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Help!
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Universal Pictures Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (10th April 2014). |
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The Film
 In 1965, Beatlemania was still white hot. The Beatles had a Midas touch, turning everything they were a part of into gold. So hot was the band that United Artists Records’ film division signed the group to a three-picture deal with the studio. The band enjoyed great commercial and critical success with their initial offering, the mock-documentary “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964), which featured the band members playing exaggerated versions of themselves while on tour. Due to the film’s box office numbers, a greater budget was granted to returning director Richard Lester for the follow-up, “Help!” (1965). The film was designed as a satire of the James Bond film series, as well as being inspired by the work of The Marx Brothers’ “Duck Soup” (1938). The production took the band members across the globe, from London to the Alps and finally the Bahamas for a frenzied finale… and throughout the entire proceedings the band felt as though they knew nothing about what they were making. “Help!” is a tripped-out feature full of rapid-fire editing, quick gags, and a major serving of sensory overload. Just as an eastern Indian cult is readying a woman for sacrifice to their god, the chief shaman notices she isn’t wearing the proper sacrificial ring. It was sent off to Ringo Starr by Ahme (Eleanor Bron), high priestess of the cult and sister of the would-be sacrifice, in hopes that it would save her sister’s life. Undeterred, the cult members descend upon London and make every effort possible to extract the ring from Ringo’s finger. Eventually, the cult winds up confronting the group in an Indian restaurant, where Ringo learns of the ring’s symbolism and tries whatever he can to get it off his finger. But it just won’t budge. Each attempt ends with hilariously disastrous results. When Ringo and the boys go to a local mad scientist (of sorts), Dr. Foot (Victor Spinetti), to see if he can offer any help, not only can’t he get the ring off but he decides he, too, must possess this magical ring! The cult’s efforts begin to take so long that it is decided Ringo is now the intended sacrifice, and they aim to kill him via any means necessary. Only problem is, he’s got to be painted red before he can be offed. Extreme means are employed to slather Ringo in a crimson hue before they (poorly) attempt to kill him, so the band goes on a global adventure to escape their antagonists, heading up to the snowy peaks of the Austrian Alps, and eventually to the Bahamas, where a full-on fracas commences with players from every side trying to obtain or ditch the powerful ring. The best word you could use to describe “Help!” would be zany. This is a pratfall-a-minute kind of film, as members of the Indian cult are literally falling all over the place in a desperate attempt to capture and/or kill Ringo. The comedic dialogue isn’t necessarily what makes the humor work here, however, since this is a film heavily reliant on your attention to detail - specifically, background elements and recurring gags. And they’re coming off the screen so quickly you’ll want a second viewing of the film just to catch everything missed the first time. Blink-or-you-miss-it type of stuff. Screenwriter Charles Wood had written for Vaudeville at one point in his career, so it’s no wonder the jokes move so fast. Why does it seem like there’s some kind of intangible element seeing bands act in older films versus most of the musician-cum-actors trying their hand today? The Beatles were not actors, despite their previous film and all the TV exposure they’d had thus far. The only one of the lot who seems like he could’ve had a career as an actor – and he sort of did – was John Lennon. And he might only be looking good compared to the rest. But, dammit, is the fun they’re having infectious. It’s palpable. You can see their elation dripping off the screen. Now, this MAY have had something to do with the rumored “haze of marijuana” all of the members were operating within. In 1965 that was just the thing to do if you were anybody. The argument could be made that applies today, too, but regardless everybody was stoned back then. At least that’s what my dad tells me. It isn’t too hard to spot the odd pair of red eyes present in “Help!” every now and then. Quite honestly, the purple haze was probably why their performances are as good as they are; these guys are just goofing off and having a blast spending big studio dollars on an goofy Bond-spoof caper that jets them to a couple hot spots.
Video
Framed at approximately 1.66:1, this Blu-ray’s 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image is a bit inconsistent, though overall it scores high marks. There appears to have been minimal DNR use applied to the beginning of the film; it’s not terrible but there is a slightly waxy quality to some shots. Nearly all of the film was shot during the day, and the good lighting this affords produces a mostly sharp picture here. Fine detail isn’t as appreciable in backgrounds or medium shots, though closeups look quite detailed. Colors are excellently reproduced and saturated – just check out some of the scenes where red or blue play heavily into the color scheme; they’re practically dripping off the screen. Grain is present and appears with a healthy layer over the image, nothing noisy or obtrusive. “Help!” had a major restoration done in 2007 and this transfer was more than likely culled from that master. Could it look better with today’s technology? Probably, yes. But what’s presented here is certainly no slouch, either.
Audio
There are a number of options available for audio, with the top choice being an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track (48kHz/24-bit). The disc also includes an English PCM 2.0 stereo track and a standard lossy English Dolby Digital 5.1 offering, though as you might guess neither provides the kind of audible experience the lossless pumps out. The film itself sounds perfectly good – nice separation of effects and dialogue across the front end. Dialogue levels are perfect; loud and clear and never hard to understand. The film’s few explosions offer up a moderate level of robust bass out of the LFE track. Fidelity is very high. Where this track really succeeds is when the songs kick in, because the sounds of The Beatles come to life with astonishingly high quality. The instrumentation mix is simply superb, erupting with live as each song completely immerses viewers in the music. The track is good already, but the work done on mixing the songs in lossless audio really takes it up a notch or two. Subtitles are included in English, French, German, Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Dutch.
Extras
“Help!” on Blu-ray contains all of the same features it did on DVD, which was a documentary, a couple of featurettes, a missing scene, and theatrical trailers. “The Beatles in Help!” (480p) is a documentary that runs for 29 minutes and 34 seconds. A few of the film’s crew show up to discuss the making of the film, detailing the adventure it was being with the band. Apparently crowds were a major issue at nearly every filming location. The band was constantly mobbed. There’s also behind the scenes footage of the band shooting provided here. “The Restoration of Help!” (480p) is a featurette that runs for 11 minutes and 29 seconds. This piece highlights the efforts done to restore “Help!” to its original condition, back to the original intent of the film’s creators. The original negative was full of dirt and debris, making for an exhaustive process. “A Missing Scene” (480p) is a featurette that runs for 3 minutes and 59 seconds. Learn about a bizarre scene that was cut from the film, as well as the depressed actress who thought she was going to be seen on screen with The Beatles. Oops. “Memories of Help!” (480p) is a featurette that runs for 6 minutes and 25 seconds. A collection of cast & crew members – Eleanor Bron, a couple of stuntmen, the film’s DP – sit down and recall their time on the film. A couple of US theatrical trailers (1080p) are included, one running for 34 seconds and the other for 2 minutes and 44 seconds. The Spanish theatrical trailer (1080p) runs for 1 minute and 16 seconds. There are also six radio spots hidden within the menus. They are extremely easy to find. And, yes, they are awesome. A booklet accompanies this release with the 2007 remembrances by Richard Lester and Martin Scorsese.
Packaging
The single BD-50 comes housed in a cardboard digi-pack, with the actual disc case housed inside a side loading slip-cover.
Overall
“Help!” is a complete trip and you don’t even need to be a fan to appreciate its endless camp and lightning humor.
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