Help!

The second Beatles movie reunites the mop-top quartet with director Richard Lester, switches to color, and sends John Paul, George, and Ringo on a music-filled romp (with seven classic tunes) that features religious cults and mad scientists. The aggressively silly 1965 comedy has the lads goofing their way through a bizarre conspiracy that takes them from London to the snowy mountains of Austria and the sunny beaches of the Bahamas as Ringo runs from zealots who are determined to use him as a human sacrifice. While it doesn't hold up to the earlier Beatles/Lester collaboration A Hard Day's Night, these guys are clearly having fun, and some of the sight gags and goofy antics are genuinely funny, thanks to a great comic cast that includes Roy Kinnear, Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, and Victor Spinetti. A pleasant pop-culture confection, Help! serves up a slice of 1960s British whimsy that will be essential viewing for Fab Four fans and an amusing diversion for others. Remastered for Blu-ray, extras include a new retrospective documentary that includes interviews with Lester and crew members (but, sadly, no participation from Paul or Ringo, apart from archival interviews), behind-the-scenes featurettes, and radio spots. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)