Michael Palin Marks Beatles’ “Help!” DVD Release With Podcast
Nov 21st, 2007 | By Elisabeth Lewin | Category: Audio Podcasting 
The Beatles’ second feature film, “Help!,” has just been re-released on DVD. To herald the event, “Monty Python” alumnus Michael Palin narrates a podcast series about the 1965 hit movie.
The podcast mixes dialogue from the movie with Palin’s narration and bits of audio from commercials, songs, interviews with individual Beatles, supporting actors, and director Richard Lester (who also directed their mockumentary movie debut, “A Hard Day’s Night“).
Lester describes, in the first podcast, how he conceived of the story of “Help!” as a fictional story of how, in their real (mid-1960’s) lives, the tension and stress they were under made them “prisoners of their fame.”
“Help!” is, nominally, about a strange “eastern” cult, a missing ring worn by a sacrificial virgin that gets stuck on Ringo’s finger. The Beatles get chased all over the globe by members of the cult (including actor Leo McKern), two mad scientists who want to rule the world, and a mysterious beautiful woman. And a tiger who is pacified only by the singing of the last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
You can preview the Help! podcast below, or subscribe by adding this podcast feed to your podcast client:
http://www.thebeatles.com/help/assets/downloads/rss.xml
P.S. I would really like this movie for Christmas. It would be a nice companion to the DVD of “A Hard Day’s Night” I got for my birthday last year. Hint hint.
[…] Podcasting News just delivered me the wonderful news that The Beatles have released¬†a podcast about the movie Help!¬†to promote the DVD release of the movie.¬† If that wasn’t enough, it’s hosted by the incredible Michael Palin! The podcast mixes dialogue from the movie with Palin’s narration and bits of audio from commercials, songs, interviews with individual Beatles, supporting actors, and director Richard Lester […]