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Today The Beatles went to the Saville Theatre, which had been run by Brian Epstein before his death, to make three promotional films for “Hello Goodbye.” Miracle of miracles, the Beatles Industrial Complex has seen fit to share one of them, in which the boys mime in their Sgt. Pepper costumes:
I find this clip amusing for a couple reasons. One is John, George, and Ringo’s palpable lack of enthusiasm for what they are doing. This is a Paul McCartney joint — it’s his song, he directed, and the camera is on him the most. The other three are clearly phoning it in. John didn’t even bother to put on his glasses; Ringo actually appears to yawn at one point; and George keeps looking at his wrist as if there’s going to suddenly be a watch there telling him that it’s time to go home.
Another is the dancing girls, who show up at the end to relieve the tedium of watching four guys pretend to play music. You can see Ringo suddenly cheer up as he remembers, oh right, this is why we do this. I especially like the brunette to his left, who makes the most of her four seconds onscreen at the three-minute mark. Careers have been built on less.