Dated But Still A Great Musical Movie

Rating: 10/10 (15 September 2012)

A Hard Day's Night is a British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester that features the The Beatles — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr — at the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen. The film was made in the style of a mockumentary, describing a couple of days in the lives of the group.
Using a variety of techniques cribbed from Hollywood slapstick comedies, the French "new wave" movement, and his own experiences as a TV- commercial director, Lester fashioned an exhilarating study of a "typical" 36 hours in the lives of the Fab Four. Onto a plot about getting to the Big Show on time are hung a series of instant-reaction gags, character vignettes, and musical setpieces. Much of the humor arises from Paul McCartney's efforts to keep his grandfather, a "clean old man," from getting into mischief. Also good for several laughs is the hookey-playing Ringo Starr, whose mistimed declaration of independence lands him in jail. We are also treated to a war of nerves between the unflappable John Lennon and an uptight TV director, who worries that, should the Beatles not show up at broadcast time, he'll be demoted to "News In Welsh." George Harrison stars in a sequence in which he is mistaken for an auditionee by the producer of a superficially trendy, teen-oriented TV weekly. Then there's Norman Rossington and John Junkin as The Beatles' managers, who carry on a battle royale simply because one man is taller than the other. The supporting cast includes comedienne Anna Quayle, cartoonist Bob Godfrey, TV host Robin Ray, dancer Lionel Blair, Harrison's future wife Patti Boyd, and director Lester himself. The songs include "I Should Have Known Better," "And I Love Her," "Tell Me Why," "If I Fell," "Can't Buy Me Love," and the title song,"A Hard Day's Night".
This humorous mockumentary of the Beatles had a huge impact, forever changing the definition and limits of the musical movie genre for it captures the Beatles when they still looked like they were having fun, back before drugs and psychedelia and Yoko Ono took effect.The result still seems fresh and different decades later.