HELP!

The Beatles were too popular for only one film so this thing was churned out to capitalise on their success. It is a real mish mash and quite hard to sit through unless you are a Beatles fan. The main image that stays with me on this film is when the Beatles visit the Austrian Alps and there is some inspired choreography, such as the Fab Four falling in snow as one with one scarf, which have become iconic for the band. The ski sequences are humourous and worth checking out and indeed appear oon most documentaries. The story is terrible and involves a stupid seance sequence and Ringo is being stalked or something by a soothsayer or fortune teller and weird trippy things happen. The Beatles have fun and are practical jokers throughout, which are real hit or miss affairs, but the songs are definitely quintessential. The best songs are The Night Before, Lennon's soulful You've got to hide your love away, and the boppy tuneful Another Girl, hilarious here as McCartney plays the woman like a guitar. Also I am a fan of Ticket to Ride, the huge single with catchy riff.

The title track has been covered ad infinitum for good reason as it captured a generation, the paranoia of the war, the loneliness and alienation of a technologically advancing society, the terror of the 60s. Or it could just be asking for help. In any case these tracks are wonderful and memorable and the film's greatest moments are when the tracks are heard.

The film itself is rather bland although in colour, A Hard day's Night or Magical Mystery Tour are far better in terms of quality. Overall it is still an enjoyable trip and one for Beatles collectors.