Help! Press release
STOP WORRYING… HELP! IS ON THE WAY ON BLU-RAY!
“Absurd, delightful and exuberantly messy, Help! is a pure pleasure to watch.”
– The New York Times
London – May 15, 2013 – The Beatles’ second feature film, 1965’s Help!, is on the way on Blu-ray.
On June 24 (June 25 in North America), Help! makes its eagerly awaited Blu-ray debut in a single-disc
package pairing the digitally restored film and 5.1 soundtrack with an hour of
extra features, including a 30-minute documentary about the making of the film,
memories of the cast and crew, an in-depth look at the restoration process, an
outtake scene, and original theatrical trailers and radio spots. An
introduction by the film’s director, Richard Lester, and an appreciation by
Martin Scorsese are included in the Blu-ray’s booklet.
Help!’s Blu-ray
edition follows the 2012 release of The Beatles’ digitally restored Yellow Submarine and Magical Mystery Tour feature films on
Blu-ray, DVD and iTunes with extensive extras.
Help!’s restoration for its 2007 DVD debut wowed viewers, earning five-times
platinum sales in the U.S. and praise from a broad range of top media outlets
around the world, including USA Today heralding the DVD as “a grand
re-release,” The Guardian’s appreciation of the film’s director, Richard
Lester, saying “Lester matches The Beatles’
‘star’ power with smart, colourful visuals and casual surrealism,” The Los
Angeles Times’ restoration rave: “With
dynamic compression that was standard in the 1960s lifted for the digital age,
the full range of the group’s musicality comes through – it’s like several
coats of dust have been cleaned off an old master’s painting,” and four-star
reviews from Rolling Stone and MOJO with the latter saying, “They
really don’t make them like this anymore.”
Directed by Richard Lester, who also directed the band’s debut feature
film, 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night, Help!
follows The Beatles as they become passive recipients of an outside plot that
revolves around Ringo’s possession of a sacrificial ring, which he cannot remove
from his finger. As a result, he and his bandmates John, Paul and George are
chased from London to the Austrian Alps and the Bahamas by religious cult
members, a mad scientist and the London police.
In addition to starring The Beatles, Help!
boasts a witty script, a great cast of British character actors, and classic
Beatles songs “Help!,” “You’re Going To Lose That Girl,” “You’ve Got To Hide
Your Love Away,” “Ticket To Ride,” “I Need You,” “The Night Before,” and
“Another Girl.”
Help!’s Blu-ray package pairs the digitally restored original film
with these extra features:
• “The Beatles in Help!”
– a 30-minute documentary about the making of the film with Richard Lester, the
cast and crew, including exclusive 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)
CAST
The Beatles:
John………..…………………………………………………………John
Lennon
Paul………………………………………………………………Paul
McCartney
George……….…………………………………………………George
Harrison
Ringo……….……………………………………………………………Ringo
Starr
Clang………………………………………………………………….Leo
McKern
Ahme…………………………………………………………………Eleanor
Bron
Foot…………………………………………………………………………….Victor
Spinetti
Algernon…………………………………………………………………………Roy
Kinnear
Superintendent………………………………………………………………Patrick
Cargill
Bhuta…………………………………………………………………………….John
Bluthal
Jeweller………………………………………………………………Peter
Copley
Doorman…………………………………………………………………Alfie
Bass
Abdul…………………………………………………………..…Warren
Mitchell
Lawnmower…………………………………………………………Bruce
Lacey
Cross channel swimmer………………………………………………Mal
Evans
Women in street……………………Dandy Nichols
and Gretchen Franklin
PRODUCTION
Director
……………………………………………………………Richard Lester
Producer
…………………………………………………………Walter Shenson
Screenplay…………………………………..Marc Behm
and Charles Wood
Story by………………………………………………………………..Marc
Behm
Director of
Photography…………………………………………David Watkin
Production
Manager……………………………………………….John Pellatt
Art
Director………………………………………………………Raymond Simm
Colour Consultant and
Titles…………………………………Robert Freeman
Costume Designer…………………………………………………….Julie
Harris
Musical
Director………………………………………………………Ken Thorne
Songs composed by…………………..John
Lennon and Paul McCartney
and by George Harrison
Songs performed by…………………………………………………The
Beatles
Songs produced
by……………………………………………..George Martin
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