Guide to British Music of the 1960s
April 2003
DVD Review
The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night
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In the early 1960s the next step after a hit single and a follow-up LP was to make a film. These were made to cash-in on the artist's brief period of fame and trended to feature a few songs, some poor acting and some semblance of a story to hold it together. They were not the best films ever made. However, the release of A Hard Day's Night changed all that. The Beatles were on the up with a string of number one hits and two successful LPs already and so the next move was the first feature film.
The film's release was greeted with the outbreak of Beatlemania and it might have been expected to disappear along with other films featuring pop stars had it not been for the enduring success of the Beatles and the fact that A Hard Day's Night took a different direction. Rather than trying to turn the fledgling pop stars into actors, the Beatles played themselves in what was not far from a documentary based on their real lives.
The Beatles were initially hesitant about making a film with the previous track record of pop stars in this area. However, they were persuaded and the use of director Dick Lester who had directed the Goons' films helped to win them over. The portrayal of the everyday lives of Britain's top pop group appears to be so effective that the viewer feels that it must have been adlibbed. However, with a few exceptions, this was not the case. Dick Lester has engaged a writer from Liverpool called Alun Owen who was able to encapsulate the Beatles' own wit in his script.
Of course, what makes the film great is the quality of the songs. Aside from the title track there is Can't Buy Me Love, Tell Me Why, I Should Have Known Better and several more. For this film the songs are not padding but essential elements. The theatre sequences go some way to making up for the lack of "live" Beatles footage that exists.
Even today A Hard Day's Night should be viewed as one of the best, if not the best, music film ever made and is an important document of the Beatles.
The release on DVD provides the opportunity to add further elements. The 2-CD set includes not just the original film but also interview with different members of the production team and actors in the film. There is an insight into areas such as the Beatles tailoring- 60 different suits for the film!