Audio Video News

No, not that Apple. And no, not that technological species of Beatles.

In a week when it was rumored that Apple Inc. would herald the long-awaited availability of the Beatles on iTunes, Apple Corps Ltd. instead divulged that the band's second film, Help!, will be reissued on DVD, in a two-disc set.

This is great news for Beatlemaniacs, considering that the 1965 movie has been unavailable on DVD since its 2000 reissue. (It first appeared on the format in 1997.)

This is also great news for us multichannel-music-maniacs, as the DVD will include "a newly created 5.1 soundtrack." Little by little, we're getting the entire Beatles catalog in surround! (Now, please, Apple Corps: Let's have every album on CD+DVD-Audio.)

Apple's full press release appears below. -Ken Richardson

STOP WORRYING . . . HELP! IS ON THE WAY!

APPLE CORPS LTD. PROUDLY ANNOUNCES THE DVD RELEASE OF THE BEATLES FILM 'HELP!,' OCTOBER 30th

Apple Corps Ltd. has announced the eagerly anticipated DVD release of The Beatles' second feature film 'Help!' on October 30th, which will be marketed and distributed by EMI Music.

Directed by Richard Lester, who also directed the band's debut feature film 'A Hard Days Night,' 'Help!' made its theatrical debut in 1965. The story follows The Beatles as they become passive recipients of an outside plot that revolves around Ringo's possession of a sacrificial ring, which he cannot remove from his finger. As a result, he and his bandmates John, Paul, and George are chased from London to the Austrian Alps and the Bahamas by religious cult members, a mad scientist, and the London police.

In addition to starring the Beatles, 'Help!' has a witty script, a great cast of British character actors, and 7 classic Beatles tracks, including:

• 'Help!'
• 'You're Going to Lose That Girl'
• 'You've Got to Hide Your Love Away'
• 'Ticket to Ride'
• 'I Need You'
• 'The Night Before'
• 'Another Girl'

The DVD will be a 2-disc set. Disc 1 will feature the original film digitally restored with a newly created 5.1 soundtrack, while Disc 2 contains an hour of extra features, including:

•The Beatles in Help! - 30-minute documentary about the making of the film with Richard Lester, the cast, and crew. Includes exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of The Beatles on set.

•A Missing Scene - featuring Wendy Richard

•The Restoration of Help! – An in-depth look at the restoration process.

•Memories of Help! -  The cast and crew reminisce.

•Theatrical Trailers -  2 U.S. trailers and 1 Spanish trailer.

•1965 U.S. Radio Spots - Hidden in disc menus.

There will be 2 editions of the DVD - a standard digipack and a deluxe boxed set that will contain a reproduction of Richard Lester's original annotated script, 8 lobby cards, and a poster, plus a 60-page book with rarely seen photographs and production notes from the movie. Both the deluxe book and the standard booklet feature an introduction by Richard Lester and an appreciation by Martin Scorsese.

Watch the 'Help!' DVD trailer here.