The 1964 screen debut of The Beatles became a cultural phenomenon. Take a look at scenes from the movie.
Bruce and Martha Karsh/Janus Films. Rock movies were never the same after "A Hard Day's Night."
The
1964 screen debut of The Beatles was meant to cash in on the wave of
Beatlemania sweeping the band's native England and produce a soundtrack
album that American movie studio United Artists could market through its
music division. It did that and more: Like its stars, the movie became a
cultural phenomenon.
"It elevated the
art of the pop-music film," said Beatles biographer Mark Lewisohn,
author of "Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years." After a string of
peppy jukebox musicals in the late 1950s such as "Rock Around the
Clock," the Beatles film set a new standard. "It was the first of its
kind to treat the subject with some intelligence and a more
sophisticated level of humor."
Janus Films will release a digitally restored version of the film in
about 100 cities on July 4, commemorating the 50th anniversary of its
premiere at the Pavilion Theatre in London's Piccadilly Circus. The
Criterion Collection released a DVD/Blu-Ray edition Tuesday.
The loose-limbed
comedy, directed by Richard Lester, follows the Fab Four—Paul
McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—as they travel
from Liverpool to London for a TV performance. Antics ensue, many
instigated by a mysterious older man (Wilfrid Brambell) that Mr.
McCartney claims is his grandfather. Mr. Starr goes on a walkabout. And
when they're not singing, or on the run from screaming fans, the
performers riff as only slightly exaggerated versions of
themselves—making the most of clever one-liners concocted by
screenwriter Alun Owen.
The movie made an impact on generations of Beatles fans. Some of them grew up to direct their own pop-oriented films.
"To
me it's probably the greatest rock film ever made," said Morgan
Neville, a longtime director of music documentaries whose "20 Feet from
Stardom" won the Academy Award this year. "There were a thousand ways
that movie could have gone off the rails, but every other pop band since
has tried to make it."
Mr. Neville
credits much of the movie's success to Mr. Lester. The American
filmmaker, then known for his work with British comedians Peter Sellers
and Spike Milligan ("The Goon Show"), infused the film with a spirit of
"sheer humor and anarchy," Mr. Neville said. It anticipated the work of
ensembles like Monty Python's Flying Circus. "He was really at the
forefront of the British new wave." Mr. Lester's inventiveness was such
that when Lennon was unable to appear in part of the "Can't Buy Me Love"
sequence, which was shot outdoors, the director stood in for him: He
put on the absent Beatle's shoes and pretended to be Lennon holding the
camera.
The film version of "A Hard
Day's Night," whose title was taken from one of Mr. Starr's off-the-cuff
comments and became the last song written for the film, has many other
distinctions. One of the most conspicuous is the group's thick Liverpool
accents. "The biggest pop star in Great Britain before the Beatles,
Cliff Richard, had adopted a mid-Atlantic accent in the hope that he
would be more acceptable to Americans for not sounding completely
English," Mr. Lewisohn said. "The Beatles said, 'Here we are and this is
us and you can take it or leave it.' Everyone took it."
The film also reveled in running
jokes and sight gags that might slip by a casual viewer. The elderly
gent played by Brambell is continually referred to as "clean." As an
actor, he was better known as the grubby lead in the BBC comedy "Steptoe
and Son," the basis for the American series "Sanford and Son." And in a
moment typical of the film's attitude, there's a glimpse of John Lennon
with a bottle of Coca-Cola raised to his nose. "Sniffing coke," Mr.
Lewisohn said. "It's just there and it's gone."
Some
of those subtleties may be more apparent in the restored film, which
includes a soundtrack remixed for stereo and surround formats by Giles
Martin, son of Beatles' producer George Martin. To ensure the highest
fidelity, Mr. Martin went back to original source materials, including
stock sound effects that were archived by the BBC.
In
other instances, the producer enlisted a little help to stir some extra
Beatlemania. During the performance at the end of the movie, he
instructed co-workers to shout out the names of individual Beatles,
which weren't very audible in the film amidst all the shrieking.
"There's
a little girl who does the Internet here," Mr. Martin said. "She's the
quietest character. She went ballistic. 'PAULLLLLL!!!'"
Despite
such enduring enthusiasm, Mr. Martin was mindful of not overdoing it.
"You want to have a feeling like you're there," he said. "But I'm not
remixing a Michael Bay film."
Source: http://online.wsj.com/articles/a-digitally-restored-hard-days-night-1403814666
By Mark Cerulli
After
a meticulous 4K restoration by none other than the Criterion Collection, the
Beatles’ first film, A Hard Days Night, was unveiled at LA’s Raleigh
Studios. Yes, the image was crisp and
clean, not a smudge or scratch in sight. (No surprise there as the film’s
director Richard Lester personally approved the restoration.) And yes, the
music sounded glorious in a new 5.1 mix. In fact, George Harrison’s iconic opening
riff on the title track just about knocked this Cinema Retro scribe off his
seat! But what was really special about this whimsical film was watching it
through the prism of fifty years. From
frame 1, we know how we lost both John Lennon and George Harrison. We are living with climate change, al-Qaeda,
overpopulation and deforestation, so this movie is a welcome relief, capturing
a simpler time in a quainter London which was then still throwing off the
shadows of WW II. Most importantly, the
film delivers The Beatles in close-up after close-up – all are young, strong
and so full of life. To say they “stole
the show” doesn’t apply, they ARE the show. The plot, about the trials and tribulations of getting the white-hot
group to a live performance is basically filler between musical set pieces, but
it earned writer Alun Owen a 1965 Oscar nomination. George Martin’s thumping
score also landed an Oscar nod.
Along
for the ride is Paul’s cranky grandfather (Wilfrid Brambell) who keeps the band
and their managers (dour Norman Rossington and goofy John Junkin) on their toes.
Odd looking and angular, Brambell, a major UK TV star at the time, was a
sneering contrast to the Fab Four’s glowing charisma.
The
film is as much about movement as it is music. The band is always on the move, -
on foot, in trains, cars and a helicopter. Richard Lester’s cameras are on the
move as well, with numerous hand-held shots and a beautiful aerial sequence
where the band escapes a stuffy rehearsal to mess about in a playing field accompanied
by Can’t Buy Me Love. With much of the
dialogue improvised on the spot, A Hard Day’s Night has a breezy, cinéma vérité
feel that obviously worked for its stars as they seem to be having a blast from
start to finish.
When
The Beatles finally go “live”, the climactic concert delivers vintage “Beatlemania”
in all its screaming glory. The lads blast out Tell Me Why, If I Fell, I Should Have Known Better and She Loves You, intercut with an audience
full of hysterical teens and the show’s harried director (Vincent Spinelli) having
a meltdown in the control booth. It’s
all innocent, upbeat and just simply, fun. Are there plot holes you could drive a
double-decker bus through? Sure. But who cares? For a brief shining moment the Beatles are
together again and all is well with the world.
On
July 4th, Janus Films will re-release this restored version of A
Hard Days Night in more than 50 cities across America.
