Skip to main content

HELP! (1965)

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

HELP!. Feature film. (1965, 90 mins) IMDB

...In the beginning there was The Beatles...

H

ELP! was the Beatles's second movie--a follow up to their popular and acclaimed first film A HARD DAY'S NIGHT. I liked them both. I like the music. I like the irreverent humour.

The film is as old as I am and yet it stands up. This is not a dippy movie with pop stars.

The best moments are the music. The four of them with their instruments as they sing and play. It's a sound that won't go away. HELP, I Need You, Ticket to Ride, You're Going To Lose That Girl and others. It's music videos before they existed except music videos are created to sell a band and its music, this movie was more about the people and corporations around them making money and for their fans. They didn't need any more publicity.

It's too bad they didn't make more films. They were required to make a third and ended up with an animation film called YELLOW SUBMARINE with actors mimicking their voices. They didn't want to do a third film.

Should I mention there is a plot, a narrative as such, in this film? Yes. Given the reason for making the film, it's not a terrible narrative.

There's an Indian religious sect who sacrifice humans for their god except the person can't be killed if they aren't wearing a special ring--a ring Ringo Starr is wearing back in London. This group of Indians travel to the UK to recover the ring so they can carry out their sacrifice. They remind me of the Thuggees from GUNGHA DIN and INDIANA JONES: THE TEMPLE OF DOOM.

They try and try to steal the ring back, but can't, but the clock has clicked to a new day. A new day means a new person to sacrifice and that person is Ringo because he's wearing the ring. Of course there's the little problem. The ring won't come off.

That Ringo is chased and covered in red paint but is unscathed is not a surprise. That the leader of the sect, during the final moments of the film, during a sacrifice scene, ends up with the ring instead of Ringo is story telling.

You could do worse when studying this film for film composition and editing. And lighting.

Did you see the villain with the pink costume and the pink gun to match? Check it out.

Posted 2009/01/27 at 19h57ET in Movie Commentary.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CRA & E-Filing

Tuesday, March 6, 2007 ... Online Tax Services Suspended by CRA ... I received an email press release from the Canada Revenue Agency late on Tuesday stating they were shutting down the computer that processed e-filed personal tax returns. For many tax preparers the announcement means they will have to file paper returns or wait for the system to come back on, but it could be a long wait. Until we can announce a business recovery date, the Agency will provide daily updates to the media on the steps we are taking. On the surface, e-filing a return makes sense because it is more efficient, but at present it only makes sense for simple returns. If you file a return beyond a T4 and an RRSP deduction, you can expect follow-up letters requesting original receipts. For accountants, this hassle means additional time—time that usually can't be recovered. As result, many accountants file paper returns for their benefit. What is required is a system that allows the recei...
Post a Comment
Read more

If Only We Could Agree

Monday, June 11, 2012 ... have you been accused of misspelling a word you know is correct ... S usanne O’Leary wrote an interesting article on her experience with the variations of the English language in different countries. You know the obvious ones like colour with or without a “u” but less obvious ones like travelled versus traveled. Growing up in Sweden she learnt English in school—the UK variation. In publishing her books, she read reviews where she was criticized for improper spelling. False accusations as it turns out. While I write tire and cozy, it’s not incorrect to write tyre or cosy. Same language. Both accepted. Just different. You can read her write-up here along with the numerous comments posted by readers. I found it interesting, but that’s me. As a Canadian I deal with this issue everyday. I feel her pain when she’s criticized for something based on ignorance. No fun. I was told by a boss that “data are” isn’t correct. It should be “data is.” Read...
2 comments
Read more

The Crusades (1935)

Sunday, March 29, 2009 The Crusades. Feature film. (1935, 125 mins) IMDB ... a Hollywood romance with swords thrown in ... T he title is extremely misleading. The film is not about the crusades but a love story set in the midst of a crusade led by King Richard. Richard never spoke English and barely even lived on the British isles. He was a Norman who spoke French, but you wouldn't know that from this film. The filmmakers also want you to believe the King would have been caught up in something as trivial as love. Not a chance. Marriage wasn't about love. It was about matters of state, about power, and with that power, wealth. A true-to-history film about King Richard and the Crusades would lack romance and therefore wouldn't appeal to a broad audience. What we have in this film is nothing more than a love story. Richard is betrothed to Alice, the sister of King Philip of France. He doesn't want to marry her. He decides to go on the crusad...
Post a Comment
Read more