Lester, Richard

A Hard Day's Night

This strikingly original classic captures all the fun excitement and unforgettable music of John Paul George and Ringo at the height of Beatlemania! It's a wildly irreverent day in the life of the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band! As they prepare for a big TV appearance the Beatles perform their songs look for adventure... and try in vain to keep Paul's mischief-making grandfather out of trouble... all while avoiding hordes of screaming fans! Packed with all-time Beatle favorites including "A Hard Day's Night" "All My Loving" "Can't Buy Me Love" "I Should Have Known Better" "She Loves You" and "Tell Me Why" director Richard Lester's groundbreaking motion picture collaboration with the "Fab Four" is itself a treasured piece of rock history that remains influential to this day! This collector's edition includes "Give Me Everything!" -- a companion anthology to The Beatles' first film -- featuring hours of rare and new material.System Requirements:Starring George Harrison John Lennon Paul McCartney Ringo Starr Wilfrid Brambell Directed by Richard Lester Running time: 92 minutes Copyright Buena Vista 2003 Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSICALS/MUSICALS Rating: G UPC: 717951004864 Manufacturer No: 01830100

The Fab Four from Liverpool--John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr--in their first movie. Nobody expected A Hard Day's Night to be much more than a quick exploitation of a passing musical fad, but when the film opened it immediately seduced the world--even the stuffiest critics fell over themselves in praise (highbrow Dwight Macdonald called it "not only a gay, spontaneous, inventive comedy but it is also as good cinema as I have seen for a long time"). Wisely, screenwriter Alun Owen based his script on the Beatles' actual celebrity at the time, catching them in the delirious early rush of Beatlemania: eluding rampaging fans, killing time on trains and in hotels, appearing on a TV broadcast. American director Richard Lester, influenced by the freestyle French New Wave and British Goon Show humor, whips up a delightfully upbeat circus of perpetual motion. From the opening scene of the mop tops rushing through a train station mobbed by fans, the movie rarely stops for air. Some of the songs are straightforwardly presented, but others ("Can't Buy Me Love," set to the foursome gamboling around an empty field) soar with ingenuity. Above all, the Beatles express their irresistible personalities: droll, deadpan, infectiously cheeky. Better examples of pure cinematic joy are few and far between. --Robert Horton

Help!

The Beatles followed up their debut film A HARD DAY'S NIGHT with this fanciful spy spoof. When Ringo adds a new ring to his collection he's unaware of how important and dangerous this piece of jewelry is. On one hand a religious cult considers it a sacred object and the wearer must become a sacrifice to their gods. On the other hand the ring has magical abilities that hold the key to supreme power. Soon the boys from Liverpool are engaged in a slapstick and madcap chase round the world as a crazed scientist a pack of crooks and several religious fanatics set out to capture the band. Watch for the English Channel swimmer who seems to be perpetually lost and appears in nearly every location. Includes Beatles' hits including "Help!" "Ticket To Ride" "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" and many more.System Requirements:Running Time: 153 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/SHOWBIZ Rating: G UPC: 5099951034795 Manufacturer No: C9DW-10347

The Complete Musketeers (The Three Musketeers / The Four Musketeers)

Richard Lester's 1975 sequel to his romping Three Musketeers--released the year before--reunites his swashbuckling cast for a decidedly less happy and more somber experience. This time, D'Artagnan (Michael York) and his Musketeer mentors (Richard Chamberlain, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay) have a tougher fight against their old enemies, and the adventure is not without its casualties. But the film is highly entertaining, filled with that same loony air that makes most films by Lester (How I Won the War, A Hard Day's Night, Help!) so much fun. The actors are with him every step of the way: Reed, Chamberlain, Finlay, and York are a heroic version of the Marx brothers, Raquel Welch was never better, and Charlton Heston clearly enjoys playing the evil Cardinal Richelieu. --Tom Keogh

Join the Musketeers D'Artagnan (Michael York), Athos (Oliver Reed), Aramis (Richard Chamberlain), Porthos (Frank Finlay) and the stunning yet clumsy maiden Constance (Raquel Welch) as they battle for fortune, glory and vengeance against the devious Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston), Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway) and Count de Rochefort (Christopher Lee). These are the two hit movies that redefined the rousing action and riotous comedy of the swashbuckler genre for a whole new generation. This is THE COMPLETE MUSKETEERS! Director Richard Lester (A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, HELP!) and producers Ilya & Alexandre Salkind (SUPERMAN) created an international sensation with these all-star adaptations of Alexandre Dumas' timeless tale. Both THE THREE MUSKETEERS and THE FOUR MUSKETEERS have now been completely restored from original vault elements and loaded with exclusive extras for the ultimate two-disc Musketeer collection!

Help! (Deluxe Edition)

Disc 1 (96 minutes)-HELP! Theatrical MovieDigitally restored and newly created 5.1 soundtrack.Disc 2 (57 minutes)- 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 US trailers and 1 Spanish trailer- 1965 US Radio Spots - Hidden in disc menusDeluxe Package also includes:- a reproduction of Richard Lester s original annotated script- 8 lobby cards- poster- 60-page book with rarely seen photographs and production notes from the movieSystem Requirements:Run Time: 149 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/SHOWBIZ Rating: G UPC: 5099950951994 Manufacturer No: C9BH-09519

After the worldwide success of A Hard Day's Night, the Beatles and director Richard Lester reunited for a follow-up film, Eight Arms to Hold You. Well, that wasn't the final title; a pleading Lennon-McCartney tune provided the catchier handle: Help! A loose semispoof of the globe-trotting James Bond pictures, Help! has always been considered a somewhat disorganized comedown from its predecessor; but it presents "the famous Beatles" even more clearly as the English cousins of the Marx Brothers. The plot has an Eastern religious cult declaring that the new ring on Ringo's finger is the key element in a human sacrifice; they will stop at nothing to obtain it. Meanwhile, a mad scientist (crazed Victor Spinetti, who also appeared in A Hard Day's Night and Magical Mystery Tour) believes that if he has the ring, he could--dare we say it?--rule the world. The songs, including "Ticket to Ride" and "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," are filmed with gleeful ingenuity, in locations such as the Bahamas, an Austrian ski resort, and the Salisbury Plain. The relentless nonsense becomes nearly the equivalent of a swinging-'60s Alice in Wonderland: for instance, Paul shrinks to the size of a gum wrapper, John fishes a season ticket out of his soup, George wears a top hat on the ski slopes, the lads sing the "Ode to Joy" to a lion. Oh, and the film is dedicated to Elias Howe, "who in 1846 invented the sewing machine." Brilliant. --Robert Horton

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

"Something familiar, something peculiar, something for everyone: a comedy tonight!" Those words from the opening song pretty much describe the menu in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, a frantic adaptation of the stage musical by Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove. The wild story, set in ancient Rome, follows a slave named Pseudolus (Zero Mostel, snorting and gibbering) as he tries to extricate himself from an increasingly farcical situation; Mostel and a bevy of inspired clowns, including Phil Silvers, Jack Gilford, and Buster Keaton, keep the slapstick and the patter perking. The cast also includes the young Michael Crawford as a love-struck innocent. This project landed in the lap of Richard Lester, then one of the hottest directors in the world after his success with the Beatles' films. Lester telescoped the material through his own joke-a-second sensibility, and also ripped out some of the songs from Stephen Sondheim's Broadway score. The result is a pixilated romp and very close to the vaudeville spirit suggested by the title--though anyone with a low tolerance for Zero Mostel's overbearing buffoonery may be in trouble. Oddly enough, amidst all the frenzy, Lester creates a grungy, earthy Rome that seems closer to the real thing than countless respectable historical films on the subject. --Robert Horton

Something appealing. Something appalling. Something for everyone a comedy tonight! "One ofthe hottest burlesque shows that ever hit Broadway" (Time) comes to the screen showcasing the enormous talents of Tony AwardÂ(r) winner Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Jack Gilford (Cocoon), Buster Keaton and Michael Crawford (Broadway's "The Phantom of the Opera"). Featuring keenly clever tunes like "Comedy Tonight" and "Lovely," this wild Stephen Sondheim musical about a raucous gaggle of ancient Romans is a "flip, glib and sophisticated, yet rump-slapping bawdy and fast-paced look at the seamy underside of classical Rome through hipster's shades" (Variety).When a wily, witty, lying, lazy, cheating slave discovers that his master's son is in love with thegirl next doora virgin courtesanhe promises to help win her heart in exchange for his freedom. But the road to romance is blocked with stunning surprises, cunning disguisesand the wildest chariot race ever!

The Ritz

An all-male Manhatten bathouse becomes a hilarious hideout for a man from Cleveland ducking the mob. The fat frisky film of the Broadway farce featuring original stars Jack Weston and Rita Moreno. Year: 1976Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/CLASSICS UPC: 085391203513 Manufacturer No: 120351

Terrence McNally adapted his Broadway farce for this wild, headlong comedy set in one of the gay bathhouses that were once a staple of New York culture. Jack Weston plays a guy who makes the mistake of crossing his gangster brother-in-law. Fearing for his life, he hides in the gay baths and the door-slamming chaos begins. Directed by Richard Lester, the comedy is adept and well handled, with Weston watching his back while trying to pass as a regular customer. It's hard to tell which is funnier: Treat Williams as an undercover cop with a falsetto voice or Rita Moreno as the baths' supremely untalented--and even more supremely self-confident--singer, Googie Gomez. Her performances alone make this movie worth watching. --Marshall Fine

Petulia

This Richard Lester film will tell you more about how confusing the '60s were than any hackneyed NBC miniseries ever could. In this fragmented love story, told in a nonlinear fashion that bounces back and forth in time, George C. Scott plays a newly divorced surgeon who meets a charming if scattered young woman, Petulia (Julie Christie). He falls into an affair with her, only to discover that she is married to a seemingly normal guy (Richard Chamberlain)--who also happens to be extremely abusive. But his efforts to extricate her from the marriage, set against the flower-power scene in San Francisco, only frustrate him with her indecisiveness. The film features performances by the Grateful Dead and Big Brother and the Holding Company, and captures a sense of the confusion caused by the youthquake that swept the nation. --Marshall Fine

"It's a very real film about two people trying to get through to each other," director Richard Lester (A Hard Day's Night) says of his landmark romance Petulia, set in summer-of-love-era San Francisco. There Julie Christie plays a unhappily married socialite trying to get through to a recently divorced doctor (George C. Scott), who in his own words just wants to "feel something." He'll soon feel, even hurt, a lot. Because we know why kooky Petulia so desperately reaches out. As Lester zigzags through the flashbacks and flash-forwards of cinematographer Nicolas Roeg's startling images and Lawrence B. Marcus' knowing screenplay, Petulia's jigsaw pieces form a celluloid time capsule of life and love in the turbulent '60s.

DVD Features:
Featurette
Theatrical Trailer

Cuba

Sean Connery and Brooke Adams star in this sweeping story about two old flames who become caught up in the turbulence and exhilaration of Cuba's revolution.System Requirements:Starring: Sean Connery Brooke Adams. Directed By: Richard Lester. Running Time: 122 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2002 MGM Studios.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 027616874832 Manufacturer No: 1003334

One of Sean Connery's least-seen films, this Richard Lester vehicle manages to be both politically astute and darkly funny at the same time. Set in Cuba as the Castro revolution is coming to fruition, it stars Connery as an aging mercenary trying to decide which side it pays to be paid by. Even as the Batista government is being overthrown, he is putting the spark to an old relationship with a factory manager (Brooke Adams), while American businessmen (particularly a well-cast Jack Weston) scramble to get the most bang for their buck. Lester's style--playing dramatic scenes while subverting them with comic business in the background--is in top form here. But this film never found an audience; too bad. --Marshall Fine

Royal Flash

The term "romp" could have been invented to describe Royal Flash, a boisterous 1975 comedy-adventure starring Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange, Caligula) as Captain Harry Flashman: Braggart, bully, coward, thief, womanizer, and all-around scoundrel. Having risen to heroic prominence through sheer luck, Flashman gets sucked into a scheme by German statesman Otto von Bismarck (played with a superlative scowl by Oliver Reed, Gladiator) and courtesan Lola Montez (Florinda Bolkan, The Damned) to marry Flashman to a beautiful duchess (Britt Ekland, The Man with the Golden Gun) to control her province. But the political machinations are just an excuse for a rambunctious mix of satire and derring-do, much like director Richard Lester (A Hard Day's Night) and screenwriter George MacDonald Fraser (who also wrote the Flashman novels, on which this film was based) had perfected with the enormously successful The Three Musketeers. Royal Flash suffers in comparison; the pace in the middle sags from too much pomp and not enough circumstance. But the movie builds to a vigorous conclusion, including some excellent swordplay between McDowell and Alan Bates (Gosford Park) as an unscrupulous Hungarian. The movie's skeptical view of heroism and politics are a welcome tonic in an era of spin and image management. McDowell reminisces fondly on the commentary track. --Bret Fetzer

Based on the popular series of Flashman novels by George MacDonald Fraser, Royal Flash tells the epic tale of the cowardly Captain Harry Flashman (famous for bullying Tom Brown in Tom Brown's Schooldays) a would-be playboy and socialite, except he doesn't have the money or the breeding. Seeing a short cut to the society crowd, Flashman agrees to Otto Von Bismarck's scheme to impersonate a Prussian prince and marry a duchess. But when the scheme goes awry, Flashman finds himself escaping via the European wars, in which his cowardliness gets mistaken for military bravery.

Juggernaut

The high seas have never been more terrifying than in this riveting tension-packed adventure. Richard Harris (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) and Omar Sharif (Doctor Zhivago) head an all-star cast that includes Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins (Hannibal) in a "tingling" (The Village Voice) edge-of-your seat shipboard thriller!HMS Britannic is caught in a storm at sea. But the real terror is on board - seven bombs planted by a terrorist calling himself Juggernaut who demands a high ransom in exchange for the passengers' lives. Bomb expert Fallon (Harris) is flown to the ship and as negotiations break down he struggles with the most challenging job of his life in a race against time!System Requirements:Starring: Harris Richard David Hemmings Ian Holm Anthony Hopkins Shirley Knight Omar Sharif Clifton James Roy Kinnear Directed By: Richard Lester Running Time: 110 Min. Color Copyright 2003 MGM Studios.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG UPC: 027616887689 Manufacturer No: 1004728

One of director Richard Lester's least-known films, Juggernaut was part of the wave of disaster movies of the early 1970s--and one of the only ones with a sense of intelligence. Richard Harris, in one of his most controlled performances, plays a bomb expert called aboard a luxury liner in midocean; the ship has been commandeered by an anonymous terrorist, demanding money before he starts setting off bombs he has planted around the vessel. The cast, which includes David Hemmings, Anthony Hopkins, and Omar Sharif, is a solid one, and the suspense is thick enough to cut through, with Lester's nasty sense of humor working at full throttle as the countdown gets into the single digits. --Marshall Fine