Moedred said:
After Gunga Din and Temple of Doom, I consider
this part of an unofficial Cult of Kali trilogy. United Artists had the freedom to take this 1965 Bond spoof further than Casino Royale (1967) by including the Bond theme at times. It's amazing the Beatles in their prime devoted the time required for a major film. They didn't object to the subject matter because they weren't yet turned on to Indian music and customs... in fact they weren't told the plot and were admittedly too stoned to understand it anyway.
It's by far the most cinematic of the Beatles movies. Hard Days Night is low budget and insidery, Yellow Submarine is interesting but uneven, Magical Mystery Tour is unwatchable, and a restored, uncropped Let it Be will be released only after the remaining Beatles have passed on, if then.
The original title was Eight Arms to Hold You, a reference to Kali. 20 years later it became the title of a song on the Goonies soundtrack for the deleted scene where Shorty feeds a Walkman to the octopus. "Help!" appears at 2:55 in the
video.
Naked miniature Paul McCartney
Love that you thread bumped this, Moedred! Made my day! Funny idea on the "Kali" trilogy, although I would probably make it a Quadrilogy by including The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, what with Capt. Nemo's inclination and all. But then again I'm probably one of the few who actually liked that movie, despite it speeding Connery toward retirement.
Regarding Help: My understanding is that they knew the basic plot regarding Ringo's sacrificial ring, etc. Somehow, I kinda doubt their later dabbling with Eastern religion would have made them opposed to the plot. One can only speculate on that. However it was their trip, filming on location in India that exposed George to the sitar and music of Ravi Shankar, which he would then introduce the mainstream pop music world to, with "Norwegian Wood"!
I share your sentiments about Help being the most cinematic, especially in comparison to their other movies in terms of scope. Although, I now have a greater appreciation for "A Hard Day's Night" than when I was younger. AHDN has a youthful joy, and effervescence, arriving at the peak of Beatlemania. But Help still remains mine and my Dad and brother's fav for sheer, overall entertainment.
A running inside joke between my brother, Dad and I, when someone botches something, is to reference the line that Lennon laments to the Jeweler after breaking the stone grinding saw in attempt to remove Ringo's ring, "Jeweler, you failed!" We always laugh about John's droll delivery of that line!
Moedred said:
I hope someone at the Connecticut Comicon next month asks Ke Huy Quan about the eight-armed adversary running gag he was involved in, and whether he was considered for Arachnophobia...
Bwahahaha! Ke will probably think that person (in the words of Styx) has way "too much time on their hands"! If he even knows what the deuce they're referring to.
I still think my favorite scene from Help is when George sings "I Need You", and they're on the grassy hill, having the military guard them with tanks! A close second fav, would be the "music video" montage while John wistfully sings, "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away".
Always meant to pick up the DVD Box-set when it came out, but all the copies my local music store had, turned from White to Dingy Yellow.
Maybe I'll see if there's a Blu-ray box set.
I love this movie, and I'm also happy the American version of the soundtrack with the extended instrumental cues was finally released on CD.
