¡Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Paul, John, George y Ringo!

I first saw this film way back in the day. Saw it, didn't hear or understand much of it, what with all those pubescent young females screaming their lungs out in the audience. When the young females were resting I had to contend with the Fab Four's Liverpudlian speech patterns which were as yet unfamiliar to me. Still very few soundtracks produced as many hits as did A Hard Day's Night.

As much as The Beatles themselves revolutionized popular music, A Hard Day's Night also was a revolutionary film of its own. What you're seeing here is nothing less than the first music video, albeit a rather lengthy 90+ minute one.

Director Richard Lester wisely eschewed the idea of a plot and basically did a docucomedy with songs about 12 hours in the life of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. They gave Paul a grandfather, played by Wilfred Brambell who when he wasn't getting into mischief on his own was influencing Ringo to spread his wings so to speak.

Will Ringo get back to the studio in time for the big Broacast? Actually 32 years before that in Paramount's The Big Broadcast the same was asked of straying Bing Crosby. Of course you know the answer.

A Hard Day's Night is must viewing for anyone who's trying to learn about the sixties. Or somebody who just likes the music of Paul McCartney and the lyrics of John Lennon.

I was in my mid-thirties when the Beatles came to America, and appeared at Shea Stadium and (famously) on the Ed Sullivan. I saw their success, with the screaming girls, as just another teen-age phenomenon. I must have read in some column that this film was interesting for its direction and photography. That was true. What I did not expect was that I would be caught up by the Beatles themselves, both as personalities and as musicians. Those who comment adversely on their lack of acting ability are way off base, because neither they nor the director were looking for dramatic skill; only for a degree of naturalness, which was achieved. Those who criticize the technical aspects are not well-acquainted with new developments in film technique especially in France; for instance, the jump shot. Those who criticize lack of plot must be interested only in straight narrative. I suggest that all the previously mentioned critics see the documentary materials on the making of the film, particularly those contained in the DVD set. They will see, for better or worse, that the creators and performers achieved what they wanted, allowing room for the unexpected. For forty years now I have been an admirer, own all their recordings, etc.; and taught this movie in my history of film class regularly. Don't believe the nay-sayers; see for yourself.

"A Hard Day's Night" doesn't seem dated now, but it does seem familiar. We're used to all its madcap editing and photography now thanks to television and music videos, and we can only sit back and imagine (or try to remember) what it looked like through eyes that had never seen anything like it before. Watching it today, "A Hard Day's Night" still seems fresh and original, because it's still different (we're used to music videos, but not feature-length music videos), but to the 1960's audience it would have seemed entirely different from anything they had previously seen (especially if they were expecting a traditional rock musical, considering that the only good one of those made prior to this which I've seen is "Go Johnny Go").

Lester infuses the film with nonstop quick cutting and energetic pacing, giving the film an almost documentary-like feel (and somehow managing to integrate the biggest pop band in the world into the French 'nouvelle vague' style of film-making). When Orson Welles was interviewed in Playboy magazine in 1967 he said that the film directors that appealed to him the most were 'the old masters- by which I mean John Ford, John Ford, and John Ford. With Ford at his best you feel that the movie had lived and breathed in the real world, even though it may have been written by mother Machree'. When questioned about younger directors he enjoyed the most he named Stanley Kubrick and Richard Lester.

It seems absurd after Kubrick's long and distinguished career and Lester's career which while featuring some famously good films, also includes "Butch and Sundance: The Early Days" (a cheap prequel with none of the original cast), and the notoriously horrible "Superman III" to compare the two directors, but looking at Welles' reasoning behind loving John Ford films, it all makes sense. "A Hard Day's Night" really does feel real, we are basically transported into a day in The Beatles' life and given a VIP pass to accompany them wherever they go. It's a fascinating adventure which the screenplay handles very well.

The Beatles were not actors, but they really come off as themselves because all they have to be is the cocky, wisecracking, and rather charming men they were in real life. The screenwriter is smart enough not to provide them with any real acting, which really helps the film. That's not to say there isn't any good acting in the film, quite to the contrary actually, since Wilfrid Bramble is hilarious as McCartney's grandfather and was presumably cast thanks to his very funny co-starring role on Britcom "Steptoe and Son", which was one of the shows I frequently watched as a kid (and was remade for American audiences as "Sanford and Son").

The film is effortlessly charming, relying on the Beatles' natural charisma to carry the film but also including enough wit to warrant comparisons to later great British comedies and also to the later Beatles films (including Lester's later, slightly funnier and more experimental "Help!"). The Beatles were not yet the musical innovators they would later become, but there's something I personally prefer about their simple, short, and perfect Merseybeat songs, especially those on this soundtrack, which contains some of the most joyous and memorable pop songs ever written.

9/10

This film is charming. A black and white production that relies upon the music and personalities of The Beatles. It has a 'loose' plot, The Beatles' lives over a 48-hour period, looking after Paul's grandfather, which serves as an excuse for hi-jinks and bursting into song. Directed by Richard Lester, it manages to convey the social feel of its time, what it is like to be alone, ageing, class divisions, and an England that does not exist any more. It is witty,nostalgic and makes you aware of how fresh The Beatles were before they (and the 60's) got complicated.

Here are some of lines from the film, whether they were scripted or spontaneous I know not, but it doesn't detract from the humour:

Who's that little old man? Ringo: He belongs to Paul.

I shall call the guard. Paul: Ah, but what? They don't take kindly to insults.

Have you seen Paul's grandfather? John: Of course! he's concealed about me person.

They've gone potty out there. The place is surging with girls. John: Please sir, can I have one to surge with sir?

What would you call that hairstyle that you're wearing? George: Arthur.

George (about Ringo): He's very fussy about his drums you know. They loom large in his legend.

Well quite frankly I wasn't expecting a musical arranger to question my ability picture-wise. John: I could listen to him for hours.

If you ever wanted to have lived during the 60's a film like this epitomises why. There's a really lively night club scene where you get to watch, almost like a 'fly on the wall', The Beatles being themselves.

Watch it, buy the Hard Day's Night Album and drift away into a pleasant and sentimental 60's daydream.

The Beatles travel down from Liverpool to record a TV show.

If I was to meet Richard Lester I would shake his hand and thank him for recording the Beatles during the middle part of their career when they could entertain but hadn't yet shot off in to outer space. Without this we would have a piece missing from their history - and lets be frank - our history. They changed the world and all they had to change it with were electric guitars and their personalities!

The script is clever in that it showcases the personalities of the group without asking them to do much acting. Wilfred Brambell tags along to give comedy relief and the whole thing fits in plenty of songs that are good - but not as good as what soon followed. They are still tied to the Northern dance halls.

I have always thought that if they had a died in a car crash at this point they would be a mystery to the modern audience - hugely popular at the time - but not particularly stand-out from the other bands around. Like the way we regard Charlie Chaplin or Mary Pickford - both incredibly famous in their prime - but little regarded today.

Whether you like to admit it or not there are three geniuses at work and Ringo Starr. So I guess that it is fitting that Ringo comes across the best of the group: Down-to-earth, chatty, witty and willing to talk to anyone. Even the kids down by the river. John Lennon had a comic wit that could have given him another career had his music not been up to scratch. Talk about being master of the witty comeback.

Anyone watching this film will see London as it really was at the time. Not the swinging sixties that everyone pretends it was. Grubby shops, unpainted windows that look about to fall out of their frames, empty streets bar a few beat up cars.

I guess you could say this is the perfect record of Beatlemania: The driving beat songs (cranked out even quicker on stage), the backstage sieges, the ping-pong put downs that is the hallmark of English humour, the screaming that overpowered the performance. Enjoyable at the time (as light entertainment) it becomes an important historical document now and every generation should see it. Your pop culture education depends on it.