The Beatles' "Help!" available on blu-ray June 25th! Pre-order page already up at Amazon (1 Viewer)

[Vahan_Nisanain]

With A Hard Day's Night's original mono restored, Criterion needs to do the same thing for this film. The original version featured a completely different (and far superior) Lennon vocal in the opening.This was NOT on the UK Mono vinyl at all.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

I've been researching Kine Weekly and this is from the December 16, 1965 issue which gives the aspect ratio of HELP as 1.85:1 on 1.65 head room. I assume they mean the picture was composed for screens of any aspect ratio between 1.66:1 to 1.85:1. However, Kine Weekly also shows that in 1965 very few films British were being shot for 1.66. They were either 1.75 or 1.85.

20140623_144114r.jpg

Excellent, Doug!
Can you please share this in the aspect ratio thread?

 

[Angelo Colombus]

With A Hard Day's Night's original mono restored, Criterion needs to do the same thing for this film. The original version featured a completely different (and far superior) Lennon vocal in the opening.This was NOT on the UK Mono vinyl at all.

I do have the Criterion laserdisc of Help so when i have a chance i will compare it to the blu-ray.

 

[Vahan_Nisanain]

I do have the Criterion laserdisc of Help so when i have a chance i will compare it to the blu-ray.

 

[Tony Bensley]

With A Hard Day's Night's original mono restored, Criterion needs to do the same thing for this film. The original version featured a completely different (and far superior) Lennon vocal in the opening.This was NOT on the UK Mono vinyl at all.

Hi Vahan!

I would love for Criterion to be able to do a 50th Anniversary HELP! Blu-Ray/DVD Set with the same level of restoration treatment they provided for their 50th Anniversary Director Approved A HARD DAY'S NIGHT Collection! The same three audio options (Mono, Stereo and 5.1 Surround) should cover the range of auditory preferences and satisfy most tastes!

My assumption is that whether or not this happens hinges, at least in part, as to whether Criterion can obtain sub-licensing from Apple.

CHEERS!

Tony

 

[Vahan_Nisanain]

Tony, have you seen the video I posted above? It is the original mono film mix for the title track.

Also, thank you for liking my post about the UA Hexagon in the AHDN 50th anniversary thread. I believe Help! may have also originally had one as well. I can't 100% confirm this, but it appears the UA Hexagon was only seen on foreign prints of the American-made UA films, as well as on the British prints of the British-made UA films.

Not to mention I have always seen the UA Hexagon on foreign posters of UA films, but never on any domestic ones here in America. If this isn't a tell-tale clue, I don't know what is.

 

[Tony Bensley]

Tony, have you seen the video I posted above? It is the original mono film mix for the title track.

Also, thank you for liking my post about the UA Hexagon in the AHDN 50th anniversary thread. I believe Help! may have also originally had one as well. I can't 100% confirm this, but it appears the UA Hexagon was only seen on foreign prints of the American-made UA films, as well as on the British prints of the British-made UA films.

Not to mention I have always seen the UA Hexagon on foreign posters of UA films, but never on any domestic ones here in America. If this isn't a tell-tale clue, I don't know what is.

Hi Vahan!

It's probably just because I've only heard the mono version once on Television in the 1970's, but I actually rather prefer the HELP! Stereo mix. With that said, it is my opinion that any future reissues of the Film should include the original mono track.

Regarding the United Artists Hexagon, the more I think of it, the more I think the likeliest reason that Richard Lester prefers that A HARD DAY'S NIGHT issues not include this is that he's always felt that any presentation should begin with the opening chord. In the 2002 Documentary THINGS THEY SAID TODAY, Mr. Lester does state how at the UK Premiere the man at the Wurlitzer continued playing during the start of the opening sequence. At any rate, since there seems to be some debate as to whether the Hexagon was even included on US Prints (Though based on what I've recently read, I suspect this is based on the UK Version. Yes, there IS a difference!), leaving it off the Criterion Release is likely no big deal, in this case!

CHEERS!

Tony

 

[Vahan_Nisanain]

I could have sworn the Hexagon WAS also on the US print of AHDN. Someone said that he clearly remembered seeing it when the film had its American television premiere on NBC in 1967.

UA continued to hang on to the rights to AHDN, until 1979, when the original owner, Walter Shenson, regained the rights. Shenson leased the film to UA to distribute when it first came out. The Walter Shenson Productions card replaced the Hexagon on all the 1980's and 1990's prints.

 

[haineshisway]

Someone somewhere posted an eBay link - someone selling a 16mm print of A Hard Day's Night and the hexagon logo is present and accounted for.

 

[Tony Bensley]

Someone somewhere posted an eBay link - someone selling a 16mm print of A Hard Day's Night and the hexagon logo is present and accounted for.

The eBay link is posted within this thread: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/329589-a-hard-days-night-50th-anniversary-restoration-criterion-blu-ray-confirmed/page-7

Below is some text from the eBay page:

16mm original feature "A Hard Day's Night" The Beatles classic comedy dir. by Richard Lester with Victor Spinetti, Norman Rossington. Excellent condition never rented or circulated original owner. Complete, titles and credits, original leaders. Originally received on 3 lab cores and configured to 2 - 1600 ft. reels. I believe it is on Agfa stock. Ship only to addresses within USA. No international shipping.

Interesting that this only ships within the US, which makes me wonder whether this might be derived from a US Print?

CHEERS!

 

[haineshisway]

If it has the UA logo of course it's an American 16mm print.

 

[Vahan_Nisanain]

Haineshisway, UA distributed A Hard Day's Night and Help! internationally, including the UK where both films originated in. So it was not just here in America.

 

[haineshisway]

Haineshisway, UA distributed A Hard Day's Night and Help! internationally, including the U.K. So it was not just here in America.

If it's an Agfa print I can say it pretty much is a US print. I had hundreds of agfa prints, all from the US.

 

[Vahan_Nisanain]

What would be the U.K. equivalent to an Agfa print?

 

[Dick]

Tony, have you seen the video I posted above? It is the original mono film mix for the title track.

Also, thank you for liking my post about the UA Hexagon in the AHDN 50th anniversary thread. I believe Help! may have also originally had one as well. I can't 100% confirm this, but it appears the UA Hexagon was only seen on foreign prints of the American-made UA films, as well as on the British prints of the British-made UA films.

Not to mention I have always seen the UA Hexagon on foreign posters of UA films, but never on any domestic ones here in America. If this isn't a tell-tale clue, I don't know what is.

You may be right. The first time I have run into the hexagon UA logo was one week ago when I received the Australian Blu-ray of HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1959). Nice to see it there.

 

[Vahan_Nisanain]

Here's a fun little tidbit:

Allegedly, the very last UA film to feature the Hexagon in any form, before the Transamerica takeover, was 1967's How I Won the War, which was, of course, a British film. Director Richard Lester was originally going to release it in April 1967, but then he delayed it for six months so he could focus work on Petulia for Warner Bros.

This is why HIWTW has the Transamerica Circle on the posters, but the Hexagon on the actual film itself.

 

[Tony Bensley]

I finally sprung for the Blu-ray upgrade today! It'll be great to finally view this from an actual 2K reference transfer!

That said, I can't help but wonder whether anyone on the HELP! Restoration Team harbor regrets about not having done a 4K scan?

CHEERS!

 

[Angelo Colombus]

I hope one day we will have the one last unreleased Beatle movie Let It Be on Blu-ray or dvd.

 

[Tony Bensley]

While I haven't viewed the Main Feature in HD as yet, I did watch all of the Bonus Features, which do look great in *1080p! It is very nice to see that none of these are 480i port overs, which I have largely come to loathe for their inherent visual inferiority to their DVD counterparts! The way I see it, the Blu-ray formatting is to blame for this! I mean, why on Earth do SD Transfers for Blu-ray HAVE to be 480i and CANNOT be 480p? It's pretty bloody stupid, if you ask me!

Anyway, back to the HELP! (1965) Blu-ray. While I find the Blu-ray to be pretty fantastic, I'm slightly annoyed by the fact that the accompanying Booklet is somewhat smaller than the DVD counterpart (Albeit, out of necessity to accommodate the shorter Blu-ray packaging!), and more so by the cropping of certain photos. These are admittedly, nitpicks rather than anything that's frightfully critical, and in my opinion, shouldn't sway any Beatles' Fan from upgrading from DVD to Blu-ray (Provided they have a Blu-ray Device!), if they haven't already done so!

It is great to have all of the Bonus content on the same Blu-ray Disc, which in my opinion, could have been done for the original 2007 DVD issue, as while the extras are nice and rather informative, they aren't really that extensive! Also, in hindsight, I would have loved it if at least one of the extras could have captured a bit of the late George Martin, perhaps when the "You're Gonna Lose That Girl" sequence was being discussed, as a comparison with the Actor who played The Beatles producer!

I agree with Angelo that it would be nice to see LET IT BE (1970) finally get a proper post Laserdisc issue, though I lean more toward Blu-ray, especially as all of the other Beatles' era Feature Length Films are already available in that format. It is also my opinion that the Anthology Series from the mid 1990s should also get the same treatment! Actually, why not pair up LET IT BE! with THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY (As separate titles, but in one Blu-ray set!), as showcasing both their disintegration, and later surviving members reuniting to help balance out whatever negative (But honest!) vibes are picked up in their final cinematic piece!

CHEERS!

*Note: Despite most of the Bonus Features being listed as 480i (Except the Trailers!) at Blu-ray.com and as "Video: mixed (1080i59.94 and 480i59.84) AVC video" on the Blu-ray Back Cover, I believe that information may be incorrect! The MPEG-4 AVC designation and average mbps bitrate in the teens or higher certainly don't indicate 480 interlace to me!

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Help-Blu-ray/72979/#Review

 

[Tony Bensley]

HELP! (1965) - Subafilms 2007 DVD And 2013 Blu-ray Screenshot Comparison:

Subafilms 2007 DVD (480p):

Subafilms 2013 Blu-ray (720p Prt Scn Capture)

CHEERS!