A Hard Day's Night (film)
**Overview of *A Hard Day's Night* (Film)**
*A Hard Day's Night* is a 1964 film that serves as a pseudo-documentary depicting several days in the life of the iconic British rock band, The Beatles. Directed by Richard Lester and produced with a modest budget of around $500,000, the film was shot over just six weeks, reflecting the band's rapid rise to fame amid the phenomenon known as Beatlemania. The story follows The Beatles as they navigate the chaos of fame, attempting to evade their enthusiastic fans and manage the antics of Paul’s grandfather, who provides comic relief throughout their escapades.
The film features a vibrant mix of scripted dialogue and improvisation, contributing to its lively energy and humor. It was groundbreaking for its innovative techniques, such as jump cuts and rapid pacing, influencing future music videos and concert films. A Hard Day's Night was both a critical and commercial success, grossing over $12 million in the U.S. and earning acclaim for its soundtrack, which included all original songs by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The film is often regarded as a significant cultural artifact, contributing to The Beatles' enduring legacy and marking a pivotal moment in the British Invasion of the American music scene. Over the years, it has received numerous accolades and remains celebrated for its witty script and memorable performances.
A Hard Day's Night (film)
- Release Date: 1964
- Director(s): Richard Lester
- Writer(s): Alun Owen
- Principal Actors and Roles: George Harrison (George); John Lennon (John); Paul McCartney (Paul); Ringo Starr (Ringo)
A Hard Day’s Night, a pseudo-documentary, covers several days in the life of the fan-besieged Beatles. When United Artists signed on the British rock group for a three-movie deal in October, 1963, nobody knew whether their popularity would be short-lived. Though the Beatles were already stars in the United Kingdom, Beatlemania had not yet hit the United States. As a result, the studio decided to produce the first movie quickly (six weeks, it turned out) and cheaply (for about $500,000). They had low expectations for the as yet untitled film, but assumed that United Artists Records would make a profit from the movie soundtrack.
The studio settled upon Richard Lester as director. He was known mostly for offbeat TV comedies and commercials. Lester and producer Walter Shenson came up with the idea of a faux documentary. Scriptwriter Alun Owen adopted the theme: The Beatles are prisoners of their own success.
The film’s low budget necessitated directorial inventiveness. Lester included a large dose of improvisation, ad-libbing, and gags not in the script. For the sake of drama and comedy, exaggeration trumped reality. Lester also employed fast and slow motion, zoom shots, and jump cutting to create the film’s rapid, energetic pace and sense of spontaneity. His technique and style has been described as "groundbreaking" and "influential."
By the end of 1963, the Beatles had secured a solid foothold in the United States with the release of their hit single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand." On February 9, 1964, an American audience of 73 million turned on the Ed Sullivan Show to watch the "Fab Four," as the group was lovingly dubbed. Thus began the so-called British Invasion by popular groups from the United Kingdom. Filming on A Hard Day’s Night began on March 2, 1964. It wrapped up on April 24. The movie became an overnight box-office sensation, grossing over 12 million dollars that year in the United States alone.
Plot
The Beatles (playing themselves) are running through the streets of Liverpool, as if to save their lives. Screaming, hysterical fans chase them to the train station. There, the Fab Four board a train, ending up in a compartment with Paul’s grandfather (Wilfrid Brambell), who is suffering from a broken heart. Paul and the boys must babysit him. The Beatles’ efforts to escape their fans and Grandfather’s efforts to escape his custodians serve as the two constant sources of conflict—and humor—throughout the film. During their various stops, the Beatles also practice their songs. Grandfather’s first escape occurs on the train. When the boys locate him, they lock him in a luggage compartment, where beautiful, young female passengers join them and they practice a song.
When the train stops in London, the boys barely escape into a car that takes them to a hotel. The intensity of the Beatles’ fans (often real-life devotees) suggests that superstardom can really be difficult. When the boys leave their hotel room to go dancing, rather than answer fan mail, Grandfather escapes in a stolen waiter’s uniform to a casino. Again, the boys must hunt him down.
Later, Ringo, who is often the butt of teasing, agrees to watch Grandfather, while the others go out. Grandfather artfully upsets Ringo, who decides to go on the lam himself. Ringo wanders in disguise, enjoying his freedom. He befriends a young truant and alienates a police officer. Both Ringo and Grandfather land, by coincidence, in the same jail. Meanwhile, the big televised concert is about to begin, with Ringo missing. After a madcap search for the AWOL drummer, the Fab Four are again reunited, and their fans are not in the least disappointed. The movie ends with the Beatles taking off by helicopter, leaving their screaming, cheering admirers behind.
Significance
A Hard Day’s Night scored a surprise worldwide hit, helping to secure the Beatles lasting popularity. Entertainment Weekly ranked the Beatles number one among the hundred greatest entertainers in the second half of the twentieth century. The movie soundtrack also topped the music charts in the United States and the United Kingdom. The Beatles recorded six new songs for the film, including the title song. It won Grammy awards for best performance by a vocal group, and best new artist. Many fans and critics regard the A Hard Day’s Night soundtrack as a musical turning point for the Beatles: It was the first album with all original Beatle songs, and the only one in which Lennon and/or McCartney wrote every song. From that point, Lennon and McCartney continued to create more and more sophisticated, accomplished work. Their enthusiasts compared them to George and Ira Gershwin.
The film achieved unexpected critical success, as well. Bosley Crowther of the New York Times called it "a whale of a comedy." Even Andrew Sarris, Village Voice’s highbrow critic, praised the film. He described A Hard Day’s Night as the "Citizen Kane of juke box musicals," in reference to Orson Welles’ masterpiece. The British Film Institute ranked A Hard Day’s Night as one of the twentieth century’s greatest films. It influenced the concert videos of the 1970s as well as the music videos that have remained popular into the twenty-first century.
The stature of director Lester also rose with the film’s success. Critics recognized his "superb direction." Lester went on to direct other big-time hits, such as The Three Musketeers and Superman II and Superman III. Script writer Alun Owen received acknowledgment for his sharp one-liners and clever character development. To strongly differentiate the four Beatles, Owen stereotyped their characters: John Lennon got depicted as the wise-cracking, sly Beatle. Paul McCartney was portrayed as the whimsical, sexy group member. George was the negative, scornful Beatle, while Ringo was the easy-going, sweet character. Owen received an Academy Award nomination for Best Story and Screenplay, Written Directly for the Screen.
Unlike most music videos, A Hard Day’s Night continued to have an afterlife many years after the group disbanded in 1970. The film was re-released in 1982, 2000, and 2014, on the film’s fiftieth anniversary.
Awards and nominations
Nominated
- Academy Award (1964) Best Screenplay (Original): Alun Owen
- Academy Award (1964) Best Score (Adapted): George Martin
Bibliography
Crowther, Bosley. "A Hard Day’s Night (1964)." The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 Aug. 1964. Web. 8 Aug. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=990DE7DE1E30E033A25751C1A96E9C946591D6CF>.
Fristoe, Roger. "A Hard Day’s Night (1964)." Turner Classic Movies. Turner Entertainment, 2015. Web. 8 Aug. 2015. <http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/77366/A-Hard-Day-s-Night/articles.html>.
Grisolia, Cynthia, ed. Entertainment Weekly’s 100 Greatest Entertainers, 1950–2000. New York: Time Inc. Home Entertainment, 2000.
Morton, Ray. A Hard Day’s Night: Music on Film Series. Milwaukee: Limelight, 2011.
Sawyers, June Skinner, ed. Read the Beatles. New York: Penguin, 2006.
"The Beatles." EdSullivan.com. SOFA Entertainment, 2010. Web. 8 Aug. 2015. <http://www.edsullivan.com/artists/the-beatles/>.