Michaels, the guy who produced (well...still does, actually) "Saturday Night Live" while it was still genuinely funny; it was written by Eric Idle, probably Monty Python's brightest light, who also "co"-co-starred as the narrator and as (giggle) "Dirk McQuickly," obvciously patterned after...well, I have to tell you "who," you're beyond hope; Neil Innes, late of the brilliant "Bonzo Doo Dah Dog Band" played the Lennon character, & was also responsible for the DIRECT HIT-SPOT ON musical score, which serves both as a parody and a genuine memorial to the Beatles' music; former Beach Boy Rikki Fataar did the Harrison character & played his parts, musical and satirical, brilliantly and correctly; and actor/musician John Halsey was the "Ringo,"perfect in size and talent. And George Harrison gave "the Rutles" both his blessing, and he played a small cameo as an interviewer in the movieTo say that the music is satirical is to completely miss the point. Innes, along with his own band, had served as the "music director" for Monty Python (that's him singing "the mighty brave Sir Robin ran away/when danger reared its ugly head, he turned and tucked his tail and fled" in "Holy Grail," too), and his absorption of all FOUR Beatles musical talent & tastes made the music for the Rutles sound frightenly like an "undiscovered Beatles album." My personal favorites are "Good Times Roll" with the lyirc, "like ice in a drink/invisible ink/or dreams in the cold light of day/the children of rock and roll never grow old, they just fade away," "Get Up and Go" which, according to legend, kind of "bugged" John Lennon, due to its near direct "reflection" of "Get Back." And the best song on the record/tape/cd, your call, is "Piggy In The Middle." If you are making a "personal tape" or cd or something, and you sequence "Piggy In The Middle" immediately after "I Am The Walrus," honestly, it sounds like the Beatles "paused briefly," dropped the key of the song down two steps, and continued with a fourth & fifth verse. Brilliant. I had the opportunity to view this on/in its inital incarnation as a TV special with a Beatles fanatic. My buddy had warned me that he'd "86 th' TV if it got too stupid." Evidentally, it didn't...by the end of the viewing, we both had our acoustic guitars, and were madly trying to learn/remember the material.Again, this isn't satire: it's more of a reverential "thank you" letter... I gave it "5 Stars" because "500 Stars" wasn't an option.

You will love The Rutles as much as I do if you;1 Love The Beatles. Or, at least have enough knowledge and understanding of Beatle history to appreciate the humor in this clever "mockumentary".The Rutles, or the Pre-Fab Four as they are called, are four lads from Liverpool, England, who make it big, not because of any musical talent, but because of their tight-fitting pants. Rutlemania is born! They are introduced by Ed Sullivan himself (cleverly dubbing the word "Rutles" in place of "Beatles"). The Rutles soon conquer the world! They make hit films like "Hard Days Rut", "Ouch!". But when Nasty (the Lennon-esq member of The Rutles) makes his coment about being "bigger than God" , things soon fall apart for The Rutles. People burn their Rutles records, and record sales go up as people buy records to burn them.Then they make films such as "Tragical History Tour", and "Yellow Submarine Sandwich"(excellent animation, by the way. Looks extremely similar to the actual "Yellow Subarine" film animation!)The George Harrison-esq member is believed to be dead (considered to be the "quiet one" he hasn't spoken since 1966, so people assumed he was dead, and that The Rutles had gotten a wax-dummy replacement) because he is not wearing any pants on the cover of the "Abby Road"-like album; and on "Sgt. Ruters Only Darts Club Band", he is leaning a certain way.Special cameo apperences include Mick Jagger, Paul Simon, George Harrison (keep your eyes open for him. I almost missed him. He plays an interviewer), Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, and others.And, 2, if you enjoy British humor, like Monty Python's Flying Circus. Eric Idle, of Monty Python fame, created the Rutles. He plays a few characters in the film, such as the McCartney-esq Rutle, Dirk McQuickly, as well as the documentary interviewer. It is funny when, as the interviewer, he is standing there talking, and the camera moves away, and he has to run to chase after it.Also, this DVD offers, as one of the special features, Eric Idles memoir of making The Rutles; it is good reading. I found out former Beatle, George Harrison, supported Eric Idle all the way, and encouraged him to make the movie. I learned all four Beatles had enjoyed watching The Rutles movie; Especially John and Ringo. Yoko Ono has a good enough sense of humor, as well. She didn't seem to mind being portrayed in the film as "Hitler's daughter"!So...Love and appreciate The Beatles? love to laugh? are in the mood for good humor? Then buy The Rutles now. (Come on, you know you want to)

And in many ways it does. Neil Innes' songs are the clear highlight, and his portrayal of Ron Nasty - a wickedly absurdist version of John Lennon - makes it clear he was drastically underutilized in the Monty Python films. And there are some genuinely uncanny recreations of classic "Beatle Moments" that come perilously close to making you believe you're watching the film biography of an actual band.But if there is one thing that stands out as both the film's primary asset and major detriment, it's Eric Idle. He can take the bows for tapping Neil Innes, for the many spot-on jibes at the whole Beatles legend, and getting the job done in the first place. However, he must also take a few brickbats for his overly broad twitting, as Dirk McQuickly, of Paul McCartney, which diminishes the uncanny genuineness that suffuses the rest of the production. As for his obvious incapacity on the bass (he's not even trying to pretend he's really playing), this is a jarring incongruity when he's shown playing with his "bandmates" - who are all portrayed by professional musicians, including Innes, and look it. The fact that he also shows up in other roles further compromises the realism.Plainly, Idle should have stuck to playing the presenter/narrator/interviewer, a fine creation that could have only benefited from Idle's undivided attention as a performer. McQuickly would in turn have benefited from being given to, say, Ollie Halsall, who did McQuickly's singing (and only got a fleeting moment onscreen as "5th Rutle" Leppo).

This is a great hour-long spoof documentary from 1978 about imaginary band The Rutles that parodies the Beatles' rise to fame. Stars Eric Idle, Neil Innes, John Halsey and others. Every part of the Beatles' career is lovingly parodied, including their films and relationships, with Neil Innes providing excellent Beatles pastiche songs throughout.This 30th anniversary DVD includes a great 30-minute 'making of' about the film itself plus a 25-minute 'making of' about the Rutles music, both of which have sterling input from Innes and Halsey (and others) and which also touch on the history of their previous bands the Bonzo Dog Band and Fatso. The making-ofs have no input from Idle, although he does provide a DVD intro and a commentary for the film itself. There are also deleted scenes (extended interviews with Mick Jagger and Paul Simon).The film itself has subtitles but the extras do not. The film itself could definitely have done with a remastering because it is little better than video quality but it is still perfectly watchable. It's a Region 0 DVD, so can be played anywhere in the world.

This is, ironically perhaps, the best Beatles documentary ever made.Neatly avoiding legal problems by the invention of a fictitious band, it speaks with more candour than the official ones ever could. Sure it's funny, but only because so were the real events it parodies. There's no denying the influence of the Fab Four on popular culture, but a lot of what happened at the time was, and is, hilarious. John Lennon after all had a brilliant mischevious sense of humour. Finally, tribute is due to Neil Innes parallel music, which might have been written by the Beatles themselves. In his work with the Bonzos he always showed himself capable of wonderful ironic music commentary. The man is a genius!

This is THE must see parody of the Beatles story – an affectionate and clever look through their history using their alter-egos, the Rutles. It takes them from their discovery in the Cavern by a manager fixated by their trousers, through to Let It Rot – a film, an album and a lawsuit. Along the way, you can relive Rutlemania, enjoy the early success of, “A Hard Day’s Rut,” and “Ouch!” and the band’s misuse of tea... I note that other reviewers have mentioned you should dislike the Beatles to watch this, but it is certainly shown regularly at Beatles conventions and is quoted often by fans. Neil Innes does a wonderful job with the music (the later Rutles album, “Archeology,” a pun on the Beatles “Anthology,” is also well worth a listen). There are also lots of great members from both the Saturday Night Live teams of the time and the Pythons, plus obviously the Bonzo’s; with Eric Idle not endearing himself to Paul McCartney, Neil Innes, Michael Palin, Bill Murray, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd and even George Harrison in a cameo role.There are lots of extras on this DVD, including a mini documentary on The Making of the Rutles, which shows how a musical clip for Rutland Weekend Television introduced the Rutles. Later it was shown on Saturday Night Live as a joke, after an appeal for the Beatles to get back together (oddly enough, John Lennon and Paul McCartney once saw an appeal for a Beatles reunion while watching TV at the Dakota together and considered going to the studio, but sadly decided not to bother). The public reaction to the Rutles clip led to “All You Need is Cash” – this full length documentary. Other special features include “Inside Shabby Road,” the making of the music of the Rutles and some deleted scenes, featuring Mick Jagger and Paul Simon. Both Jagger and Simon are very funny and it is worth watching for a revealing story about Paul Simon first meeting Dirk (or should that be Paul) in London. Great fun and very cleverly done.

Long before Spinal Tap came The Rutles, who unfortunately seem to have been forgotten in the annals of rock 'mockumentaries' - or satire, as we used to call it. Considering that All You Need Is Cash was made in the mid 1970s, it's aged very well - in fact I'd go so far as to say it's even better for keeping - or maybe I was just too young first time round to appreciate some of the subtleties. The better you know the story of The Beatles, the more you'll appreciate The Rutles - especially the wonderful - and affectionate - musical parodies of the talented and very under-rated Neil Innes. Let it Rut.

Whilst I wouldn't say that this film will have you rolling on the floor in hysterics, it is sufficiently entertaining and amusing to make it a very enjoyable experience. Beatles fans will recognise that this is an affectionate and (largely) respectful parody - although apparently John Lennon wasn't too happy about his alter-ego Ron's partner (Yoko equivalent) being a woman dressed in nazi uniform! Anyone familiar with the Bonzos will know well Neil Innes' facility for writing infectiously catchy melodies, and his parodies of Beatles numbers are un-nervingly good. The actors all have the the banter and flippant off-the-wall humour of the original Beatles off pat. Eric Idle's voice and Ricky Fataar's guitar parts were performed by the guitarist from obscure 70s group Pato - Ollie..? The producers and Eric Idle went to a lot of trouble to find exactly the right locations for some of the spoofs - eg of "I am the Walrus" / "Piggy in the Middle". Spotting the gust appearances from a range of other clebs is fun - some are more of a major constituent - such as Mick Jagger, whose observations on the Rutles are uncomfortably close to the truth about the Beatles!The extras include two fascinating documentaries about the making of this film made in 2008 - great, apart from the captioning of John Halsey as having played Barry WOMBLE! Doh! (I remember him turning up as 'mystery guest on "Never mind the Buzzcocks" a few years ago - running a pub I seem to recall...not a hairdressers! Phil Jupitus of course recognised him straight away.)