← Back to Reviews
in
#37 - A Hard Day's Night
Richard Lester, 1964
A fictitious story about a day in the life (heh) of the Beatles (who play themselves) as they spend their time running from fans, performing music and getting into shenanigans.
I don't much go in for the Beatles' output prior to Rubber Soul but it's solid enough early-'60s rock-pop. Making a film about popular musician (especially one based in fiction) does come across as a rather cynical exercise in exploiting their fanbase, but at least here the end product is a decent enough little comedy. The loose monochromatic photography gives the film a proper documentarian feel and really accentuates the band's youthful vivacity. The music, well, I can take or leave it, but the accompanying visuals (the band doing an impromptu performance in the cargo section of a train car or fooling around in an open field to the tune of "Can't Buy Me Love") don't do much for me. The plot, such as there is one, is helped by the Beatles playing themselves as charmingly cheeky young fellas who are constantly mocking the uptight squares that they encounter. The show is stolen by Wilfrid Brambell as Paul McCartney's crotchety grandfather, whose own antics serve as an amusing catalyst for new plotlines (most notably during the last third of the film where he manages to talk Ringo Starr into running off right before the band's gig). There's enough humour here to be constantly amusing and it's a thankfully lean film, but I guess at the end of the day it's just an alright piece of work despite it coming across as an attempt to capitalise on the band's success.
Richard Lester, 1964
A fictitious story about a day in the life (heh) of the Beatles (who play themselves) as they spend their time running from fans, performing music and getting into shenanigans.
I don't much go in for the Beatles' output prior to Rubber Soul but it's solid enough early-'60s rock-pop. Making a film about popular musician (especially one based in fiction) does come across as a rather cynical exercise in exploiting their fanbase, but at least here the end product is a decent enough little comedy. The loose monochromatic photography gives the film a proper documentarian feel and really accentuates the band's youthful vivacity. The music, well, I can take or leave it, but the accompanying visuals (the band doing an impromptu performance in the cargo section of a train car or fooling around in an open field to the tune of "Can't Buy Me Love") don't do much for me. The plot, such as there is one, is helped by the Beatles playing themselves as charmingly cheeky young fellas who are constantly mocking the uptight squares that they encounter. The show is stolen by Wilfrid Brambell as Paul McCartney's crotchety grandfather, whose own antics serve as an amusing catalyst for new plotlines (most notably during the last third of the film where he manages to talk Ringo Starr into running off right before the band's gig). There's enough humour here to be constantly amusing and it's a thankfully lean film, but I guess at the end of the day it's just an alright piece of work despite it coming across as an attempt to capitalise on the band's success.