In the past year, we’ve seen a string of music documentaries released; especially ones focused on music in the 1960s, such as The Velvet Underground, Get Back, and the Oscar-winning Summer of Soul (…Or, How the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). This may have you in the mood for more 1960s content, and for that, I can not recommend the first Beatles film, A Hard Day’s Night, enough. Full disclosure: I’m a huge Beatles fan. They are kind of a big deal and their 1964 film was instrumental (pun absolutely intended) in cementing their status.
This movie is pure joy. Creativity seeps out of every frame, and it is perhaps one of the few times a corporation was ahead of the public and struck precisely when the iron was hot.
The idea for a Beatles movie started in late 1963 when the band was tearing through the UK but had not yet dominated the States. The Beatles only had two full-length records, and with most of those songs being covers, many now-classic Beatles songs had not been written yet; but full-blown Beatlemania was close and some important people were sensing it. The Beatles played on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964 and the band reached a whole new level of fame. Less than a month later, filming began on A Hard Day’s Night.
This film is cleverly filmed in a cinéma vérité style; it feels like a fly on the wall documentary while never calling attention to itself. This isn’t some kind of mockumentary where the Beatles address the camera — it just feels like we are there with them. The film is filled with energetic camera movement and it is consistently a joy to watch. According to the making-of documentary, MTV sent director Richard Lester a plaque declaring him the “the father of the music video,” claiming that he laid the groundwork for what a rock music video should look and feel like with this film.
The Fab Four’s expert stage presence translates beautifully to the screen with a quartet of impressive comedic performances. There’s a natural and off-the-cuff feel even though behind-the-scenes footage shows all the lines were scripted, with very little improv. This dynamic only gets better as the film progresses as it was shot in sequence and the band got more confident in their acting abilities with each passing day. The script gives each member something to do, humorous one-liners to say, and of course, allows all of their personalities (even if they are exaggerated) to come through.
This film marked a crucial moment in The Beatles’ history as it was the first time audiences got a chance to know John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Outside of press interviews, their personalities weren’t known by audiences. This was an adoring fan’s first chance to not just love the boys for their music, but to love them for them, or at least a PR image of them. This isn’t quite the same as Elvis Presley’s or Frank Sinatra’s film careers. In Jailhouse Rock, Elvis plays a character named Vince Everett. In A Hard Day’s Night, The Beatles play themselves.
The creative spark doesn’t stop at the joke-a-line screenplay, the always on-the-move camera work, or the downright lovable performances; it’s also present in the aspect that started this whole project: the music.
Before it was even called A Hard Day’s Night, this project was intended to be released with an accompanying soundtrack of new Beatles tracks. The album A Hard Day’s Night was born because of the movie, not the other way around. This was another big moment for The Beatles because this would be the first record to include only original songs. This was their time to prove themselves as songwriters and we now know the set of songs they provided would become legendary in Rock and Roll canon.
The title track, one of the best-known Beatles songs, was recorded at the very end of production because the title worked well for the movie. The song is never performed live by the band in the film because the song didn’t exist when they filmed the concert sequences. The song came together very quickly (apparently in just one night) and the recorded version was used during the opening and closing credits. That’s the kind of creative energy this film has throughout its 87-minute runtime.
While this film is incredibly fun from start to finish, it also gives us a chance to feel The Beatles on an emotional level. It touches on the idea that The Beatles are prisoners of their massive success. They are always on the run from fans, or in a cramped space (a train, a press conference, a hotel room, a dressing room). Their manager is always telling them what they need to be doing and where they need to be, and this sets up a humorous dynamic between the manager and the rebellious John Lennon. They have to break away from it all to feel free. The film doesn’t dwell on this dour aspect too much, but it does add another layer to it. The darker themes are balanced out when the film communicates the pure bliss all the members get when they play music together. It reminds us of the bonds that started this whole phenomenon.
So yeah, I love this movie. It’s the perfect film for any Beatles fan and it’s not a film I can imagine getting tired of. Few movies are as consistently entertaining and even fewer have the benefit of capturing the spark of The Beatles at a major turning point in their career. The Beatles may not be the legendary band they are today without the momentum A Hard Day’s Night provided.
In loving memory of my Uncle Jojo, musician extraordinaire and The Beatles’ number one fan.
MENTIONED MOVIES:
A Hard Day’s Night (1964, dir. Richard Lester, Stream on HBO Max and The Criterion Channel, Rent on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube, and Vudu)
Jailhouse Rock (1957, dir. Richard Thorpe, Rent on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu)