Help! Director: Richard Lester Cast: The Beatles, Leo McKern
DVD - 2 Disc Set - 2-Disc Deluxe Edition / Wide Screen Learn more
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- DVD Release Date: 11/06/2007
- Original Release: 1965
- Rating:
- Sales Rank: 39,194
FOR PARENTS
- Common Sense Rates this for Ages: More
| More Formats | |
|---|---|
| DVD - 2-Disc Edition / Wide Screen | $25.49 |
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Scenes
Features
The Deluxe Edition of Help! arrives in special packaging that includes a reproduction of Richard Lester's original annotated script; eight lobby cards; a poster; and a 60-page book with rarely seen photographs and production notes from the movie. Disc extras include:
Disc 1: Help!, restored, with a 5.1 digital soundtrack.
Disc 2: "The Beatles in Help!," a 30-minute making-of documentary with Richard Lester, the cast and crew, including exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of The Beatles on set; a deleted scene featuring Wendy Richard; "The Restoration of Help!," an in-depth look at the restoration process; cast and crew "Memories of Help!,"; two U.S. trailers and 1 Spanish trailer; 1965 U.S. radio spots (hidden in the menus).
Scene Index
Disc #1 -- Help!
1. "Kali" [1:07]
2. Help! [3:03]
3. "Lovely Lads and So Natural" [4:44]
4. "Psst Hey, Beatle" [4:02]
5. You're Going to Lose That Girl [4:45]
6. "He's From the West" [4:59]
7. The Specialists [5:07]
8. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away [3:24]
9. Small Paul [6:35]
10. Ticket to Ride [8:42]
11. "A Different Religion From Ours I Think" [1:43]
12. I Need You [4:10]
13. The Night Before [6:03]
14. A Well Known Palace [5:37]
15. One More Fiendish Attempt [4:40]
16. The Bahamas [2:29]
17. Another Girl [3:40]
18. "Right to the Temple" [6:38]
19. The Very Famous Plan [5:21]
20. Help! - Finale [2:19]
21. End Credits [2:49]
Editorial Reviews
After the playful day-in-the-life comedy of A Hard Day's Night, director Richard Lester led the Beatles through an even more off-kilter romp in this, their second feature. A musical spoof of a James Bond movie, the action tracks the Fab Four to the four corners of the earth with a fanatical religious cult in constant pursuit. It seems they're after a divine relic that has fallen into, or rather onto, Ringo's unwitting hand. While not quite as masterful a film as A Hard Day's Night, Help! brims with visual ideas and exuberant adventure. The avalanche of clever sight gags would give the Austin Powers movies a run for their money. The songs remain magnificent, and they come at a relentless pace: "Ticket to Ride" is performed amid skiing hijinks on the Swiss Alps; Stonehenge affords "The Night Before" a gloomy backdrop; and "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" glistens in an intimate studio performance. Digitally remastered and with eight minutes of bonus footage, this is a wonderful new edition of a rock 'n' roll classic. Donald Gray, Barnes & Noble
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Why We Rated This Appropriate for Ages 8 and UP
What to watch out for
- Consumerism:
Products and tourist destinations, many from yesteryear. Of course, the Beatles' music itself is a product.
- Violence:
Lots and lots of playful roughhouse-fighting, even escalating up to combat with tanks. Ringo (and others) are threatened continually with human sacrifice via a nasty Bowie knife, yet no blood is shed.
- Messages
- Sex:
One girl seen topless from the rear getting bathed. One background belly dancer.
- Drugs:
Brief verbal reference to "happiness pills." Of course, parts of the movie are borderline "trippy."
- Language:
Not an issue.
What Parents Need to Know
About Help!
Parents need to know that this movie is replete with playful fighting and slapstick violence, including some "don't try this at home" moments, like when George clings to the roof of a speeding car. There's more than a little bit of insensitive racial/religious stereotyping in the villains, a bunch of (mostly Anglo) actors playing robed cult fanatics from India, but just about all the characters are cartoon caricatures, including the Beatles themselves.
Families Can Talk About
Families can talk about the appeal of the Beatles as characters, then and now. Do you think this film nails it just as well as A Hard Day's Night or other Beatles features and documentaries? Do you think Help! has stood the test of time? In its daft style-over-substance plot and imagery, does Help! seem like the ancestor of the MTV music video?
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