A Hard Day's Night (1964)

Rating: 4 Stars (out of 4)

Still Works Like a Dog

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy A Hard Day's Night on DVD.

The best thing you can say about this movie is what Andrew Sarris said back in 1964 -- it's the Citizen Kane of juke box musicals.

Like Kane, A Hard Day's Night still seems fresh and thrilling 35 years later. The Beatles' dialogue, written by Alun Owen, always seems improvised, but it was actually all carefully scripted. Of course the natural chemistry and screen presence of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr help too, and the low-budget black and white photography lends a still-hip quality to the picture. MTV should be this good all the time.

The whole thing feels like a fluke when you think that the Beatles were considered a flash-in-the-pan at the time. Of course, they went on to create some of the greatest world-class pop music of all time, but these three-minute singles ("If I Fell," "I Wanna Be Your Man," "Can't Buy Me Love") still feel vibrant and alive.

Director Richard Lester also made the follow-up Help! which doesn't stand up nearly so well. Yet he was considered a "hip" director for many years, through films like Petulia (1968), The Three Musketeers (1974), The Four Musketeers (1975), Robin and Marian (1976) and Superman II (1981).

A Hard Day's Night will be showing at the San Francisco International Film Festival in a gorgeous brand-new print with remastered sound and an extra song thrown in.

DVD Details: As if by some force of magic, the Beatles' first attempt at the movies is not only a success, but one of the greatest movies of all time, and the model by which all other rock 'n' roll movies continue to measure. Written by Alun Owen and directed by Richard Lester, the film has a loose, improvisational quality; the humor is based on the personalities of the players -- John, Paul, George and Ringo -- and therefore has not aged. The documentary-like black-and-white cinematography adds to the illusion that the story is happening before our eyes.

Not to mention those songs! The Beatles' music never seems to age. It always feels vibrant and joyous, exploding out of the speakers with the freshness of a band who loves to play and sing. (How many bands today give you the impression that they love music?)

Miramax's new 2-disc DVD set ($29.99) boasts the remastered print shown in theaters a few years ago, and comes with more mini-documentaries than I care to count. It's too bad that Lester, who is still with us at age 70, could not be called upon for a commentary track.

Starring: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Wilfrid Brambell, Norman Rossington, John Junkin
Written by: Alun Owen
Directed by: Richard Lester
MPAA Rating: NR
Running Time: 90 minutes
Date: October 9, 2002