A Valuable Representation of Mid-Sixties London

Rating: 8/10 (8 July 2014)

Looked at in the cold light of day, A HARD DAY'S NIGHT has dated badly. Many of the gags fall flat on their face, while the visual style seems artificially jumpy, as director Richard Lester makes a labored attempt to emphasize the Beatles' liberated life. In terms of film history, however, the film occupies a seminal position; not only does it provide a record of the Beatles in performance, but it makes a conscious attempt to explain the Beatlemania phenomenon. The Fab Four not only introduced different musical styles into the Britpop world, but they were representatives of a new, swinging way of life that contrasted starkly with what had gone before. They were happy-go-lucky, free, not frightened to express themselves, and hedonistic - as seen, for instance, in the "Can't Buy Me Love" sequence where they gambol about on a school playing-field, shot from above by director Lester. In historical terms, the film offers a valuable portrait of mid-Sixties London, especially the contrast between 'old' and 'new' values. In one sequence the Beatles get into an argument with a city gent (Richard Vernon), who tries to stop them playing their transistor radio in the belief that, as a regular traveler on the train, he is somehow superior to them. Needless to say John Lennon immediately exposes the stupidity of such claims. The film is full of experimental visual styles, from the speeded-up chase sequence as the Fab Four are pursued by the London constabulary, to the rapid intercutting between the Beatles in performance and their adoring fans in the audience screaming themselves hoarse, And then there are the songs, which remain as fresh and original half a century on as they did when they were premiered. A HARD DAY'S NIGHT demands to be watched by anyone interested in social and popular music history, as well as Beatles fans young and old.