You Can't Do That! The Making of 'A Hard Day's Night'

Basically a bunch of old codgers talking about the movie from 30 years before, all trying to take ownership for the success of the movie.

Nothing particularly new or interesting here.

I was bored straight through.

This is a thorough documentary regarding the making of the first Beatle film. But the parts I enjoyed most were the cut-to cheeky comments (made by the Beatles in the actual film) as the documentary presenters (e.g. Shenson, Lester, Owen) describe each of the events. This goes on throughout the film. The editor or whomever is responsible for this compiling deserves an award. I was cracking up the entire time.

I watched it on a pinched VHS tape from thirty years ago. Looked for a dvd or legit VHS all over the internet and couldn't find one. So you'll probably have to take my word for it.

A pity really because it's well worth watching.

Thirty years after "A Hard Day's Night", its producer, director, writer and others describe its making.

Phil Collins acts as host and narrator (he appears for half a second in a background shot), with Roger Ebert calling the film one of the two best musicals ever made (the other being "Singin' in the Rain").

What is so great about this film is that it was more or less created to push a soundtrack album, with United Artists expecting the actual film to fail. Boy, were they wrong! According to Lester, MTV declared him the "father of MTV". This is quite appropriate. He also says that the Beatles were not actors, and this is a big part of why they each get only one or two lines at a time. He claims the only one who showed acting potential was John Lennon. (They all succeeded in making a conscious script seem improvised, though!) Most amazingly, the hysteria of the (female) fans was natural, not acting. Can you imagine any band today getting this kind of response?

Astonishingly, it's been 41 years since "A Hard Day's Night" first appeared in theaters. The film itself is still fresh, funny, and delightful. This documentary reunites many of the people originally involved in the film's production, including director Richard Lester, producer Walter Shenson, writer Alun Owen, and many of the cast members. The film does stoop to the obvious on occasion, but the interviews and reminiscences are enjoyable for anyone who remembers 1964 and Beatlemania.

The best moments belong to Shenson, who describes the title tune's genesis in great detail, and Lester, who recalls working with the Beatles during the film's production. Lots of candid film taken while shooting is also enjoyable for fans of the Fab Four. My only complaint is the obvious padding of the film by the inclusion of extraneous interviews (why on earth is Mickey Dolenz in this film?). Still a great way to stroll down memory lane to 1964 again.

Naturally, I've had the experience of viewing the movie "A Hard Day's Night" (and quite amused I was by it too), I really AM an avid fan of the Fab-Four, but Fab this video was not. The only leg this spin-off documentary has to stand on is the fact that "A Hard Day's Night" is part of it's subtitle.

In my opinion, there wasn't half enough "behind-the-scenes footage" to justify having claimed that on the box, in reality it was all just a re-hash of clips from the original movie. (I'm serious!!) The interviews were stale, never mind uninformative, I suspect that some were filmed well before 1995, and to top it off it's ALL been heard before!

I'm telling you, the pleasant narration by Phil Collins was almost the ONLY light at the end of this tunnel. (Aside from the Beatle content of course!!)

I believe my main ill with this video is that it tried to represent itself as something it is not. I watched in anticipation of finding out what went on behind the cameras during the filming? Were there any major hic-ups as the film was in production? An hour passed, I ejected the tape from my VCR, and was left STILL WONDERING!

My only conclusion is that this video was released purely on the shoulders of the "Anthology" project, a cash-in aimed at Beatlemaniacs who would be open to the hype.

You know, "You Can't Do That" is much like the video version of an ugly friend that hangs around, after the party's over, in the faint hope of picking up some unwitting soul... please don't get dubbed; in this case, your money would be better spent on buying 6 months supply of toothbrushes!

"You Can't Do That"... more like, "Why Did You Bother Doing That? Huh?"