Video Review |
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Video Review |
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Last Updated 10/30/00
Email: robitai@our-town.com
"A Hard Day's Night" Still Makes Me Feel Fine
The new Beatles Anthology coffee table book splashed onto the scene last week. Weighing in at just under six pounds, it's the "history of the Beatles—by the Beatles." I was among the die-hard Beatles fans who lined up to purchase this monstrosity of a bio, adding yet another item to my rapidly growing collection of Beatle memorabilia.
It seemed only fitting to mark the publication of the landmark Anthology edition with a viewing of that classic Beatle movie "A Hard Day's Night." My fixation with the Beatles probably has more to do with a deep-seated psychological need to recapture my youth than with my discerning tastes in rock 'n roll. It's hard to say.
When the movie appeared in 1964, I was in line to buy my ticket two hours early. The line had already begun to snake around the corner when my friend and I arrived. We spent that two hours waiting for the box office to open trading Beatle cards and deciding whether Paul or John had more sex appeal. (It's Paul.)
When the lights dimmed and the first show started, it was precisely 1:00 p.m. Becky and I had front row seats, and in those days of big screens and back-to-back showings, we were in Beatle heaven. We sat through the movie seven times in a row, taking time out only for snack bar and bathroom breaks.
Granted, the dynamics aren't the same as they were in 1964. This time I watched the whole movie without standing in my chair and screaming, and I watched it only once.
Even after all these years, the movie holds up well. It's still a romp, extending the silliness of a Marx Brothers movie into a documentary format, a situation that allows fans to experience a day in the life of the Beatles. Rapid camera movements make this black and white film decidedly realistic and deliberately fresh. The Beatles make their way by train (presumably from Liverpool) to their hotel and finally to the television and recording studio amid screaming fans and the British press.
If you've never experienced Beatlemania or if you're interested in popular culture of the '60s, this film is a good bet. Just when the antics of the four lads from Liverpool begin to grow a little thin, they break into song. The sound track alone is worth the effort. "A Hard Day's Night," "And I Love Her," "Things We Said Today," and "Can't Buy Me Love" are just a few of the songs that punctuate the action and keep the movie's pace just this side of lightening.
"A Hard Day's Night" lasts only 85 minutes, so if you have ten hours to spare, you can see it seven times. Screaming and standing in your chair are optional.
Available only on video