Help! (Deluxe Edition)

Super fast shipping. Great movie and I like the bonus content!

This updated review refers to the recent Deluxe Edition release of HELP! Bottom Line Up Front: The Deluxe DVD edition has quite a few extras, but the movie remains essentially the same as previous releases. For purposes of this review all upper case references to HELP! refer to the movie, whereas upper and lower case entries, Help!, refer to the song.HELP! took the group from their quasi-realistic beginnings in A HARD DAY'S NIGHT to a fantasy world where bad guys with evil plots are foolish enough to take on the Beatles. In short: Ringo dons a new ring on his finger. Unfortunately the ring is a piece of sacrificial jewelry and the high priest, played by Leo McKern, travels to England with his henchmen to reclaim the sacred relic. In their efforts to relieve themselves of the ring the Beatles are also pursued by a mad scientist, played by Victor Spinetti, and his assistant portrayed by lovable Roy Kinnear (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory). The on and off again chase follows the Beatles around London, Salisbury Plain, Austria, and the Bahamas. Quite different from the simple plot in their previous movie.Originally released in 1965, HELP! received generally favorable reviews, although over the years its popularity has been overtaken by its predecessor A HARD DAY'S NIGHT.This is the fifth copy of HELP! I have purchased over the years. The first was a remastered MPI VHS copy that was released in 1987. This release followed a similar and prior year's re-release of A HARD DAY'S NIGHT. In both cases the films were restored and the plan was to get the movies back into theaters. Unfortunately in the case of A HARD DAY'S NIGHT the re-release had minimal distribution and thus was disappointing in terms of revenue. As such HELP! went straight to VHS and laser disk.It was great to finally have HELP! on home video, but the VHS version was not the same one originally screened in theaters in 1965. Much like A HARD DAY'S NIGHT the mono music soundtrack was replaced with an overdubbed (or remixed if you prefer) stereo version. Replacement of the mono track also removed - actually blanketed -- some of the film's original sound effects. Of greater concern was that the replaced tracks did not closely match the Beatles' original lip-synching to a highly calibrated Nagra recorder. This is not to imply that the original 1965 film gave the impression of live performances. It is just that they looked and sounded better synchronized in the original film.The most notable difference between the film and the subsequent releases is the replacement of the movie's theme song. The original cinematic release of the movie features Help!, played at both the beginning and conclusion of the film, was identical to the version that appeared on the Capitol 45 rpm single (and later appeared on the Capitol Rarities album). An ever so slightly increased vocal tempo version of Help! appeared on subsequent domestic and imported albums, as well as in the remastered VHS and DVD versions of HELP! The last time we were treated to the virgin unaltered version of HELP!, complete with the original mono soundtrack, was several years ago on AMC.Following the 1980s HELP! was released on tape two additional times and was subsequently released on DVD. The DVD version was almost identical to the VHS release. The special features were limited to film trailers, radio spots, and black and white stills and various black and white film footage.The current deluxe set has a lot to offer in the way of extras. There is a copy of Richard Lester's annotated script, a book with lots of color photos from the movie, five-by-seven reproduction color lobby cards, and a movie poster. Additionally the set contains a special features disk. The special features disk includes a short documentary on the making of the film including interviews with Richard Lester. John, Paul, George, and Ringo are also heard in interviews taken from 1965.There is also a segment regarding the color negative restoration and subsequent digitized cleanup. No doubt a very time consuming process. However the end result differs very little from previous releases. This new release of HELP! was advertised as including a lost scene. Remember that A HARD DAY'S NIGHT advertised the same thing and the missing scene of Paul and one of the dancers ended up being nothing more that a couple black and white stills on the special features disk. The same holds true for the "missing" scene in HELP!The Deluxe Edition is worth your while if want to add the script, book, lobby cards, and poster to your collection. Otherwise you are best served sticking with the standard edition.

...Has ALWAYS been one of my favorite Beatles movie! It's completely insane, full of good, improvisational-style comedy of the Monty Python type, (in fact, I can almost guarantee you that this film and "Hard Day's Night" inspired the Pythons directly, as well as the godforesaken Monkees!) and excellent tunes by JPG&R! Just about everybody from this film went on to very respectable acting careers in film and theatre, especially Leo McKern and Eleanor Bron. Roy Kinnear became Richard Lester's signature supernumerary. And I'm still amazed at Victor Spinetti's strong resemblance to Donald Nixon.A completely zany flick, this film follows the boys as they establish themselves in a new set of linked cottages in a spiffy clean, quaint working class part of, (presumably,) London, with the sight gags starting immediately as an enormous organ pops up out the floor of Paul's section of the cottages; John selects and kisses a copy of his own "Spaniard In The Works"; George instructs a bumpkin to mow his rug with snapping gag dentures and Ringo selects fruit and soda from his own row of vending machines!Enter the villains. In the opening teaser, it is established that a cult that is into human sacrifice has noted that Ringo has possession of a gaudy ring that they have lost that is crucial to their ritual sacrifice. They immediately go to London to re-obtain this ring so they can conduct business as usual and it is up to Eleanor Bron, as the very pretty Ahme, to get the ring from the hapless drummer.Craziness ensues as they chase the fabs from locale to locale to get the ring, first to the recording studio, then an Eastern restaurant in London, then the alps, then to London again and Scotland Yard and then to the Bahamas. About half the movie takes place in the Bahamas where we see the bulk of the music performed in the movie as well, and what we hear is among the Beatles best pre-psychedelic work...in fact, this is the beginning of the Beatles experimenting musically beyond the simple post doo-wop stuff they had BEEN doing up till that point. The very folk-rocky "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" is performed after Ahme comes over to their side and it is perhaps the most moving pre-Rubber Soul/Revolver tune of theirs.The first time I viewed a copy of this movie on VHS, the spoken dialogue in the flick was kind of raspy, but the songs were crystal clear with excellent stereo separation and cleaning up. I have yet to hear an up-to-date copy, and it may be awhile before I do, since MPI has stopped issuing the danged thing! Come ON, people...EMI, Apple...SOMEBODY, get this puppy back on the market!Anyway....George and Paul are the ones who shine the most musically in the film and on the accompanying album, with John singing the incredible "Hide Your Love Away", the boring and overplayed "Ticket To Ride" amd "You're Gonna Lose That Girl". It seems that John, except for "Away" is still somewhat rooted in the earlier days yet with his tunes here, while Paul and George are exploring the fringes of country/folk rock with "I Need You", "Another Girl" and "The Night Before". The film/album is also the first appearance of the sitar in anything by the Beatles, showing up in incidental music in the film.The boys easily out-zany the Marx Brothers in this film, carrying themselves like a clever bunch of high school/college cutups with their own little in-jokes and routines for us to giggle at. Richard Lester became known for directing this sort of zany, farcical stuff, with only occasional forays into regular dramatic moviemaking. Unfortunately, since 1975, he has become very much the ordinary director, after creating masterpieces like "The Three and Four Musketeers", "Robin & Marian", "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum" and others...This is the Beatles at their all-stops-pulled cleverest, musically, theatrically and otherwise. Their charisma was immediate, and I guarantee you, you will become a fan by the time this movie is over.TOTALLY nuts!

I love this movie and somehow didn’t have it on DVD. It’s silly. Watching it with a modern lens, the vague racism is a little troubling. But it’s still my favorite Beatles movie.

"HELP ! " The Beatles second feature was released a year after their first "A Hard Day's Night" in 1965. Directed by Richard Lester again and this time in color. The plot is a satire of the James Bond films which just became popular at the time and are also released by United Artists. With some cult and some mad scientists after one of Ringo Starr's rings. I first got this movie on VHS and now on DVD. Along with the title song, "I Need You" by George Harrison; John Lennon and Paul McCartney's "Ticket to Ride", the single went to No. 1 on The Billboard charts; "You're Gonna Lose That Girl" and "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" are the big hit songs on the soundtrack. The original title was "Eight Arms To Hold You". The flick was a hit at the box-office and with the critics. The tagline for the movie poster read... "STOP WORRYING HELP IS ON THE WAY !"

It is always great to see the greatest rock and roll band that there has ever been. This completes my collection of the Beatles and this dvd is fantastic.

It's really silly, the music is great, the four lads are utterly charming.

The movie and new 5.1 Dolby and DTS audio are incredible for Beatle fans. However the picture quality is lacking, most of the film looks soft and lacks texture or fine detail. I suspect this is an old transfer taken from the 2007 DVD release rather than a new restoration. It’s a bit of a let down considering how incredibly sharp and nuanced Yellow Submarine looks on Blu Ray.

I had been wanting to add this to my collection for some time now but curiously, had never gotten around to it. I was there when it was first released into the cinema and recall spending my pocket money to see it four times over the two weeks it was on at the Odeon!I had forgotten just how much this movie makes you smile. You could say it is a bit daft and dated in parts but then the music starts playing and it's brilliant and once again you are singing along to each track.If you are after a feelgood movie then you will not go wrong with this

Films were often the vehicle that made seeing your pop - idolspossible for the many.'The Beatles' were of course - the ultimate 'Pop Group'as in this film the music during the early years was fresh anduncomplicated, very commercial and loved by all ( well most )the story line....'Ringo' wearing a sacrificial ring he'd foundand finding himself hunted by those that wanted it back, troublebeing.....he can't get it off to give it back.It'll make ya' smile now and then for sure......the bonus......ofcourse is the music itself - it's great.with songs such as the title track....'Help' a number one, also'A Ticket to Ride' also a number one, along with enjoyable numberssuch as....'The night before' .....'You've got to hide your love away'....'I need you' ....'You're going to lose that girl' ...'Another girl'the seven songs release on side one of the 'Help' album. ( 1965 )a little tale ... I was lucky enough to see many, many pop idols ofthe day on stage live.......however, how many people do you knowthat actually turned down the opportunity to see the fab-four performlive ?a good friend back then had secured tickets to see 'The Beatles' ata venue around 40 miles away.......great opportunity.must have been around mid 1963, the group would have been three hitsinto their golden career....'Beatle Mania' had already taken hold, infact probably the most talked about subject of the time.though I quite liked their songs released up to that time I wasn'thooked to be honest.........I didn't take up the chance to see them,a decision I've had to live with ever since....what an idiot ...eh ?by the time their fourth and fifth singles charted 'She Loves You' then'I want to hold your hand' I had woken up, realizing just how good the musicreally was.The Music, truly 'Magic'the memories will come flooding back.

I got this to play for my teenage children who have been showing some interest in the Beatles.I wonder which of today's pop stars will still be as popular in 50 years time?'Help' is a very light-hearted show case for the Fab Four containing some really great Beatles songs from the pre Rubber Soul period. Not a great movie by any means, but contains a few genuinely funny moments and some unintended slices of what life was like back in the 1960s. Is it my imagination, or were a number of the scenes highly influential on the Monkees a year or so later?On a slightly serious note, the upbeat tempo of the title song masks the rather sad message contained in John Lennon's lyrics.I hadn't seen 'Help' for at least 30 years. It was great to see it again, but it will probably go to the back of the cupboard for another few years.Five stars for the songs, of course!

Nothing necessarily wrong with the product but it’s not worth the £14 I paid for it . . but that might be something to do with the fact that my memory of how good it was as a kid, isn’t quite how I thought of it when I watched it recently!