The Fab Four’s second film, shot in vivid colour, captured a very different group demeanor to that in A Hard Day’s Night. For that first effort they’d been pumped up on pills; this time around, they were laid back on the “herbal jazz cigarettes”. And director Dick Lester, together with cinematographer David Watkin, conveyed the blissed-out vibe via stunning photography, innovative graphics and offbeat comedy.
The result, at the time widely regarded as inferior to its predecessor, is now acclaimed as a pop-art gem that, very much of its time, also helped to define its era while serving as a wide-ranging source of influence and inspiration.
Towering above all, of course, were those personalities and their music…

‘Help!’
‘The Night Before’
‘You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away’
‘I Need You’
‘Another Girl’
‘You’re Going to Lose That Girl’
‘Ticket to Ride’
Selections from Ken Thorne’s orchestral score