first solo Beatles record, was released in November 1968 by Apple Records as the company's first LP. Wonderwall Music also appeared on compact disc in 1992, during reissues of the Apple catalogue, being reissued again in 2014. Release history The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 1968, with George Harrison, his wife Pattie, Ringo Starr, his wife Maureen, and the cast members of the film in attendance. The premiere in London was on 12 January 1969. The film won an award, but did not gain a proper distribution deal. A print finally appeared on the American midnight movies circuit in the 1970s, and on home video in the 1980s and 1990s, all of rather low technical quality. In 1998, 30 years after the film's release, and with Massot an established film director, he decided to restore and re-release his first film. Harrison's search for master recordings turned up a lyrical song, "In the First Place" by the Remo Four, which he had not submitted the first time around, believing Massot wanted only instrumental music. "In the First Place" was released as a single in 1999. Harrison is believed to have not only produced it, but also sung and played on it, although he asked to be credited only as producer. Massot was happy to include the song in the restored film, which got a distribution deal. The restored version of Wonderwall, both in theatrical and director's cut versions, is available on HD blu-ray and low definition DVD through Shout! Factory in the United States, with bonus features. Critical reception Critical opinion of the film was mixed. TV Guide panned the film, giving it one star out of four. Other critics were more positive. Budd Wilkins, writing for Slant Magazine, criticized the "slender-to-the-edge-of-nonexistent narrative" and "hopelessly square" underlying point, but enjoyed the film overall, saying it was "best taken for the sensory provocation of its eye-popping set designs and the spaced-out world music ambience of its soundtrack" in his 3.5 (out of 5) star review. Keith Phipps, reviewing the film for The Dissolve, wrote "The film is mostly just an excuse to experiment. And while not all the experiments work out, the film remains a charming relic of a bygone era of light shows, sitar sounds, and over-the-top symbolism." References External links 1968 films 1968 directorial debut films 1968 drama films 1960s British films 1960s English-language films