A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
by guest blogger Vince Caro a.k.a rockerdad
In the spirit of rtm’s trip to London this week, and guest blogger Samantha’s fine piece on Mark Strong, I thought I’d mix things up a bit with an unlikely classic review: The Beatles’ first movie – A Hard Day’s Night from 1964.
Of course, everyone has heard of this movie, of the song “A Hard Day’s Night”, and especially of the band. Admittedly, I’ve been a diehard fan since age 6, with my fanaticism peaking during my 20s but has moderately waned over the past few years. But as I sat and watched this (for the umpteenth time) I couldn’t help but fall a little bit into the nostalgia of a moment when you are first discovering something new. Don’t get me wrong – The Beatles had been broken up for decades, John Lennon had passed on, and the hysterical screams of Beatlemania a footnote in pop culture history long before I saw a single frame of this movie. However, in my eyes A Hard Day’s Night, still sport a uniqueness and an innocence even by today’s film standards.
The Film:
The film chronicles a day in the life of the fab four as they scurry in and out of hotels, taxicabs and concert venues while being constantly hounded by screaming fans and paparazzi. Shot in black in white, American born director Richard Lester applied the multiple camera technique – most of it handheld and by amateurs – giving it a lo-fi, avant-garde touch. Lester was well known as the director of the popular British absurdist show The Goons (Peter Sellers was a member) and apparently The Beatles were big fans. The film is filled with light surreal touches as well as calculated jump cuts with audio and scenes overlapping – quite unheard of in contemporary films at the time (unless of course you are of the French New Wave school). And as is well known, many considered A Hard Day’s Night THE catalyst for music videos 2 decades later.
The Music:
Well, if you like early Beatles, you’ll love this film. If not, well that’s your loss…
The Boys:
Alun Owen wrote the script (and nominated for an Oscar) by watching the Beatles during backstage moments and in their hotel rooms. There’s lots of seemingly ad-libbing improvisations but in actuality are straight out of Owen’s clever script. The bottom line is that these guys looked like they were having so much fun. And I guess, it’s fun to see that natural humor on the screen. A great supporting cast includes Wilfrid Brambell as Paul’s (very clean) grandfather and Kenneth Haigh as a ruthless trend manipulator. With that said, it’s no wonder the film is as infectious as ever.
The Quote:
Reporter to Ringo: Are you mod or a rocker?
Ringo: I’m a mocker.
Still rising stars at the time of its release, the film documents the Beatles as they seem to really be, good natured and funny talent, but human nonetheless. Though calculated and well thought out by the businessmen, at least they let the creatives do what they do. In this case, Leste
r, Owen, and the Beatles all did what came natural to them: their thing.
rtm’s note: Guess what, isn’t it timely that Ivan & I are probably going to be on Abbey Road around the time this post is published!
Fab review as always, thanks for your contribution, rockerdad!
FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
Pingback: Tweets that mention Classic Flix Review: A Hard Day’s Night « FlixChatter -- Topsy.com
Just watched this movie for the second time after first seeing it when it came out in theaters in 1964 (yes, it’s true – ouch!) a few months ago, and almost watched it twice. It was a thorough delight, a very fun romp all the way through, and of course, I love the music. It seemed like first-ever episode of the Amazing Race, but with better contestants!
Wow! That must have been something seeing it when it first came out! I agree – a much better Amazing Race episode. I just realized after watching it again that George wipes out hard on the sidewalk at the very beginning while being chased by a bunch of fans. That looked like it hurt!
A must-see for any Beatles fan. I love the opening scene in A Hard Day’s Night.
I love The Beatles…My dad used to be their fan and somehow I fall in love with them too.
I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid, but I couldn’t remember how the story goes anymore
Top notch review. Coincidentally, following my review of “The Saddest Music in the World”, I wrote a review of this film last week! All About Eve is going to be my next one, but I couldn’t wait any longer to share my views on A Hard Day’s Night!
I was informed of the classics category of Flixchatter earlier today and then saw “A Hard Day’s Night” was reviewed here – I adore it. I must admit that I’m not necessarily objective, as I’ve been a big fan of the Beatles since about 9 years old. I love their music, I love their sense of humour and, if I’m honest, I’ve always mainly adored John Lennon. I also spent many an hour, as a child, perfecting my delivery of the voices on “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)” 😉
Excellent script and perfectly delivered by the Four, as well as Wilfred Brambell’s brilliant “physical comedy”.
I’m always overpoweringly enthusiastic about this film, as I feel it’s really packed to the brim with humour. I probably shouldn’t delve any further into talking about it, as I’ll just end up doing quotes from the shaving scene or will talk about how fond I am of their performance of “I’m Happy Just To Dance With You”.
For people discovering The Beatles, it’s not the best example of their music on which to make a judgement, but it does capture the music at that particular stage in their career.
I’m glad I discovered the classics section of this site and will keep an eye out for more posts, particularly of the musical or Beatles variety!
Oh thanks for your comment! rtm told me about your excellent blog and glad to know other Guy Maddin fans out there. The first one I saw of his was Careful, which I’m considering for a future post (if rtm would oblige). I should probably be commenting on your post…
Just read the description of Careful on IMDb. Hiih, that sounds like a really weird and creepy flick.
Pingback: FlixChatter Review: YESTERDAY (2019) – FlixChatter Film Blog
Pingback: FlixChatter Review: YESTERDAY (2019) – FlixChatter Film Blog