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Help!

Play trailer Poster for Help! G,  1965,  1h 32m,  Musical/ Comedy/ Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 86% 28 Reviews Tomatometer 86% 25,000+ Ratings Popcornmeter
86% Tomatometer 28 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
In the follow-up to their successful debut musical, "A Hard Day's Night," the Beatles once again offer up a melding of song and slapstick. After Ringo stumbles upon a valuable gem, the band starts getting harassed by a fringe religious group. To escape their sudden stalkers, the boys hit the road. As John, Paul, George and Ringo travel the globe, they perform a mix of musical numbers, singing hits ranging from "Ticket to Ride" to the titular ditty.
Help!

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Help! finds the Fab Four displaying their infectious charm and humor in an enjoyably madcap adventure.

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Critics Reviews

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Bernard Zuel Sydney Morning Herald Apr 29, 2026
The Goonish humour beloved by the Liverpudlians is mixed with a greater degree of the Marx Brothers quasi-slapstick and more willingness to lair about. Go to Full Review
Mark Bourne Film.com Nov 15, 2007
For casual viewers, the whole thing has a retro charm. For Beatles fans, it's a flawed but essential film. Go to Full Review
Derek Adams Time Out Feb 9, 2006
A Hard Day's Night may be more primitive, but it also seems more spontaneous. Go to Full Review
Pauline Kael McCall's Sep 20, 2023
It is nothing but a chase, turning a structural device of early movies into the total substance, and without anywhere to go. Help! is all climax, but nothing is prepared for; finally it just exhausts itself and stops. Go to Full Review
Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies Nov 22, 2021
Help! is stylistically different from its predecessor but The Beatles sure know how to put on a performance. Go to Full Review
Dwight MacDonald Esquire Magazine Aug 14, 2019
A witless orgy of expensive production that strangles the Beatles, so fresh and spontaneous in [A Hard Day's Night], in a laboriously foolish plot line and smothers them under tons of handsomely colored feathers. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Apr 2, 2019 Amazing film and great music. A true testament to the greatest band ever.
Feb 14, 2019 In my opinion the Beatles second movie âHelp!â? is an abysmal attempt to recapture the fun, exuberance and charm of, âA Hard Dayâ(TM)s Night.â? The plot is much to extravagant and under developed creating a jokey and cheesy story and characters. The Beatles remain the Beatles however, the setting in which they are placed in the movie doesnâ(TM)t play to this strength like, âA Hard Dayâ(TM)s Night,â? dose. When watching, âA Hard Dayâ(TM)s Night,â? you see a happy go-lucky, irreverent, and playful group of young boys beset by fans and producers alike. You enjoy watching them run around in the park and empathize with Ringo as e wanders around London. âHelp!â? while full of romping fun and laughs doesnâ(TM)t give you the same emotional attachment to the Beatles as, âA Hard Dayâ(TM)s Night.â? It dose have one redeeming quality in the new singles, Help! and Youâ(TM)re Going to Lose That Girl. These singles where very well received and are to two highlights of an otherwise overdrawn and excessive use of screen time and cash. See more
Kylo M Nov 21, 2018 Not much of a script just the beatles doing a bunch of random things,but its still a fun movie to watch and of course the great music. See more
Sep 21, 2018 Help! is the pretty good follow up to A Hard Day's Night. although not able to bit the charm and the humor of their first film, The Beatles still brings their best in their performance and music. but with the out of place and odd story line and it's James Bond parody style the film does fell flat compared to A Hard Day's Night. It's still a entertaining watch with good gags and catchy music. this is not a must see but is still a watchable viewing. recommend to any Beatles and music fan. See more
Han R Jul 9, 2018 A few years after the film was released-let's leave aside the album itself, which is, as is nearly everything they recorded, the very paragon of fabulous-John reflected that the band felt like extras in their own film, ultimately unhappy with the final product, which they far less control over than they did their previous outing. Perhaps that's just me making an excuse for the fact that the movie doesn't really rise to the level of the music. There are loads of dull patches, the humor is a bit too messy, the scope somewhat cumbersome, the sensibilities too retrograde (even for 1965, especially for the far-left-leaning figures the Beatles would become)-the whole thing is hard to stomach, even as it speeds past without any real weight. A few of the gags work, but the thing tends to sag whenever the Beatles aren't on screen; but as soon as they pick up their instruments and Ringo kicks off the beat, the music scenes are impossible to beat. See more
Rey S Sep 28, 2017 The second beatles film and even more crazier, Help! Involves ringo wearing a sacrificial ring. Completely over the top and involves the trademark beatles humour from a hard days night, Help! Is an entertaining and calamity filled comedy. See more
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Help!

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Movie Info

Synopsis In the follow-up to their successful debut musical, "A Hard Day's Night," the Beatles once again offer up a melding of song and slapstick. After Ringo stumbles upon a valuable gem, the band starts getting harassed by a fringe religious group. To escape their sudden stalkers, the boys hit the road. As John, Paul, George and Ringo travel the globe, they perform a mix of musical numbers, singing hits ranging from "Ticket to Ride" to the titular ditty.
Director
Richard Lester
Producer
Walter Shenson
Distributor
Criterion Collection, United Artists, The Voyager Company
Production Co
Subafilms, Walter Shenson Films
Rating
G
Genre
Musical, Comedy, Adventure
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 11, 1965, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 24, 2017
Runtime
1h 32m
Sound Mix
Stereo
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