A Hard Day's Night (1964)

(This review was originally written in June 2014)

With the 50th anniversary DVD/Blu-Ray rerelease (released by Criterion in the United States and Second Sight in the UK), it seems fitting that in tandem we get screenings across the country. I've seen screenings before for George Harrison: Living in the Material World and Magical Mystery Tour, so seeing this at Picturehouse only made sense.

It definitely needed the restoration. Inspired by the (perfect) credits sequence, I posted some photosets on Tumblr, using the old Lionsgate DVD from a few years ago, and the grain is really noticeable.

And I have to say, the screening was my best experience with the film yet. It was my third or fourth viewing of it, but it was very much worth it. Things seemed a lot more cohesive than ever, because that's what the cinema setting demands: absolute concentration. A lot of sequences are simply proto-music video, and the storyline is basic, but the tangents and comedy and the awesomeness of the Beatles on the screen makes it so much more than that. In essence the plot of the film is "the Beatles prepare for a concert, a concert which we see performed in the conclusion." But that's only the essence.

The comedy is clever. There's bits I didn't understand at 14 which are just awesome now. The camp director

with a knitted jumper; Wilfrid Brambell is more than just a "clean old man" (a joke which appears in basically

every scene he's in, a la Steptoe and Son), but a patriot of the Irish Republic; the "m/ocker", rather than "mods and rockers" Beatles; the satire on the clothing industry, trying to push shoddy clothes through the image of the Beatles. Watching it this time, I can see certain themes which are perhaps mirrored in their later films: The Beatles on a private field (Help), The Beatles crossing through a tent which defies the laws of physics (Magical Mystery Tour), the simple animation of the closing credits (Yellow Submarine)

It's so self-aware, and that put's what puts it above anything of a similar ilk. The Beatles evading hordes of screaming fangirls (firstly in the opening sequence) is such a strong image, and has become only more relevant today. But unlike One Direction's latest concert film, it's fiction with a script. It's not a moving journey of achieving success, but a funny one; the latter is a lot less cliché tone to use. The Beatles are presented as down-to-earth human beings, who aren't paraded against security (except in the taxi scene), but sit with another passenger on the train, and spend most of the time acting as schoolboys, speaking without barriers to authority, being silly constantly and admiring 'birds.' A member leaving the band may become a trope, but Ringo's brief departure even sees him (briefly) hanging out with an 11 year old boy who he can relate to. It's

not just commercialisation in order to sell more albums, but a piece of art in its own right. 

Everyone speaks about the film's music sequences being the proto-music video, but I think Richard Lester (of Superman fame)'s direction of the non-music sequences are forgotten. They're still quite advanced, cutting back and forth to the same scene, using extreme close-ups, and overall come together to make quite kinetic scenes (especially considering the 90 minute runtime.) Some scenes are quite Three Stooges (see the bit where the Beatles are chased by police), but not everything's the 1930s. It's incredibly 1960s in its setting and in its radicalism with comedy/musical film. It's one of the few occasions where I get to go out with my mum, and she really revelled in nostalgia for her own childhood. It's very much of its time but that's part of what makes it great.