Everybody loves A Hard Day's Night. It's universally hailed as a classic, and Roger Ebert cites it as one of his favorite films. In contrast, the follow-up - Help! - appears somewhat overlooked. Perhaps it's time for another glance. While Help! never surpasses its predecessor, it's still a worthy successor and a grand achievement in its own right.

Help! and A Hard Day's Night boast the same director: Richard Lester. The Beatles require no introduction, but a word on Lester would seem in order. To comic book fans - and to slightly younger viewers - Lester might be best remembered as the director of Superman II and Superman III. He replaced the venerable (to Superman fans) Richard Donner and camped up the series. For this, comic book fans have never forgiven him. To fans of music (particularly the Beatles) and British comedy, however, there is much to love.

Lester, often deemed a British director, is actually a native born American. The Internet Movie Database notes that he was born in Philadelphia in 1932. A little web surfing pulls up some other data. In the 1950's, Lester relocated to the United Kingdom. There, he worked on The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d, a television program styled after radio's The Goon Show. It starred Goon Show alumni Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan. Lester worked again with Sellers and Milligan on a short film, The Running, Jumping and Standing Still Film. The Beatles loved this short and that led to A Hard Days Night and Help! Lester would work again with one Beatle - John Lennon - in the 1967 comedy How I Won the War. Besides the two Superman sequels, Lester's later film work includes The Three Musketeers (1973), The Four Musketeers (1974) and Robin and Marian (1976). He announced his retirement from directing in 1989 (although he did briefly return to direct a 1991 Paul McCartney concert video, Get Back!). Lester appears on the bonus features of this DVD set (In other words - yes, he's still alive.).

Why should you know all this, and why should you care? Because Richard Lester is arguably as important to A Hard Day's Night and Help! as the Beatles themselves. Like many earlier rock films, Lester's Beatles movies serve as vehicles for the stars and a showcase for their music. Lester seems to have understood something, though, that many earlier rock directors either forgot or ignored: While music is about sound, films are ultimately about sight. Many Beatles fans would unquestionably have been delighted to merely see the band lip-sync its songs. Lester, though, also provided a treat for the eyes. There's always plenty to see in Help! - be it the elaborate chambers of the Cult of Kaili, the interior of the Beatles' house (The Beatles enter from four separate doors into one large room with - among other things - vending machines, artificial turf and John Lennon's bed sunk into the floor!) or the outdoor sets for the musical numbers.

The musical numbers especially deserve attention. Lester stages them in exotic outdoor locales - the Austrian Alps, the Bahamas, Salisbury Plain. He varies camera angles and gives the band interesting things to do. Naturally, the visuals don't necessarily reflect the subject content of the songs. In other words - we''re most definitely looking at early music videos here. In the DVD set extras, Lester recalls that MTV once proclaimed him "the father" of their network. He said that he wrote back demanding a blood test! Though he may deny it, the charge sticks. It's difficult to watch Help! and not think of the early days of MTV.

Certainly, making a sequel to A Hard Day's Night would be no small feat. To Lester's credit, he doesn't really try. Help! is an entirely different movie - and seemingly set in a different universe. The first film gave us a black-and-white fictional account of a day with the Beatles. Help!, on the other hand, is pure fantasy and in glorious living color. The plot (and yes, there is one!) concerns a cult that practices human sacrifice. Their latest sacrifice lacks the sacrificial ring, which she has mailed to Ringo Starr in a fan letter. Three cult leaders make haste to London, where they try to stealthily nab Ringo's ring. They fail, of course, and when the "appointed hour" arrives, Ringo must now be the new sacrifice! Naturally, he can't get the ring off his finger. Not to worry, though, as this is a family film, and no character ever comes to serious harm.

I found the comedy in Help! quite interesting. I've never heard The Goon Show or seen Lester's TV version of it. I've seen Monty Python, however and other later examples of British film humor. Like these, Help! frequently mixes absurdity and acerbic one-liners. In many ways, though, it reminded me more of classic American slapstick. Like the Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, and the Marx Brothers, the Beatles appear as inseparable male buddies who routinely experience madcap adventures. Naturally, we sense a certain camaraderie, even though the boys argue and sometimes even threaten each other. Perhaps the important matter, however, is that Help! is honestly quite funny - and often very clever, as well.

For most people, the Beatles and their music represent the biggest draws. Personally, I like the songs in Help! even more than the ones in A Hard Days Night. There are seven: "Help!," "You're Going to Lose That Girl," "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," "Ticket to Ride," "The Night Before," "I Need You" and "Another Girl." Help! captures the band on the cusp of the Rubber Soul era, when their music became more experimental. They were experimenting in other ways, as well. The bonus features on Disc 2 include reminisces of the band's frequent marijuana use during filming. In Help!, then, we see Beatles that are no longer innocent, but still haven't quite shed their boy-band pop image.

If you''re a Beatles fan, then Help! is a must-have. If you're not, you'll still find plenty to enjoy. Help! delivers a fun family film, a great rock n' roll showcase, and a veritable feast for the eyes and ears!

Presentation
When I popped Help! into my DVD player, the sound nearly blew me across the room. Maybe it's my equipment, but…man! This disc was loud. Of course, my remote does include volume control, so it was easily fixed.

Beyond that, the movie looked and sounded good…real good! The sound is clear, and the picture is sharp and vibrant. The film has been fully restored, and I was impressed by the results.

Help! is presented in 1.75:1 widescreen format. Audio is in English and viewers can choose between PCM Stereo and DTS surround sound. Subtitles are available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French.

Extras
The biggest disappointment with the extras might be the length. The combined running time of all extras is about fifty-seven minutes. These all appear on a second disc - even though the main feature is only ninety-two minutes! Is there any reason at all - beyond price gouging - that we need to pay for a two disc set? Somehow, I doubt it.

That aside, the extras are enjoyable. Older films usually make for better extras, because they come with the value of hindsight. The same is true here. Director Richard Lester, actress Eleanor Bron and several crew members share their memories of Help! and assess its impact. They do this on a special "Memories" featurette and also on the thirty-minute "Making of…" documentary. The latter includes behind-the-scenes footage. A featurette on Help!'s restoration will prove of interest to film buffs. 1965 radio spots and theatrical trailers (one of which is in Spanish) round out the package.

The set itself comes with a sixteen page glossy booklet that arguably counts as another extra. It contains photos from the filming, an introduction by director Richard Lester and an essay by Martin Scorcese. It does look nice. Scorcese's essay is quite readable and his film knowledge is impressive.

What''s missing? Certainly, some insight from one or more surviving Beatles would be nice. That's probably asking too much, though. More realistically, we could have heard from a few film scholars and/or Beatles experts. Such people could provide more context - better explaining the movie's place in both cinema and music history. Finally - why is there no commentary track?

Granted, if you're a Beatles fan, then you'll be happy just to finally get a high-quality print of the film. If I had paid for this set, though, I would probably have felt a least a little ripped-off.

The Bottom Line
Do you need Help!? Why, yes! Yes, you do! You should wait for the price to go down, though, if you can. Right now, the relatively scant bonus material just isn't worth the extra change.