Help!

So this is the week it all goes down, 09.09.09. That's right, The Beatles entire recordings re-released in what is being dubbed, "what it sounded like in the studio." To top that, the gaming series, Rock Band, is coming out with a game solely dedicated to the Fab Four. And to top that, Apple (the music corporation, not the a-hole computer corporation) is set to make a major announcement that day. Well, here at DVDs with Spoodawg (I'm really thinking of a name change, something that flows better... any suggestions?) we're going to celebrate this occasion with reviews of movies with The Beatles and one movie with their music. To start this off, I'm going with a hilarious romp in the lives of the boys from Liverpool... Help!

Simply put, Ringo's got this ring on his finger, an Eastern religious group wants to sacrifice him because he's wearing the ring, and so he and John, Paul, and George are trying to get the ring off of him before he's painted red and sliced open. Yeah, sounds psychotic, and yet, I love it (and there are tunes, too!). Really, when looking at it, it's really a movie for those who couldn't see the boys up close and personal at a concert. But on a big screen, everyone could see them, as if they were at a concert, with all the songs mixed throughout the film.

Now this film is not considered the highlight that A Hard Day's Night was, cinematically. And that's true, it wasn't as earth-shattering as their first film, but The Beatles do put on a good time, and to me, Help! is funnier, it seems to have a better storyline, and they seem to be having more fun on the screen, almost as if they're allowed to be themselves this time around. Even if that included them being doped up through most of those scenes in the Alps.

And never did I think you could mix The Beatles with Beethoven with the 1812 Overture... and opera! How is that possible? The range of music in this film is incredible. And you know what also is incredible? Check out that scene when they're in the airport heading towards the Bahamas. Doesn't Ringo and George have their future haircuts twenty years before the fact? I'm just saying they must've thought really long and hard about their disguises in this scene, and possibly they liked them so much they wanted to have that look later in life.

So as far as breaking the mold, they did that with A Hard Day's Night. But for pure fun and mischief, with Beatles music mixed in, Help! is a blast of a film. I highly recommend it for any Beatles fan who wants to dig a little deeper beyond their music. Next review: a film that uses the music of the Beatles, although even that couldn't overcome the stench of the plot nor the actors/musicians.

Later!