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A Hard Day's Night | Help! | Let It Be | Magical Mystery Tour | Yellow Submarine
A HARD DAY'S NIGHT
CDRom | Laser Disc | Additional Reading | Awards
Premiere:
July 6, 1964
Running Time: 87 minutes
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Produced by: United Artists
Filming Locations: London, England; Scala Theatre, London, England
Exact Shooting Days: March 1964: 2-6, 9-13, 16-20, 23, 26, 31; April:
1-3, 5-7, 9-10, 12-24.
A
Hard Day's Night 3,126 KB
Paul
McCartney - Paul
George Harrison - George
Ringo Starr – Ringo
John Lennon - John
Wilfrid Brambell - Grandfather
Norman Rossington - Norm
John Junkin - Shake
Victor Spinetti - T.V. Director
Anna Quayle - Millie
Deryck Guyler - Police Inspector
Edward
Malin - Hotel Waiter
Robin
Ray (I) - T.V. Floor Manager
Lionel Blair - T.V. Choreographer
Alison Seebohm - SecretaryÐy
David Jaxon - Young Boy
John Bluthal - Man Stealing Car
Patti Boyd - Girl On Train
Kenneth Haigh - Simon Marshall
Clare Kelly - Barmaid
David Langston - Actor
Derek Nimmo - Leslie Jackson
Marianne Stone - Society Reporter
Michael Trubshawe - Casino Manager
Writer
- Alun Owen
Cinematography - Gilbert Taylor (I)
Music by - John Lennon, George Martin (I), Paul McCartney
Costume Design - Julie Harris (II), Dougie Millings
Film Editing - John Jympson
Producers - Dennis O'Dell, Walter Shenson
Camera Operator - Derek V. Browne
Continuity - Rita Davison
Title Designer - Robert Freeman (I)
Hair Stylist - Betty Glasgow
Assistant Director - John D. Merriman
Make-Up Artist - John O'Gorman
Art Director - Ray Simm
The
1982 re-release opens with a short prologue set to "I'll Cry Instead",
a number originally recorded for the film but not used. The reissue also
features a new stereo soundtrack.
In
the television show sequence, the song "You Can't Do That" was
cut from the original film. In the 30th
anniversary special on the making of the film, the cut scene featuring
the song is shown after thespecial.
When
The Beatles began filming A Hard Day's Night in March of 1964, the producers
weren't entirely sure the band would still be on the charts by the time
the film came out, let alone that the finished product would be a critical
and commercial triumph and regarded years later as one of the best rock
films ever. The documentary "You Can't Do That - The Making of A
Hard Day's Night" gives an inside glimpse at how this remarkable
film took shape. Narrated by Phil Collins (who, incidentally, was an extra
in the film). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
(in order of appearance)
"I'll
Cry Instead" (musical prologue)
"A Hard Day's Night"
"I Should Have Known Better"
"I Wanna Be Your Man"
"Don't Bother Me"
"All My Loving"
"If I Fell"
"Can't Buy Me Love"
"And I Love Her"
"I'm Happy Just To Dance With You"
"Can't Buy Me Love"
"Tell Me Why"
"If I Fell"
"I Should Have Known Better"
"She Loves You"
"A Hard Day's Night"
MPI
Home Video 1064 (VHS, Beta)
(Currently only available in MAC format as shown above)
Release
Date1993 Platform Windows PC, Macintosh (not on the same CD-ROM) Size
624,586 KBytes Manufacturer The Voyager Company Website Catalogue number
ISBN: 1-55940-491-4; CAT: QT15
Contents: All 90 minutes of the original movie, complete and uncut. The original script, including deleted scenes and improvised dialogue. Essay by critic Bruce Eder on the Beatles, the music, and the movie. The theatrical trailer. The 1982 movie re-release trailer. Clips from Richard Lester's early work (including the "Running, Jumping and Standing Still" film). Profiles of the band, cast and crew.
Comments:
This product gained lots of enthusiastic reviews by critics, and 
indeed
it is a must-have for the serious Beatles fan. It's not meant to replace
your video tape, btw. There is very extensive background information on
the movie and the persons involved in the making of it. The highlight
for me is the complete script that automatically scrolls while the movie
is playing. It's fun to read about scenes that have been omitted, or additional
improvised dialogue. Greatly helps to understand certain dialogues. Being
from 1993 when single-speed CD-ROM drives were standard, this product
is a little dated now. Relatively small video window. Picture and sound
tend to get out of sync sometimes.
Laser
Disc Number: 6234
Label: Pioneer Catalogue Number: PLFEA 34321
Length: 68
Release Date: 1996
Availability Status: Available
Official Retail Price: £ 34.99
Video Standard: PAL Color Information:
Black and White Sound Encoding: Digital
Digital Sound: Stereo Master
Format: Film
Disc Size: 12
Number of Sides: 3
Disc Format: CLV Picture
Format: Academy Ratio
Aspect Ratio: 1.331
Additional
Information: Includes the original theatrical trailer and a 108 minute
long "making-of" documentary hosted by Phil Collins.
Laser
Disc Number: 5310
Label: MPI Home Video
Catalogue Number: CLV 1064
Length: 90
Release Date: November 1995
Availability Status: Available
Official Retail Price: $ 29.95
Video Standard: NTSC
Color Information: Black and White
Sound Encoding: Digital/Analog-CX
Digital Sound: Stereo Analog
Left: Stereo
Master Format: Film Pressing
Plant: Technidisc
Disc Size: 12
Number of Sides: 2
Disc Format: CLV
Picture Format: Academy Ratio
Aspect Ratio: 1.33 : 1
Laser
Disc Number: 85
Label:
Criterion
Catalogue
Number: CC 1113L
Length:
90
Availability
Status: Available Official
Retail
Price: $ 79.95
Video
Standard: NTSC
Color
Information: Black and White
Sound
Encoding: Digital/Analog-CX
Digital
Sound: Stereo Analog
Left:
Stereo Master
Format:
Film
Disc
Size: 12
Number
of Sides: 4
Disc
Format: CAV
Picture
Format: Academy
Ratio
Aspect Ratio: 1.33 : 1
Additional
Information: The theatrical trailer for the 1982 re-release, an interview
with director Richard Lester, and Richard Lester's experimental "The
Running, Jumping and Standing" still film, which inspired the Beatles
to work with him on "A Hard Day's Night".
Laser
Disc Number: 84
Label:
Criterion
Catalogue
Number: CC 1175L
Length:
90
Availability
Status: Available Official
Retail
Price: $ 49.95
Video
Standard: NTSC
Color
Information: Black and White
Sound
Encoding: Digital/Analog-CX
Digital
Sound: Stereo Analog
Left:
Stereo
Master
Format: Film
Disc
Size: 12
Number
of Sides: 2
Disc
Format: CLV Picture
Format: Academy
Ratio Aspect Ratio: 1.33 : 1
Additional Reading about "A Hard Days Night" & "HELP!"
A
Hard Day's Night (1964) was the Beatles' first, feature-length motion
picture.
Directed by American Richard Lester, it takes an imaginative look
at a-day-in-the-life of the
Fab Four. The madcap result is a visual delight,
with many Beatles songs on the soundtrack, including "And I Love
Her", "Can't Buy Me
Love", "I Should Have Known Better" and the title
track. The score was written
expressly for the film.
HELP!
(1965), The Beatles' second film, is a wild and funny picture about a
religious
sect who attempts to recover a sacrificial ring from Ringo, forcing
The Beatles to travel the globe. This movie, again directed by
Richard Lester, includes the
popular songs 'Ticket to Ride," 'Another Girl' and
"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away."
The
two films were restored by Paul Rutan Jr. and 4-Media Company Film
Laboratory,
who worked closely with the films' producer, Walter Shenson, for
nearly four years on the restoration process.
Until
now, the only prints that existed on A Hard Day's Night were release
prints manufactured
(from a duplicate negative) in 1964 and, a few prints left
over from a reissue in 1986. Rutan found these prints to be of poor
quality and unsuitable to fill
the requirements demanded by discerning viewers
today. In order to produce top quality theatrical or broadcast
elements, the original negative
had to be secured. Eight of the ten reels were
discovered in a vault in South Central L.A.
An
exhaustive search in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and London turned up only
bits and
pieces of the missing negative, leaving Rutan to believe it had
been cannibalized and discarded.
Also, to make matters worse, severe damage was
discovered in several areas of the existing negative. Therefore, Rutan
and his crew faced the daunting
tasks of replacing the missing and damaged original
negatives. Using a fine grain duplicating master from 1964, they
applied various photographic
processes to create a new restored duplicate negative
that was very close to the original. Then they set out to repair
the rest of the original negative,
replacing the torn footage, fixing each splice
and cleaning each frame with a scribe and solvent to remove ground
in-dirt. The original negative
was fully corrected for density and contrast,
then a new print and a finegrain master were struck.
The
restoration of HELP! was even more difficult. Again Rutan sought out
the original
negative. It was discovered in a vault in Los Angeles, greatly
damaged and poorly repaired.
For example, a section of negative in the "Bahamas
sequence" had a seven-foot tear, plastered back together with
scotch tape. Therefore, a suitable
alternative element had to be located to replace
the torn and damaged areas. No separation masters had ever been
manufactured, and an interpositive
struck in 1965 could not be located. An old
duplicate negative (with German titles) was located in a vault in
Pittsburgh, it was damaged and
worn but the areas needed to replace the original
was serviceable. Through photographic processes once again, a duplicate
negative was created that closely resembled the original negative.
The various tears and damage were replaced with restored footage.
Each
frame on the original negative was then cleaned to remove dirt. The
negative
was fully color corrected and new prints and an interpositive were
struck.
The
restored negatives are now safely in deep-freeze storage at the Academy
of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences.
During the first worldwide flush of Beatlemania in 1964, United Artists
wanted to ship out a movie with The Beatles before their vogue was over.
Working within a tight $500,000 budget, director Richard Lester turned
out A Hard Day's Night in a fast 6 1/2 weeks; the picture was in the theatres
three months after shooting commenced. With a built-in audience and the
profits accrued from advance sales of the Hard Day's Night album, Lester
would have been forgiven by United Artists had he served up a formless
teen exploitation flick. But he didn't: A Hard Day's Night was not only
one of the best rock 'n' roll movies ever made but also among the finest
films of 1964. Using a variety of techniques cribbed from Hollywood slapstick
comedies, the French "new wave" movement, and his own experiences
as a TV-commercial director, Lester, with screenwriter Alun Owen, fashioned
an exhilarating, frequently hilarious study of a "typical" 36
hours in the lives of the Fab Four. Onto a plot about getting to the Big
Show on time are hung a series of wonderful instant-reaction gags, chucklesome
character vignettes, and ebullient musical setpieces. Much of the humor
arises from Paul McCartney's efforts to keep his grandfather (Wilfred
Brambell), a "clean old man," from getting into mischief. Also
good for several laughs is the hookey-playing Ringo Starr, whose mistimed
declaration of independence lands him in jail. We are also treated to
a war of nerves between the unflappable John Lennon and an uptight TV
director (Victor Spinelli), who worries that, should the Beatles not show
up at broadcast time, he'll be demoted to "News In Welsh." George
Harrison is well-served by an irrelevant but precious sequence in which
he is mistaken for an auditionee by the producer (Kenneth Haigh) of a
superficially trendy, teen-oriented TV weekly ("You'll like these,"
intones the cynical Haigh as he tosses a pile of "grotty" clothes
towards George. "They're 'fab' ... and all those other pimply hyperboles.")
And let's not forget Norman Rossington and John Junkin as The Beatles'
managers, who carry on a battle royale simply because one man is taller
than the other. The supporting cast includes the delicious revue comedienne
Anna Quayle, cartoonist Bob Godfrey, TV host Robin Ray, dancer Lionel
Blair, Harrison's future wife Patti Boyd, and director Lester himself.
If you need reminding, the songs include: I Should Have Known Better,
And I Love Her, Tell Me Why, If I Fell, Can't Buy Me Love (used as background
for a classic free-form "messin' around" sequence), and the
title song. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
From CDNOW:
Before the Beatles made A Hard Day's Night in 1964, they were dismissed
by many as a short-lived teenybopper fad. The film convinced anyone who
already didn't know that John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison,
and Ringo Starr were something more than this year's pop stars. The film
is not only one of the best rock films ever made, but one of the best
films of the 1960s, heralding the beginning of a cultural sea change.
While the Beatles deserve much credit for the film's success, it would
not have been possible without screenwriter Alun Owen's brilliant script
and Richard Lester's groundbreaking direction. Owun's script was so attuned
to the way the Beatles thought and spoke that many think it's best lines
were actually ad-libbed. He also gave each of the Beatles' individuality
by defining for each of them distinct personalities -- which would stick
with them for the rest of their careers. Lester, who had directed commercials
and an Oscar-nominated short film for the Goons, a comedy troupe that
included Peter Sellers and paved the way for Monty Python, gave visual
expression to the Beatles anarchic humor and experimentation.
The plot of A Hard Day's
Night doesn't stray too far from reality. It begins with the Beatles fleeing
a horde of screaming fans (still an amazing, terrifying sight all these
years later) and hopping into a train on the way to an appearance on a
television show. The free-reigning style of the film is immediately established
on the train. They trade non sequiturs, referring again and again to Paul's
"grandfather" (actually comedian Wilfrid Brambell, who starred
in the British TV series Steptoe and Son, the inspiration for Sanford
and Son) as "very clean"; spar with a bourgeois man who wants
them to turn down their radio; and in one surreal sequence taunt the man
while running along outside the train.
A Hard Day's Night doesn't
just showcase the Beatles' music, but pokes gentle fun at stuffy society.
A party with the press shows them parrying stupid questions with quick-witted
comebacks; an encounter with a marketing guru lets George mock the way
advertisers desperately try to stay ahead of trends; and a TV variety
show includes Las Vegas-style dancers hoofing in front of blown-up pictures
of giant cockroaches. At one point the Beatles escape all the pressures
around them and run carefree through a park as "Can't Buy Me Love"
plays on the soundtrack, a sequence that influenced every music video
that came after it. Ironically, after A Hard Day's Night all the people
they make fun of embraced them as geniuses and the pressures on them as
the most popular rock band in history became even greater.
The two-disc A Hard Day's
Night Special Edition DVD includes a lengthy introduction on the first
disc featuring interviews with a number of people who worked on the film,
including director Lester, musical director George Martin, and other members
of the cast and crew. The second disc includes even more interviews with
virtually every person associated with the film who is still alive --
except for the two remaining Beatles. In addition to longer interviews
with Lester and Martin (including one section, which shouldn't be missed,
where Martin comments on every song in the film one by one), we hear from
the producers; cinematographer Gilbert Taylor and other crew members,
including the hairdresser, editors, tailor, photographer Robert Freeman;
musician Klaus Voorman; and a number of the actors who had minor roles
in the film, including Isla Blair, whose scene with Paul was cut out of
the final film. Unfortunately, this scene is only shown in bits and pieces
as she talks about it. Probably the most extraordinary feature on the
DVD is a DVD-ROM screenplay viewer, which lets you watch the film while
looking at the original screenplay so that you can see how much of the
witty repartee was actually written by Owen, and how much was ad-libbed
(there are no pages, for example, for the press party). There is also
a link to an extensive Beatles website that includes an amazing amount
of archival material. The DVD includes a digitally restored soundtrack,
an optional French language track, and is formatted in Widescreen with
an aspect ratio of 1.66: 1, enhanced for 16X9 televisions. -- Al Weisel
Academy 1964
Best Original Screenplay (nomination): Alun Owen
Best Score (nomination): George Martin
Basic
Info | Trailer
| Cast | Crew | Notes
| Songs Featured | Home Video
CDRom | Laser Disc | Additional
Reading | Awards