“Help”, the second ‘acted’ film from The Beatles, has now been released on both Blu-ray and for digital download from iTunes.
Both “Help” and the earlier – and better – “Hard Day’s Night” were directed by Richard Lester. “Help” is essentially a succession of music clips punctuating a James Bondesque romp set in London, Austria and the Bahamas. Those locations show that “Help” had a bigger budget than its England-bound predecessor, as does the fact that “Help” was filmed in colour.
Extras on the Blu-ray disc include:
- “The Beatles in Help! – a 30-minute documentary about the making of the film with Richard Lester, the cast and crew, including behind-the-scenes footage of The Beatles on-set.
- “A Missing Scene” – a film outtake, featuring Wendy Richard
- “The Restoration of Help! – an in-depth look at the restoration process
- “Memories of Help!” – the cast and crew reminisce
- 1965 Theatrical Trailers – two original U.S. trailers and one original Spanish trailer
- 1965 U.S. Radio Spots (hidden in disc menus)
Help price and availability
Help is selling on iTunes for $24.99, while the Blu-ray version can be picked up in stores for a little under $30. Once you bought it, why not have a little fun and see if you can pick the signs of the four Beatles being stoned – marijuana was an enthusiastic hobby for them in 1965.
Buy Help! [Blu-ray version]