Help!

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Help!

G

Released Aug 11, 1965

1h 32m

Musical

Comedy

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Tomatometer

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.

Critics Consensus

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

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Mark Bourne

Film.com

For casual viewers, the whole thing has a retro charm. For Beatles fans, it's a flawed but essential film.

Nov 15, 2007

Full Review

Derek Adams

Time Out

A Hard Day's Night may be more primitive, but it also seems more spontaneous.

Feb 9, 2006

Full Review

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

The boys themselves are exuberant and uninhibited in their own genial way. They just become awfully redundant and -- dare I say it? -- dull.

Rated: 2/5

May 9, 2005

Full Review

Pauline Kael

McCall's

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.

Sep 20, 2023

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Help! is stylistically different from its predecessor but The Beatles sure know how to put on a performance.

Nov 22, 2021

Full Review

Dwight MacDonald

Esquire Magazine

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.

Aug 14, 2019

Full Review

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Scott L

I watched it for the first time at 14 when it was a global sensation but was disappointed. I loved The Beatles of course but it was missing the sporadic cleverness of Hard Days Night, so HELP felt lazy, both then then and now. My guess is that The Beatles themselves felt let down and bored with the project too because I heard that most the time they were off somewhere smoking grass to no doubt add a little fun to the time they were spending. What a freaking drag! I've always really liked Hard Days Night. There's a lot of parts in that movie that just make you feel good, and isn't that the point of a movie?

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/19/25

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie is one of the most cursed movies I've ever seen, and I usually watch horror movies. Very good

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/14/25

Full Review

cass b

HOLY SHITTT PEAK MOVIE LOVED IT

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/25/25

Full Review

Rami A

This and "A Hard Day's Night (1964)" perfectly depict how much The Beatles were a huge thing. No matter how many years pass, people will still be talking about The Beatles in their impact in music and pop culture. With this film, it's a lot of fun, humorous, and innocent. I laughed too hard when I watched both this and "A Hard Day's Night (1964)." It's highly recommended for any Beatle fan. It surprisingly still holds up even after 60 years.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/25/25

Full Review

Yakking With F

its okay i give it a 4 of 10 its a like james bond movie

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/07/24

Full Review

alan g

Best Beatles movie. A must watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/26/24

Full Review

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Richard Lester

Director

The Beatles

Themselves

Leo McKern

Clang

Eleanor Bron

Ahme

Victor Spinetti

Foot

Roy Kinnear

Algernon

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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
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 11, 1965, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 24, 2017
Runtime: 1h 32m
Sound Mix: Stereo

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