I love the work of the Oscar-winning, expatriate American film director Richard Lester, and not just because he's from Philadelphia! His zany '60's comedies redefined a medium slowly sinking in the overweighted direction of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World". "The Knack and How to Get It" won him the 1965 Best Picture Academy Award but this film, released the same year, is much funnier.
What some reviewers see as a 'thin plot' is really a spoof on the James Bond-inspired thrillers popular at the time. Lester's masterpiece is far superior to contemporary spoofs such as "Casino Royale" or "Modesty Blaise" at least partly because of the brilliant comedic acting talents of the Beatles, whose superb sense of comic timing and deadpan delivery are remarkable, even in comparison to the all-pro cast of "Casino Royale". Lester is likewise able to hold the plot in clearer prospect than any competing thriller-spoof (such as the awkward Barbarella) making the film much easier to follow.
The story is relatively un-PC by contemporary standards. A fan sends Ringo a colorful ring, which is actually used to identify sacrificial victims for a Kali-worshipping cult. Alerted to the danger the "Fab Four" attempt to discard the ring, but it has miraculously adhered itself to Ringo's finger. The killer cult, and an incompetent mad scientist, chase the lads from London to Switzerland to the Bahamas in an endless succession of slapstick and absurdity.
If you like this film, try Lester's wonderful "Three Musketeers", "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", "A Hard Days Night", and "The Bed Sitting Room".
What some reviewers see as a 'thin plot' is really a spoof on the James Bond-inspired thrillers popular at the time. Lester's masterpiece is far superior to contemporary spoofs such as "Casino Royale" or "Modesty Blaise" at least partly because of the brilliant comedic acting talents of the Beatles, whose superb sense of comic timing and deadpan delivery are remarkable, even in comparison to the all-pro cast of "Casino Royale". Lester is likewise able to hold the plot in clearer prospect than any competing thriller-spoof (such as the awkward Barbarella) making the film much easier to follow.
The story is relatively un-PC by contemporary standards. A fan sends Ringo a colorful ring, which is actually used to identify sacrificial victims for a Kali-worshipping cult. Alerted to the danger the "Fab Four" attempt to discard the ring, but it has miraculously adhered itself to Ringo's finger. The killer cult, and an incompetent mad scientist, chase the lads from London to Switzerland to the Bahamas in an endless succession of slapstick and absurdity.
If you like this film, try Lester's wonderful "Three Musketeers", "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", "A Hard Days Night", and "The Bed Sitting Room".