The best film that The Beatles starred in was “A Hard Day’s Night”. The most imaginative film was “Yellow Submarine” (and they had little to do with it beyond suggesting jokes, approving the script and appearing in a short segment at the end. They didn’t even do their own voices although they did compose a few new songs for it). Their most avant garde was “Magical Mystery Tour” (watch “I am the Walrus” and marvel at the invention of MTV, surrealism in music videos and the most bizarre, surreal, disjointed film to ever appear on the BBC on Boxing Day). “Let It Be” was just downright depressing as we watched the band struggle with their success, fame, failing business deals and egos as they fell apart right before our eyes. Then there’s “Help!” the most imaginative pop art film that Richard Lester ever made and The Beatles starred in. It’s not considered their best because quite frankly they got tangled up in a plot that threatened to come apart just as it was coming together but it certainly is among their funniest with surreal humor and puns influenced by the Goon Show in the UK that would impact everything from “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” to “Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension”. ***

The plot is fairly simple it’s the machinery of the plot—the humor and set pieces that make the film fun—Ringo is sent a ring by a fan who is to be sacrificed to an obscure pagan god. It turns out that whoever is wearing the ring must be painted red and killed. So the bad guys (led by Leo McKern) have to either chop off Ringo’s finger to acquire the ring (it’s stuck) or kill him. That forces the Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and, of course, Richard Starkey better known as Ringo Starr) to travel to exotic places to escape the bad guys that now include a British scientist and his inept assistant. Along the way we get to hear seven songs written for the film including the spectacular title number “Help!”( which features an early personal lyric from Lennon wrapped in a power pop masterpiece). ---

Image & Sound:

Lovingly restored, the film has never looked so vibrant and alive as this digital remaster. The pop art influenced designs and color schemes positively pop off the screen. Image clarity is remarkable given the age and condition of the film itself. Kudos to the restoration team for doing such a terrific job on remastering the film, it looks killer. This digitally remastered edition is a huge step up from the previous full screen version from MPI. I should note, however, that the film is presented in anamorphic widescreen in its original aspect ratio for theatrical presentation. ***

Audio sounds terrific with the music presented in PCM stereo and 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround. Although there is some noticeable compression in the 5.1 mix, it’s a minor issue in a musical soundtrack that sounds alive. ---

All the special features are packed on the second disc. First up we get a 30 minute documentary directed by Clarie Ferguson featuring director Lester, cinematographer David Watkins, costume designer Julie Harris as well as actors Victor Spinetti and Eleanor Bron discussing the making of the film. There is also vintage video footage of the band discussing the film as well as audio comments incorporated. Sadly, there are no new interviews with Paul and Ringo to accompany this re-release. Lester discusses everything from the fact that he had to feed the band their lines (they were smoking quite a bit of pot at the time) to their comedic timing. ***

We also get a short featurette on the digital restoration of the film demonstrating all the hard work that went into remaking “Help!” so it could shine in the 21st century. Watching the featurette it's clear that the film needed all the Help (pardon the pun) it could get to make it look as sharp as possible. One of the restorers mentions that the film looks better than it ever has including when it was originally shown theatrically in 1965. He's right. ***

“Memories of ‘Help!’” features cast and crew in interview outtakes discussing some of their favorite moments and little known facts about the film. ***

“A Missing Scene” doesn’t feature the scene that was cut as it is long gone. Instead, we see stills and hear Richard Lester and the actress that appeared in the deleted scene that featured British comedian Frankie Laine discussing what it was about and why it didn’t work. David Watkins points out that its clear that Laine and The Beatles were nervous and their working styles were so different that Lester had to struggle to shoot the scene. ***

We also get a booklet with an introduction by Richard Lester and an appreciation by director Martin Scorsese. ***

Finally we get the U.S. trailer and two Spanish trailers for the film (which shows how much work went into the restoration if you compare the film to the trailers) as well ass radio spots from 1965 hidden as Easter Eggs in the menus. ***

For those willing to spend the big bucks, there is a deluxe edition with an annotated copy of Richard Lester’s original script, lobby cards from the film, a deluxe booklet and a poster. ---

Final Words: