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From Pitchfork:

A Lord of the Rings for the moptop set, the Beatles' lovably corny 1965 film Help! will soon blow up DVD players across the nation in expanded digital video disc format.

The Richard Lester-directed film, digitally restored and boasting a new 5.1 surround sound soundtrack, occupies the first of the two DVDs in this deluxe set, which Apple Corps Ltd drops on the masses October 30.

Disc two, meanwhile, includes the usual bonus goodies, including a documentary featurette on the making of the film, a missing scene, trailers, radio spots, a bit on the restoration process, and memories from the cast and crew.

Those who wish to go all out can score a doubly deluxe version of Help! in a boxed set that also includes Lester's annotated script, eight lobby cards, a poster, and an 60-page booked packed with rare photos and production notes. Or settle for the regular version, which still gets you a pair of DVDs and a booklet with words from Lester and Mr. Martin Scorsese.

Press release

Been waiting to see it for years.

A Hard Day's Night is one of my favorites.

I guess Scorsese has an opinion on every movie ever made--I hope he gets paid well for it.

About time! I'll be damned if this isn't the guiltiest secret pleasure of a every fab four fan.

Now where's Let it Be?

tartarlamb wrote:Now where's Let it Be?

I've heard that it might not see the light of day for a long time. The VHS and laserdisc (if there was one) have been both out of print for a long time as well. I think it has more to do with personal issues that came out of what was shot (I've never seen it), rather than any sort of music clearances music DVD's run into.

flyonthewall2983 wrote:I've heard that it might not see the light of day for a long time. The VHS and laserdisc (if there was one) have been both out of print for a long time as well. I think it has more to do with personal issues that came out of what was shot (I've never seen it), rather than any sort of music clearances music DVD's run into.

There is the long-running conspiracy theory that Paul doesn't like the way he's portrayed in the film, etc.

But I'm not so sure its delay can't be chalked up to Apple's notoriously inept handling of the Beatles' legacy. A year or two ago, there was a lot of chatter about the film being revamped with extra footage, and Apple may have made a press release.

I'm hopeful that its forthcoming. It seems like more than a coincidence that Help!'s release is being announced so quickly after Neil Aspinall's resignation this year.

I wonder about what aspect ratio this will be released in?
According to IMDB (not always a reliable source I know) the negative ratio was 1:37:1, but the intended ratio was 1.75:1. The press release has no info on this matter.
Do anyone here know? Was it shown theatrically in widescreen?

That's great!

I've also never heard Scorsese say anything about The Beatles so that'll also be cool.

If I recall correctly, Help! was released years ago in a DVD box set of Beatles movies (long out of print now), and the disc included Richard Lester's short Running, Jumping and Standing Still Film as a bonus. Wonder if there's any chance it'll make another appearance...

That short is available on a UK disc of a Peter Sellers movie, I think. My memory is failing me right now so if anybody is willing to help me...

My recollection is that HELP was not shown theatrically in wide screen, but we were all stoned out of our effing minds in the 60's, and we don't remember anything. If there is one thing a Beatles movie does not need, it's a plot, and HELP suffers for it. Nevertheless, it captures the goofy joy of the time so completely that it can be shelved right alongside a scholarly history of the era and reveal our state of mind better than any book. The Beatles freely admit to being as high as the rest of us during this period and they spent the entire film shoot sneaking behind the nearest building and lighting up the wicked weed.

The general consensus among hardcore fans is that the songs from this period are not among their best, although "Ticket to Ride" is pointed to as "the first hard rock song", and I assume we all know that "You've got to hide your love away" is Lennon's homage to manager Brian Epstein's sexual preference.

All of this may emphasize Lily Tomlin's classic comment that "I worry that drugs are making us more creative than we really are", but the movie transcends its time capsule status and reminds us of what the history books cannot - being young in the 1960's was an experience that cannot be reduced to words.

Belmondo wrote:All of this may emphasize Lily Tomlin's classic comment that "I worry that drugs are making us more creative than we really are", but the movie transcends its time capsule status and reminds us of what the history books cannot - being young in the 1960's was an experience that cannot be reduced to words.

The problem with the music seems to me a continuation of the problem with Beatles For Sale; namely, that John is in top form ("Help!" "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," "Ticket to Ride") but Paul is clearly phoning it in with a handful of good but entirely unremarkable songs.

Its not anywhere near as great as A Hard Day's Night, but the appeal of this film is definitely not limited to the baby boomer generation. From my experience, it is by far the favorite Beatles film of younger (18-25) fans. Apparently something still seems fresh about the barely coherent mash up of James Bond parody and goon humor. Or maybe the lads are just twice as hilarious when they're stoned out of their gourds, who knows.

Lino wrote:That short is available on a UK disc of a Peter Sellers movie, I think. My memory is failing me right now so if anybody is willing to help me...

The Peter Sellers Story...As He Filmed It, and it seems it was also on older versions of a the DVD of A Hard Day's Night, but not the newer ones.

Am I just one in a select minority of people who don't like this film?? Of course I wasn't living in those carefree, let it all loose 1960's, but this movie just seems like some rehash of the rather popular espionage subgenre of the times. Don't get me wrong, I adore the fab four and everything they created and help change (for better or worse). Just from their brief venture into film they helped create the essential A Hard Day's Night. It perfectly captured that mayhem and hilarity surrounding the cultural phenomenon of Beatlemania, which was at it's peak, along with that whole "angry young man" craze. It also works as an enjoyable film for non-Beatle fans. Let It Be proves that these four were actually human beings rather than divine wonders posing as musicians. Like the Gimme Shelter, it confirmed the love generation was all over.

Now, back to Help!. News of this dvd is wonderful. Despite my objection to the film, anything with the Beatles name on it is always welcome.

I've also never heard Scorsese say anything about The Beatles so that'll also be cool.

I'm also curious of what he has to say about them. We all know what The Stones mean to him but how does he feel about their less brash contemporaries. Either I read or heard from Scorsese that he preferred The Stones because they spoke more authentically about where he lived and what he thought growing up in those mean streets of New York.

It's been over 45 years since John, Paul, George, and Ringo gained significant notice. Will the public ever forget, or will they belong to that eternal grouping of musicians with the likes of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven?

Mr. Jones wrote:It's been over 45 years since John, Paul, George, and Ringo gained significant notice. Will the public ever forget, or will they belong to that eternal grouping of musicians with the likes of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven?

I doubt it, each generation (including mine) has had a significant number of kids discovering their music.

I hope Apple Corp. will look at LET IT BE and try and release it having all the Beatles movies on dvd. I do have a bootleg version on dvd but it is of poor quality and the laserdisc commands alot on Ebay!

I'd always heard that it was George who didn't like the way he was portrayed in Let It Be. I recall speculation shortly after his death that it might finally be released. So far, no go.

I've always loved Help, mostly because it's so utterly silly.

I think George was surprised his spat with Paul even made it on the film. I doubt whether George would have been bothered by this true portrayal of an event which seems to epitomise his general feelings towards Paul and to a lesser degree the Beatles. All was forgiven (to a degree) by the time ABBEY ROAD came around but I can't help but think that George Martin had something to do with that.

I saw this review at Amazon.com on Help!

Question...Can anybody explain why the 2007 release of Help was dropped? Why is this 1995 version offered in place of the new release? Could it be that Capital is promoting the Deluxe Edition so that buyers will have to pluck down an additional $80.00 so they can get the posters and other trinkets that make it a so-called "collectible"?

Does anybody have more info on this?

atcolomb wrote:I saw this review at Amazon.com on Help!

Question...Can anybody explain why the 2007 release of Help was dropped? Why is this 1995 version offered in place of the new release? Could it be that Capital is promoting the Deluxe Edition so that buyers will have to pluck down an additional $80.00 so they can get the posters and other trinkets that make it a so-called "collectible"?

Does anybody have more info on this?

don't believe everything you read online (including this). It's just a mistake Amazon made early on, but it's been corrected. No need to worry.

Thanks Richast2.......i have the original release so i hope this new one is a step up!!

The problem with Let It Be for me is the don't give a damnedness of Lennon and Harrison....they obviously weren't interested in the band anymore. I have LET IT BE on a pathetic VHS, and it would be nice to have it on DVD.

The HELP! DVD is quite welcome. Been wondering when they'd get around to that.

I have a dvd version i bought from Ebay and it looks like a offical Apple release with some extras on it but the picture quality is poor with lot of hiss on the soundtrack so i think it's a bootleg so we will have to wait for an offical release. With Help coming out maybe there is hope for Let It Be...

HELP - tonight (Tuesday) Sundance Channel 7:15pm ET

Just received the dvd yesterday and did my own comparison with the old dvd release and the new version is much improved in image and sound! The old release was full frame with some scratches and damage on the film but the new release has a frame by frame restoration as seen in one of the extras and the image looks fantastic. The sound also was cleaned up and sounds brighter. Some nice extras makes this a must buy for Beatles fans!