A Hard Day's Night (1964)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  10 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: Richard Lester's 'A Hard Day's Night,' follows The Beatles' interactions with hoards of wild young fans and a bunch of disapproving, hypocritical old folk whilst on a fictional tour from Liverpool to London. We see the band dancing and having fun with girls cut amusingly against their stressed managers in hotels, grumpy train passengers giving them dirty looks whilst the foursome run from screaming crowds, and exaggerated dismissive businessmen attempting to capitalise on their fame despite the alternative style and persistent lateness. That all paints a masterful, satirical picture of the cultural impact that these guys had, but it's how the four lads laugh and joke around amongst it all that brings their appeal to life and, ultimately, makes the film such an incredibly entertaining watch.
  
  Every moment they get they run away from their manager to mess around, take the piss out of older folk (" I fought the war for your sort," "I bet you're sorry you won") and play down any seriousness in what they're doing ("are you a mod or a rocker?" "I'm a mocka;" "what do you call that haircut," "Arthur"). That larking about and their friendship is of course real to a certain extent, and that not only means their performances are authentic, but the knowledge of that adds an extra level of brilliance to proceedings too.
  
  When you couple that with the clearly timeless songs, the overriding feeling you get from the film is one of joyous freedom; four lads having a ball at the centre of a cultural revolution.
  
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: It's a film with humour and engaging characters that also says something about the world at this time. You can't ask for much more than that.
  
  VERDICT: 'A Hard Day's Night,' is a wildly fun and freeing film about four lads at the heart of a cultural revolution.

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