Film Forum

U.K., 1964
Directed by Richard Lester
Starring The Beatles
Screenplay by Alun Owen
DCP. Approx. 90 min.

Q: Are you a mod or a rocker? Ringo: I’m a mocker. Just another day in the life: fleeing from screaming fans at a train stations, contending with a “very clean” grandfather, jamming in a baggage car, cavorting in a field, wandering by a river, weirding out knotted-browed reporters with absurdist comebacks, wowing crowds at an orgasmic final concert — the Beatles’ film debut rocketed them to another level beyond the latest pop faces as even squarely middle-aged critics, their knives sharpened for yet another schlocky teen idol exploiter, were disarmed into grudging hosannas. Q. Tell me, how do you find America? John: Turn left at Greenland. Director Richard Lester melded his mastery of commercials with New Wave techniques in a semi-documentary style that created something new — and since endlessly imitated — along with Alun Owen’s screenplay in which scripted one liners and the occasional ad-lib blend seamlessly, thanks, of course, to the exuberant, anarchic personalities of the Fab Four themselves. Q: What would you call that hairstyle? George: Arthur. And those songs just keep on coming: “I Should Have Known Better,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “All My Loving,” “I’m Happy Just to Dance With You,” “She Loves You,” and the title song, inspired by a chance remark by Ringo and written overnight by Lennon and McCartney after filming was completed.

Reviews

“As invigorating and funny now as it was on its original release half a century ago, A HARD DAY'S NIGHT offers both a perfect showcase for the Beatles and an intriguing snapshot of fast-changing, early-1960s British society.”
– Geoffrey Macnab, The Independent