YES YES YES to coin a phrase: I know, I know, another assessment of The Beatles film ‘A Hard Day’s Night’

Almost fifty-four years old and the subject of countless criticism, does the world really need one more? Well, after watching it on television for the umpteenth time over Christmas, I decided that another series of observations could do no harm. After all, what’s wrong with celebrating eighty-seven minutes of such joy once again?

Having watched ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ at least once every eighteen months for the past forty years, I thought there was nothing new for me, but like the brilliant rock album and the great movie (which it certainly is) there is often something new to discover. Much of the backstory I uncovered in the two-set DVD edition I received as a birthday present about five years ago, and while ‘the making of’ the documentary is fascinating and informative, it also served to break one of my lasting illusions. of the movie. Over the years, when he walked the platform at Liverpool Lime Street Station, he always conjured up the image of the Fab Four being chased down the same catwalk in the opening scene, only to find that it was not filmed there, but in Marylebone station and the train ride they did What I see in the first twenty minutes of the movie is not from Liverpool to London, but back and forth from Marylebone to Minehead, which leaves me with mixed feelings as to whether it was information I really needed to be aware of.

But no matter how many times I watch it (and in this last visualization I spotted a couple of errors in the continuity that had never caught my eye before), I am always captivated by the sheer exuberance of how the Beatles perform as actors. To clarify ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, it completely breaks with the tradition established in the films made by characters like Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard up to that point, since instead of playing singing characters, the Beatles are themselves what gives to ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, their documentary and story feel that sees them travel to London for a television appearance also provides insight into the lives they were living at the time. The film, cleverly directed by Richard Lester, shows each member with a distinctly individual personality that from this point on they would retain until practically the day they parted ways: John (rebellious), Paul (romantic), George (thinker), Ringo (buffoon) – but in 1964, before a dark side to ‘Beatlemania’ developed, their camaraderie is lighthearted and far, far removed from the irritable and quarrelsome individuals they became when they broke up in front of the cameras to ‘Let It Be’. only five years later.

In early 1964, however, manager Brian Epstein’s hand is still at the helm, evident in his clean-shaven, neck-and-tie appearance, with hard drugs, political pronouncements, and mysticism still somewhat far off. Music also has to undergo the transformation that happened once Bob Dylan and the psychedelics replaced Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran as Lennon and McCartney’s main influences on songwriting; however, the soundtrack to ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ remains a marvel. ‘If I Fell’, ‘Tell Me Why’ and ‘And I Love Her’ have gorgeous melodies and immediately as songwriters they are way ahead of the field, while in the last song, the impressive classical guitar arrangement shows that The Beatles they were quite capable of eclecticism in their own right.

A rarity of the film given is his film, is that the name of the group is never mentioned: ‘The Beatles’ appears on Ringo’s drums and on the helicopter in the final scene, but everywhere the magnificent script, written by the playwright Alun. Owen contains comic references to his fame and throws several inside jokes just in case, the most obvious being the frequent comments made to Paul’s grandfather, who travels with them, that he is “a clean old man.” Played by Wilfrid Brambell, this is a reference to the character Brambell was making famous in the TV sitcom ‘Steptoe and Son’, where he is often labeled ‘a dirty old man’. After spending time with The Beatles, Owen manages to give his script great authenticity, picking up expressions that the group were using, such as ‘grotty’ and ‘teasing’ that had never been used before. What did come as a surprise when I saw the movie recently was a scene on a backstage staircase where the road manager (played by Norman Rossington) says to John Lennon while passing a chorus line: ‘put down those Lennon girls or I’ll tell your mom. ‘

It seems like a strangely insensitive line, particularly since Lennon had lost his mother in a tragic car accident six years earlier and in light of the tortured songs he wrote about her (‘Mother’, My Mummy’s Dead ‘), especially on his impressive solo. . album ‘Plastic Ono Band’ in 1970.

But let’s not leave ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ on a gloomy note, it’s too optimistic and contagious for that.

If you’ve seen the movie, watch it again and dare not to smile. If you’ve never seen it in some way, a gift awaits you – a wonderful opportunity to witness many of the reasons why people remain captivated by The Beatles to this day.