A Hard Day's NightAll you have to do is hear that first chord, and you know what's coming: the band that needs no introduction, The Beatles, in a revolutionary slice of rock star life, A Hard Day's Night. For those of you who haven't heard of The Beatles--I simply don't believe you exist, but let's entertain the thought--their popularity swept through the Sixties and beyond, in sound and image, a group of young lads from Liverpool who heralded the "British Invasion" of mod rockers ("mockers" to a few) with their creativity and harmony. Beatlemania was real, and the Ed Sullivan Show was real; A Hard Day's Night, a little less so, but don't let a little creative license flip your wig.
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A Hard Day's Night presents itself as a kind of documentary-style expose of the fab four en route and on location for a concert. Their transit from locale to locale is almost always accompanied by throngs of screaming fans, which the police and a sophisticated parade of cars must assemble a blockade to protect them from their adoring admirers. The opening of the film is, in fact, a chase, with John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr being hounded by fans through alleys and train terminals; Paul McCartney already in disguise alongside his "clean" grandfather, John McCartney (not actually Paul's grandfather, played by Wilfrid Brambell), joins the others on the last train to London. Even here, one sees the blueprints of countless imitators to follow, such as the beloved Monkees, and their television show which was no doubt heavily influenced by this movie. Technically, the film is a musical, which is unsurprising considering the subject matter, but it is more than just an excuse to get silver screen exposure to The Beatles--although it is pretty clear that this was the intention from the start. A Hard Day's Night is modern in its approach to the musical, with backstage moments and impromptu breakouts of music in train cars, delighted girls ogling the boys and their serenade; it perfectly encapsulates Beatlemania. The band always seems to find themselves on the run, between making press conferences, rehearsals, or dodging returning fan mail. For a band which is on tour, they make what opportunities they can to escape into the open air, away from the paparazzi and their iron-fisted manager, Norm (Norman Rossington). Between the funny chases, disguises, and the irreverent repartee, A Hard Day's Night gives character to the larger-than-life members of The Beatles. Great comical exchanges are alternately witty and occasionally flip, such as their responses to the members of the press when solicited for answers not about their music, but their hair and travels. The Beatles of A Hard Day's Night are the "fab"; fabulous, yes, but also fabricated for their demographic. That is not to say that there is not the kind of charm and wit which accompanies these endearing musicians, but that the story of the film is molded as entertainment, which happens to star, well, The Beatles. You have to wonder how much of the film's personae of John, Paul, George, and Ringo are actually true to form John, Paul, George, and Ringo, and how much is for the sake of the narrative?
What director Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night is adept at is making you feel like you are a participant in this "day in the life" of The Beatles, as if this day were really like all the others. It evokes the charm of the French New Wave--especially through Ringo's tour through the streets of London in disguise. Comedy bits throughout have the sharp punch of era-appropriate British comedy, like Monty Python (sans animation). There is a plot involving Paul's grandfather causing mischief and mayhem, gambling, scalping forged autographs, et al; but this sideshow is just that, something to keep us from Beatles overload, never letting us get too complacent with the megastars. For all their prestige, the presentation is that The Beatles long for the innocent fun that comes with running free in the fields, playing games and looking to unwind. They are the "boys next door", which is a part of their charm, not comfortable in the rigid confines of stardom and adult obligations. It seems like the fab four are having a go on the world which has made them superstars, between their sly responses to passersby, reporters, and even the wild antics of haranguing a stuffed shirt on a train. Key moments signal bits of their cinematic counterparts' personalities, like John's sardonic, yet impish wit, George's nearly exasperated and yet mellow indifference to artificiality, Paul's good-natured, Boy Scout-like charm, and Ringo, with his occasional melancholy and also nigh-perfect comic sense of timing. A Hard Day's Night has a distinct style which embodies a kind of marketing image of The Beatles; the end credits bear no small resemblance to their album, Help! One could argue that A Hard Day's Night is a highly sophisticated marketing campaign for The Beatles; even if that were true, it also remains a sharp comedy and clever musical. Although The Beatles were by no means the first rock stars to grace the silver screen, A Hard Day's Night is the earliest example I can recall where the sense that the rock stars are playing themselves is simultaneously subverted with a fabricated, fictional narrative. But pretending that image is not a part of the rock star life is not only naive, it is a lie; and fiction be darned, the likes of The Beatles make for an engaging and charming fun time--it makes for a "really great show".
Recommended for: Fans of The Beatles, no doubt, but also fans of the kind of quick, whip-smart comedy that follows when you get four young men with the best of lines, the smartest quips for the voice of a generation.
What director Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night is adept at is making you feel like you are a participant in this "day in the life" of The Beatles, as if this day were really like all the others. It evokes the charm of the French New Wave--especially through Ringo's tour through the streets of London in disguise. Comedy bits throughout have the sharp punch of era-appropriate British comedy, like Monty Python (sans animation). There is a plot involving Paul's grandfather causing mischief and mayhem, gambling, scalping forged autographs, et al; but this sideshow is just that, something to keep us from Beatles overload, never letting us get too complacent with the megastars. For all their prestige, the presentation is that The Beatles long for the innocent fun that comes with running free in the fields, playing games and looking to unwind. They are the "boys next door", which is a part of their charm, not comfortable in the rigid confines of stardom and adult obligations. It seems like the fab four are having a go on the world which has made them superstars, between their sly responses to passersby, reporters, and even the wild antics of haranguing a stuffed shirt on a train. Key moments signal bits of their cinematic counterparts' personalities, like John's sardonic, yet impish wit, George's nearly exasperated and yet mellow indifference to artificiality, Paul's good-natured, Boy Scout-like charm, and Ringo, with his occasional melancholy and also nigh-perfect comic sense of timing. A Hard Day's Night has a distinct style which embodies a kind of marketing image of The Beatles; the end credits bear no small resemblance to their album, Help! One could argue that A Hard Day's Night is a highly sophisticated marketing campaign for The Beatles; even if that were true, it also remains a sharp comedy and clever musical. Although The Beatles were by no means the first rock stars to grace the silver screen, A Hard Day's Night is the earliest example I can recall where the sense that the rock stars are playing themselves is simultaneously subverted with a fabricated, fictional narrative. But pretending that image is not a part of the rock star life is not only naive, it is a lie; and fiction be darned, the likes of The Beatles make for an engaging and charming fun time--it makes for a "really great show".
Recommended for: Fans of The Beatles, no doubt, but also fans of the kind of quick, whip-smart comedy that follows when you get four young men with the best of lines, the smartest quips for the voice of a generation.