Beatles - A Hard Day's Night

Pros: nostalgia, babe...!

Cons: Embarrassingly lovable

The Bottom Line: ya gotta love it- it's the Beatles, AND Richard Lester

Review: 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

The Bottom Line: There you go, hiding behind a smoke screen of bourgeois cliches.

Review: 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

Review: 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

The Bottom Line: A landmark film that cleverly exploited the charms and talents of The Beatles to provide an entertaining free-for-all.

Review: 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

The Bottom Line: The Fab Four find themselves in a fantastic film! Heh. Couldn't resist.

Review: 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: Great script; the Beatles are naturals; excellent added material

Cons: Terrible lip-syncing

The Bottom Line: The best and funniest film about a rock group ever made.

Review: 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: John. Paul. George. Ringo. 'Nuff said.

Cons: It eventually ends. -sigh-

The Bottom Line: A Hard Day's Night is the Citizen Kane of rock and roll.

Review:
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?

The Bottom Line: Richard Lester's A HARD DAY'S NIGHT provides a timeless snapshot of the Beatles at the dawn of their superstardom with endless charm and extraordinary music

Review: 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: Beautifully restored sound and vision

Cons: None

Review: 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.

The Bottom Line: A CLASSIC movie! Come for the Beatles, stay for the laughs! But really, you'll like it even if you're not a Beatles fan.

Review: 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...