Why is the Beatles’ movie A HARD DAYS NIGHT so readily available (on cable constantly) and their second movie HELP never shown on TV? I see they sell the DVD, so it’s not anything legal, probably.
It is a far lesser movie. I had the tape of it and only watched it once. “Hard Days Night” is considered a classic. "Help’, not so much.
Note: I appended your title to clarify it.
Maybe but the proportions of showings are crazy, like 10,000 to 1, and I haven’t actually seen the 1.
I saw it back in the 60s, and it was a cute, funny little movie, not awful by any means, and the music was of course terrific. There are much worse movies being shown on my TV every hour on the hour.
That is true and fair. But the alternate Beatles movie that does get shown is “Yellow Submarine” for reasons it works for kids, Beatles fans and potheads.
Help! can be streamed for 3.99 on Apple+.
True. But streaming services have to appeal to a wide array of potential viewers via a finite number of choices. They probably figure most people looking for a movie in the category “Beatles” would prefer A Hard Day’s Night or Yellow Submarine. The third spot that might have gone to Help! was used for a different search category.
Wikipedia writes,
In January 1981, rights to the film reverted from UA to producer Walter Shenson, and the film was withdrawn from circulation. […] by July 2007, all home video versions of the film were pulled from the market because of rights issues involving Apple Corps – now the full rights holders to the film. The rights issues were eventually resolved and Apple Corps/EMI/Capitol released a new double DVD version with a fully restored image and newly remixed in 2.0 stereo and 5.1 surround sound of the film. This came in standard 2xDVD packaging and 2xDVD deluxe edition box set on 30 October 2007 in the UK and 6 November 2007 in America. This latest release contains new featurettes, three trailers (one of which is in Spanish), and the aforementioned radio ads carried over from the Criterion LaserDisc issue. The film was released on Blu-ray format in June 2013 by Universal Music, now the owners of EMI/Capitol Records, using the 2007 restoration.
Aside from Apple’s streaming service, mentioned by What_Exit, you can buy the movie on physical media from www.beatles.com. In the North American region, they offer the 2-disc set for $29.98 while the Blu-Ray version is available for $22.87.
~Max
HDN is the better movie, but H! has better songs.
My brother and I saw Help! in the 80s or early 90s and we were obsessed with it. We thought it was funny as hell! We had it on VHS (I think taped off the tv) and watched it a lot. Plus we liked The Beatles and their music.
Perhaps also it’s a little bit racist with the way the villains are portrayed in the film? And also the Marx-brothers-style of comedy is not as popular or funny today as it once was.
So A Hard Day’s Night is more of an art piece film for people to enjoy and say “look at this art!” while Help! is more like that goofy comedy with some Beatles music in it, and nobody thinks it’ll get views.
AHDN is like the pilot episode for the Monkees. It’s very zany. (Speaking of, has anyone here seen Having a Wild Weekend, the Dave Clark Five movie from the same era? It’s not bad.)
I liked Help! when I last saw it, which was like 1970. I’d like to try it again, But I don’t have Apple TV.
Even more, I’d like to see Let It Be, but I guess The Beatles think it is so bad they won’t release it.
I don’t know what to think about Tragical History Tour. Is that available?
A Hard Day’s Night is still a fun watch. Help! not so much, though the music reflects the Beatles’ further maturity as songwriters, and holds up much better for those of us who enjoyed the latter-day Beatles.
I saw “A Hard Day’s Night” when I was 12 and it was first released, but our local theater closed in 1966 and I never got to see “Help!” for some reason. I finally watched it sometime in the 1980s and was actually disappointed, even a bit bored. It was all just too contrived and below the Beatles’ talents. It may as well have starred Herman’s Hermits or any other lightweight group.
I have it on a VHS tape. Great music, self-indulgent and boring film.
To me, Help! felt like a so-so Monkees script.
I’d kill to see a so-so Monkees script starring George, Paul, Ringo, and John.
I was a HUGE Dave Clark Five fan, and I saw it as soon as it came “to a theater near me.” I enjoyed it, of course, plus I loved Cilla Black’s hair.
I guess I’m one of the few that like Help! better than A Hard Day’s Night. I suppose it’s because I saw it first and just loved it. The music set pieces are still among my favorites; “You’re Going To Lose That Girl” in the studio with Ringo smoking up a storm, “Ticket To Ride” with all the snowy shenanigans, “The Night Before” with them freezing their butts off on the Salisbury Plain (and that great “bass-cam” angle), and “Another Girl” in The Bahamas (where they’re also freezing, but you can’t really tell).
I really like AHDN too – I saw it on the big screen when they released the 4K restored version and I have the Criterion Blu-ray special edition. A fun movie and I suppose it’s a “better” film than Help! on a couple of different levels, but because it’s in B&W (not that there’s anything wrong with that), it’s always felt dated to me and just not as “hip”.
I think you’re judging it too harshly.
I’d say it feels like an above average Monkees script.
I saw it on TV as a kid several times in the 1970s. I was so disappointed when I found out they didn’t really all share those really cool digs.
As long as we’re on the subject, has anyone else noticed that Ringo is the one that sets the plot in motion in all four Beatles movies? Ringo does something (decides to skip rehearsal/wears a sacred ring/takes a bus ride with his aunt/agrees to help Fred) and the others follow him into the story.
It makes you wonder if Ringo was the only member of the band that the other three were willing to let have this role.
Ringo was the aspiring actor of the bunch…and all he had to do was act naturally.
I just went to Amazon to look for Help! on DVD and found the official Amazon listing for the 2007 Special Edition. For the DVD and VHS versions, the title on the page is “He !”
