Beatles - A Hard Day's Night

Pros: An interesting look at the Fab Four in the days of relative simplicity
Cons: a few interviews shedding little information or insight.

When I was about fourteen years old I remember waiting on line to get in to see A Hard Days Night. The line began early in the day and stretched far around the theatre. I didn't make the first show so we stayed on line for the second show. Unknown...

Pros: nostalgia, babe...!
Cons: Embarrassingly lovable

The vinyl age brought us the lovable gods of rock, the Beatles. Richard Lester in his fabulously scripted and directed film A Hard Day's Night points out all the fuzzy sides of these musical legends. At the time Hard Day's Night came out it was ...

Pros: Great music, often hilarious
Cons: None for me

In 1964, The Beatles were phenomenally popular, so United Artists wanted to quickly film and release a movie starring the group. In order to cut back on costs for the movie, it was filmed in black-and-white instead of color. The studio didn't really care ...

Pros: The Grandaddy of All Music/Concert Films
Cons: None

In early 1964 when Beatlemania hit the U. S. I was 17 years old and a Junior in High School. I had a part time job working as an usher at the United Artists Theatre, Louisville’s ornate and elegant 1923 Movie Palace. When the Beatles first film “A...

Pros: The Fab Four; spirited good fun; witty dialog and plenty of sight gags; dynamic soundtrack
Cons: Excellent package of extras except no interviews with surviving band members

Beatlemania would have occurred without Richard Lester, but the man gave it one heck of a nudge. Historical Background: Richard Lester, despite being known mainly as a British film director, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1932. He ...

Pros: Funny as heck and plenty of good tunes, to boot
Cons: Not a one

When the Beatles first became stars around the world in 1964, United Artists wanted a film that would allow the company to capitalize on the popularity of the band. Oh, and the folks at United Artists wanted it as soon as possible. Oh, and they didn't...

Pros: The music is without peer
Cons: Slightly smug, dated humour

A day in the life of Liverpool’s Fab Four (John, Paul, George, and Ringo) as they deal with mobs of screaming female fans, humourless train passengers, and Paul’s irascible grandfather (Wilfrid Brambell), whilst trying to avoid their ...

Pros: Great script; the Beatles are naturals; excellent added material
Cons: Terrible lip-syncing

The Beatles' first film, "A Hard Day's Night," was shot in six weeks and released three months later to take advantage of what everyone thought was going to be a brief moment of fame for the four lads from Liverpool. To the surprise of nearly everybody,...

Pros: Lots of humour, great songs, cinematic style
Cons: If you really hate the Beatles, this film probably won't make things better for you.

The Beatles were just experiencing the beginnings of their fame in the early 1960’s, and naturally, other people besides the band itself were wanting a piece of that fame. Music stars such as Elvis Presley and others had already experienced film...

Pros: John. Paul. George. Ringo. 'Nuff said.
Cons: It eventually ends. -sigh-

Interviewer: "Do you often see your father?"
Paul: "No, actually, we're just good friends."

By the time Paul McCartney utters this famous response to a particularly banal interviewer during one of the many press conferences...

Pros: The Beatles, the music, Wilfrid Brambell, Victor Spinetti; great direction; exhilarating
Cons: The humor might not catch on decades later; will non Beatles fans like it?

Midway through A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, George Harrison stumbles into the production offices of smug Simon Marshall (An uncredited Kenneth Haigh), who runs a "hip" trendsetting television program and tosses about mod phrases like "cheeky baby" and "sonny ...

Pros: fresh, full of energy, really embodies spirit of early Beatlemania
Cons: somewhat stilted dialogue in beginning

Sadly, I was born several decades too late for Beatlemania, so I have to catch up when I can. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to see _A Hard Day's Night_ at the local art theater--a movie I'd seen and enjoyed before on video, but never on the...

Pros: Beautifully restored sound and vision
Cons: None

Walking out of the Michigan Theater this evening, I exclaimed to my companion with much elation how incredibly proud I was to be a musician. My friend and bandmate agreed and we walked out into the moonlit streets of Ann Arbor and back to our houses. I...

Pros: Great music, great laughs, GORGEOUS cinematography!
Cons: B & W might bother some people. And the humor can be slightly British.

You can just hear it, can't you? The loud guitars, the harmonies, the screams?

The 1964 film A Hard Day's Night is a perfect portrait of the Beatles at the height of their "boyband" days; a film which many musical groups have since...

Pros: Great Music, Great film and audio quality.
Cons: None for the Beatles Fan. Perhaps a little slow for the non-fan.

Welcome To My Life …

I want to start out this review by stating something which may not be all that obvious. I am not a big Beatles fan. Sure, I think they were good in a musical sense, yes I do enjoy most of their music, and I’m not...