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Can We Take You
Out To the Pictures?
HELP DVD -
Preview of Bonus Material
(Special thanks to Al Sussman / Beatlefan
magazine)
Here's a bit more information on the
one-hour disc of extras we told you of in our earlier report:
The bonus disc leads off with The Beatles in HELP!. This
half hour mini-documentary opens up with the black and white
performance seen on the screen in the movie (that the cultists
throw darts at). Following the title segment, there are
a host of previously seen and unseen clips of the Beatles
attending the movie premiere in 1965, with interview segments
serving as voiceovers.
 There
are also clips of the HELP! press conference, still photos
and outtakes filmed on location, many of which are seen
here for the first time. And of course, there are loads
of interviews with director Dick Lester, who comments
on how this film required more concentration than the previous
outing, A Hard Day's Night. He recalls "there was a
lot of pot smoking going on; a lot of laughter and merriment",
thus the need for him to emphasize to the boys to "not
lose the script within the first week of shooting".
Lester continued "but this is who they were; you play
the cards you're given" and went on to tell of how
Brian Epstein (whose voice is heard in interview
bits here as well) felt it was "really really really
important to go to the Bahamas", and hence a scene
was written to be shot on location there.
Featured prominently is Eleanor Bron,
who starred alongside the Beatles in the film, recalling
"it was like touching gold, like being in the presence
of Midas". Reminiscences from other bit players (including
the Beatles stunt doubles) and cast members (hair/makeup,
wardrobe artists, etc.) are also included. We also have
new interview material from recently retired Apple CEO Neil
Aspinall, who shares memories of the scenes shot with Beatles
roadie Mal Evans.
 One
terrific bit features Lester commenting on some of the challenges
of filming and post production editing in the pre-digital
world. He shows how "ugly" cable wires in the
skiing scene, which could not be removed, were transformed
into the music staff (showing the notation of the vocal
line for "Ticket To Ride"). This leads to him
telling the story of how MTV cited him for his pioneering
work in music video, calling him the "father of MTV"
(and his well known retort of demanding a blood test).
Following the documentary, there is a five
minute segment on a deleted scene, we don't actually SEE
the scene, which is misleadiing on the DVD label. The nixed
scene featured British actor Frankie Howard and actress
Wendy Richard (shown here with Paul). The scene was set
at the Sam Ahab (that's Bahamas spelled backwards, folks)
Drama School, where Richards was cast as Lady MacBeth. Lester
goes on to tell of how the scene "didn't fly",
but Richards recalls that she didn't know the scene was
cut until the premiere, to which she wasn't invited.
A ten
minute segment on the restoration process follows, which
comes very dangerously close to being too dry and overly
technical, but is saved by the demonstration of "before
and after" shots from the film. I must admit, having
the previous edition of Help! from the earlier DVD release
as well as the A&E remastered video, that I didn't think
there was much more
color and depth that could be enhanced. But the results
are very indisputable and very impressive.
 More
cast and crew memories follow, including those of Victor
Spinetti (who was conspicuously absent from the 30 minute
documentary), and we hear of certain challenges in the actual
filming. We learn of how the scene of Ringo and the tiger
were filmed (relax, he was never in real danger), which
is more than can be said for poor Mal Evans, who
faced hypothermia in the ice water swimming scene, and a
barracuda following him in the waters off the Bahamas. Finally,
Lester recalls a cast party at which he jammed with the
Beatles on old Buddy Holly numbers. Good times ...
The bonus disc finishes with three original
trailers from 1965 (two in English, and one in Spanish).
There are original radio spots hidden in the disc menus.
Initially, I was more eager for the bonus material, having
owned the first DVD release of the film. While it is extremely
well done (listen for bits and pieces on our HELP! spotlight
show), the restoration segment has me more eager than ever
to see the final mastering on the full film.
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