A Hard Day's Night
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Movie Reviews of A Hard Day's Night
Movie Review: A(nother) reply to Pop Fan
Summary: 5 Stars
Pop Fan - As an informed student of modern popular music, I (for one) appreciated your succinct, rational analysis of why the Beatles simply don't measure up to the current standards of the music industry. However, I would like to point out one factor in their defense. You of course realize that part of the definition of a great band is not only how well their music conforms with industry standards of innocuousness and professionalism, but also how well they can be merchandised. Moving product -- both the CD's themselves and other group-branded XXXXXX -- is also the hallmark of a great b(r)and. My research has indicated that the marketers and handlers of these Beatles were responsible for a wealth of disposable lucrative consumer products that would compare favorably to the many fan magazines, posters and collectible bobble-headed dolls featuring the likenesses of the great N'Sync. Truly, from the amount of money made from them by promoters, radio payola distributors, and of course, the noble men who headed the Major Labels, I believe you could classify them as the first Boy Band. Perhaps you now begin to see the appeal. They were, as one of them says in the film itself, an early clue to the new direction.
(Seriously, since I now feel obligated to post an actual review: I applaud Miramax for restoring and finally releasing on DVD a film that Roger Ebert called "one of the great life-affirming landmarks of the movies." Although I have a feeling that watching my favorite scene, which I reference above -- the corporate teen fad marketer accosting George without realizing who he is --- is going to make me a little sad this year.)
Movie Review: Full of Joy
Summary: 5 Stars
The very best of everything that became the 60s is reflected in this infectious, joyful, vibrant and creative movie that broke forever the dreary formulaic pop-star flicks that doomed Elvis Presley et al.I was there in the theater for the debut of this movie, and it's hard to describe the sheer happiness of our group of teenaged girls, all dressed in black, all with long straight hair and bangs, all with a "John Lennon" black leather hat (we were trying to look like a combination of the Beatles and their long-haired, all-in-black, gorgeous girlfriends at the time).
Surprise, surprise, the movie has endured. It works on two levels: One, to see just what it was about those four British boys that brought such inexpressable joy to an entire generation. Their cheekiness, their looks, their clothes, and above all, their music, was something heretofore unknown in the American pop culture, and we couldn't get enough of it.
On another level, A Hard Day's Night is just a darn good movie, from the innovative photography (black and white, unexpected and brilliant) to the offbeat and seemingly ad-libbed script to the direction to the boys themselves, who proved to be naturals. They were not asked to pretend to be something they were not: They were just their irrepresible selves at a time when all things seemed possible. This is a one-of-a-kind movie, a classic for its time and always, a microcosim of a time long gone and never to return.
If you haven't seen it, you are in for a wonderful treat. If you have, give it another look; it's even better than the last time you saw it, I guarantee it.
Movie Review: Classic & Timeless - - DVD is Overhyped!!
Summary: 5 Stars
The DVD from Miramax has a bunch of uninteresting and unneccessary interviews from people associated with the film. Outakes and the inclusion of "You Can't Do That" song restored to the concert near the end of the film would have been better. With that aside this film took Beatlemainia to greater heights back in 1964, and A HARD DAY'S NIGHT has remained a timless piece of filmmaking influencing many genres of media. The Beatles greatest strength as a rock/power pop band is that each member had its own distinct personality (furthered by the fact that because they were a very "musical" band one can count on their songs being varied, as each member took on singing duties along with the great harmonies on songs), and that even if one was not a fan, somehow could name each member of the band. The movie definitely enhanced the Beatles individual members. Classic songs, innovative direction from Richard Lester (black and white documentary style), pretty funny comedic moments, and decent comedic perormances from the Fab Four themselves, this is a very entertaining film. Great Fun!! Note - Degrees of Separation: Actor John Vernon who plays "Man on Train" in A HARD DAY'S NIGHT also appeared in the James Bond movie GOLDFINGER almost released at the same time (he plays a character "Smithers" in the film when he,"M", and James Bond are discussing Golfinger). In the film, James Bond (Sean Connery) states "...drinking Dom Perigon '53 above the temperature of 38 degrees farenheit. That's as bad as listening to THE BEATLES without earmuffs!Movie Review: The Grandads of the Boy Bands
Summary: 5 Stars
See the movie that inspired the Monkees (or at least, the producers of the monkees). This black and white, loosely structured film is a lot of fun. Shot and edited in an extremely short period of time, it seems to have benefited from being put in the can before anyone could fuss over it too much and leach it of its playfulness and originality. Unlike Dylan and Baez in DON'T LOOK BACK, the Beatles were playing characters, not trying to project their own PR images. And they seemed to enjoy doing so. While the Swingin' England costumes, hairstyles, and backdrop makes you wish someone had put up the pounds for color film, the b&w camera work evokes the other great b&w films of that era: Darling, Alfie, Georgie Girl, to name a few. What I found most amusing was how polite the Beatles were to the adults in the movie (George actually apologizes to a sports coach for running around on his "private property.") There are no clues that I could detect of the role these four baby-faced musicians would have in the counter-culture movement of the next half decade. The music is great, of course...but the songs were either shorter than I remembered, or have been edited down somewhat. It would have been nice if the second DVD had some outtakes (maybe they used every frame they shot) or news footage from the time. Instead, it contains countless interviews with just about everyone connected to the film. Interesting reminiscences, but enough is enough. (I doubt that I'll ever play the second DVD again.)
More than mere nostalgia, this is a great movie!
Movie Review: Brings Back A Lot Of Memories
Summary: 5 Stars
It was Nov 1964. I was in 5th grade in Renton, WA. I had heard of the Beatles because the girl I had a crush on really liked some guy named "Paul" who looked like a girl and was ENGLISH!!! I was a crewcut toy-gun army playing boy who didn't like what I saw as "sissies". The "cool kid" in our class invited a bunch of us to his birthday party and we all got driven down to the Renton theatre to see "Hard Day's Night". It changed my life forever.
In the theatre the girls were going crazy and having what seemed like "fits". I found later from some of the guys whose sisters were in the audience about the release the girls were having in the theatre. Meanwhile I was mesmerized by how "cool" these guys were and how their music made me feel. To this day I remember the scene like it was yesterday. I came out of that theatre and my world changed in an instant.
Within 2 months we had all grown our hair and picked up on the Liverpool slang. It was still a couple years before I got a record player and started to collect the LPs but this movie was a pivotol moment in so many lives.
Honestly, I just love to see it again and the sound is "good enough". I guess I have heard these songs so many times in so many moments in my life that they are part of me and whatever may be missing, my brain just fills in.
I love this movie, will always love this movie, and will always love the Beatles for giving us that great, great, music....which was the soundtrack to my life.