Fab Four flashback: Celebrating 60 years of a Hard Day's Night

Anyone alive back in early 1964 remembers the pop culture phenomenon that was quickly dubbed “Beatlemania.” Events happened quickly in that year to catapult the Fab Four into the stratosphere as a worldwide sensation, particularly in America. The lads made their television debut in February on the Ed Sullivan Show, owned the top 5 positions on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in April, and released their first film in July.

Yes, it’s now been 60 years since A Hard Day’s Night first hit theaters, and it’s time to celebrate what could be the very best rock and roll film/jukebox musical ever made.

Click here to listen to a recording of our CineVerse group discussion of A Hard Day’s Night, conducted last week. (A Hard Day's Night will also be the subject of the July episode of the Cineversary podcast, posting next week.)  

Released in the UK on July 6, 1964, and in the United States on August 11, 1964, produced by United Artists, directed by Richard Lester, and written by Alun Owen, the film received widespread critical acclaim for its witty screenplay, dynamic direction, and—of course—the unforgettable Beatles performances that help this picture rank highest among the group’s cinematic oeuvre. Other contenders for greatest Beatles movie (films that feature the actual band or their likenesses) include Help!, Get Back, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine, Let It Be, Eight Days a Week, and the Beatles Anthology TV series. But most fans and critics would likely vote for A Hard Day’s Night as the foursome’s finest moment on film.

Some also deem A Hard Day’s Night among the very best musical comedies, pop musicals, or musicals, period. The late Roger Ebert cited it as one of the top five musicals, ranking alongside Singin’ In the Rain.

Above all, this film benefits from absolutely perfect timing. It thrillingly captures a zeitgeist moment in 1964—the ascendance of The Beatles as a dominant musical and sociocultural force, just as they were conquering the world with pop hits and charismatic command. It wasn’t shot or released too early or belatedly; the film is a serendipitous beneficiary of a narrow window of time when Beatlemania exploded, and A Hard Day’s Night also helped fuel that explosion.

What makes it particularly special is that, although this is a scripted production, the footage looks impromptu and feels off the cuff as a documentary would. The mock press conference mimics the real press gathering in New York City in February 1964 that occurred just before principal photography, when the Fab Four charmed the media with their witty responses, and the scenes where they are chased by fans are authentic, as are the crowd shots of impassioned attendees attended their performances in the film. The filmmaker’s choice to shoot in monochrome gives it a newsreel/documentary quality, as well.

What also helps give A Hard Day’s Night staying power is its evergreen thematic resonance. Essentially, this film is about nonconformists against the establishment: The four are scoffed at, ridiculed, dismissed, and condescended to by older generations, and the Beatles parlay this disconnect into a cheeky, irreverent rebelliousness that isn’t too threatening to the social order.

Per the Village Voice’s J. Hoberman: “A Hard Day's Night presents a realm in which the Beatles (who are more or less the exclusive representatives of their generational cohort) appear to be the only sane inhabitants. On one hand, the foursome are skeptical children in a ridiculous adult world; on the other, as parents don't exist and the band's admirers are mainly preadolescent kids, the Beatles appear as that world's only possible role models and authorities.”

Significantly, A Hard Day’s Night isn’t just a one-trick pony where the sheer magnetism of The Beatles overshadows every other element. It continues to make us laugh 60 years onward thanks to humorously crafted bits, hilarious one-liners like Lennon’s “Give us a kiss” and “I now declare this bridge open”, and eternally funny visual comedy, such as the running gag of the grandfather popping up from a trap door floor at the worst moment, the older porter in his underwear hiding in the closet, and thief trying to steal the car as the Beatles are chased by the bobbies (once he breaks into the vehicle, a cop ironically orders the thief to drive after Ringo, George, Paul, and John).

Audiences also continue to enjoy how the movie humorously explores mistaken identity, disguises, and missing persons: From Paul’s grandfather posing as a waiter to John donning a fake beard and mustache to George wandering into a producer’s office where he’s mistaken for a focus group subject, playacting and identity misunderstandings abound in this playful romp. Recall how Ringo goes missing, as does Paul’s grandfather, and even the manager loses his band in a repeated pattern of lost-and-found subplots.

Far from merely a trivial pleasure or disposable cinematic confection, A Hard Day’s Night stands as an innovative work worthy of praise for its pervasive influence. This movie essentially invented what we consider “music videos” and the style of content that gave rise to MTV years later. The musical sequences, where songs were performed, shot, and edited in creatively and visually engaging ways, served as precursors to modern music videos, particularly the Can’t Buy Me Love segment.

Also, A Hard Day’s Night could be the first “mockumentary,” a subgenre that blends scripted scenes and fictional elements with a documentary-like style, which imbues the film with a distinctive sense of verisimilitude and immediacy for its time. Yes, a proper screenplay was written and followed, but The Beatles were permitted to improvise. The narrative is more of a loosely connected series of episodes and unimportant subplots that form a cohesive story.

Thanks to its rapid-fire editing, unconventional camera angles, frenetic handheld camera shots, cinema verite style realism, swish pans, crash zooms, fast and slow motion action sequences, and other elements, A Hard Day’s Night reveals a kinship with the bold experimentalism and liveliness of French New Wave cinema.

The film was also one of the earliest to capture and mirror the emerging youth culture of the 1960s. It portrayed the Beatles not just as musicians but as cultural icons, seamlessly weaving their music into the storyline. In addition, A Hard Day’s Night rendered a rare behind-the-scenes look at the lives of pop stars, blending humor with insights into the pressures and absurdities of fame. This was relatively novel and provided audiences with a sense of intimacy with the band.

Slate reviewer David Edelstein wrote: “A Hard Day's Night remains a pop-culture phenomenon: a movie with perfect feelers. Lester and his team pick up and distill everything in the air on the eve of the counterculture: now capturing events with documentary realism, now stylizing them with gleeful surrealism, always managing, by impishly flouting the rules of "proper" storytelling, to keep alive a sense of barriers being blasted…The film will always be in the present tense: a reference point not merely for the birth of the Beatles as a mass phenomenon, but for the emergence of a wildly attractive youth culture that has transformed the world.”

The movie is credited, as well, with inspiring the creation of The Monkee’s TV program, which debuted two years later, and—thanks in particular to its dynamic editing approach, pacing, and visual storytelling—spy thriller films over the next few years like Goldfinger, The Ipcress File, Modesty Blaise, and the TV series Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Films more directly inspired by A Hard Day’s Night include Ferry Cross the Mersey (1964, showcasing Gerry and the Pacemakers), Catch Us If You Can (1965, featuring The Dave Clark Five), Hold On! (1966, with Herman’s Hermits), Head (1968, starring The Monkees), I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978, another mockumentary that directly riffs on The Beatles), That Thing You Do (1996), and Spice World (1997, starring The Spice Girls).

Examining influences in reverse, it seems clear that A Hard Day’s Night and the personalities of The Beatles in this film riffs heavily on the Marx Brothers, with John zinging clever, acerbic put-downs and irreverent retorts in snappy fashion like Groucho and the Beatles invoking the anarchic and anti-establishment characteristics of the brothers Marx. Lester’s infusion of surreal, zany shots harkens to the films of Groucho, Chico, and Harpo, too, such as when the Beatles are in the train car harassing the stuffy passenger but are then shown impossibly banging on the outside window of the moving train a few seconds later, or when John is seen bathing but magically disappears from the tub in the next shot. Recall that Lennon, like Groucho, often pushes the envelope with risque humor and double entendres that would have raised a few eyebrows at the time among perceptive viewers: Cases in point—John sniffing the Coke bottle, or, when Ringo is perusing a magazine titled “Queen,” John remarking “Oh, he’s reading the Queen—that’s an in-joke, you know.”

Unlike many previous film musicals, this picture did not employ a formalistic, fictional narrative. Again, A Hard Day’s Night plays more like a documentary or newsreel in which we’re witnessing “you are there” shots that feel unplanned and spontaneous. This doc style is evidenced by the ample handheld and moving camera work, use of real locations, naturalistic lighting, and footage of the band performing.

Previously, many pop musicals—such as those featuring pop stars like Elvis, Frankie Avalon, Cliff Richard, and Pat Boone—followed the tradition of the classical Hollywood musical and its reliance on lip-synched, carefully choreographed performance, wherein many characters “break out into song” as part of the plot or dialogue.

Bob Neaverson, author of the book The Beatles Movies, wrote: “Lester's partial employment of a humorous surrealism (and its resulting disposal of the conventionally ‘realist’ aesthetic) meant that it was no longer necessary, or, for that matter, uniformly desirable, to interpret the central musical numbers via conventionally representational sequences of performers miming to a backing track and pretending to play instruments. A Hard Day’s Night is arguably the first film of its kind to stage central musical numbers which are not tied to performance.”

Also, unlike other pop musicals where Elvis or superstars are depicted as having a female love interest, the Beatles are represented as attainable and available to female viewers, which was important to their image and popularity.

Importantly, John, Paul, George, and Ringo play themselves, not some imaginary characters who have to win a contest, get the girl, or defeat the bad guys. There is no contrived plot or artificial rags-to-riches success story here; this film is a spirit-of-the-time cinematic document that captures the height of Beatlemania and showcases the four real musicians, each possessing distinct personalities. John and George are the clever, sardonic, more intellectual of the four; Paul commands a youthful charisma and energetic playfulness; and Ringo portrays himself as a thoughtful, quiet, and somewhat aloof figure, more melancholic and down-to-earth.

While the Beatles are the engine that propels this powerful locomotive, the engineer flooring the throttle is clearly Lester. The filmmaker distinguished himself by creating a surreal comedy short called The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film, in 1959, which showcases a collection of humorous and disjointed skits and is celebrated for its whimsical and absurd humor—the perfect blueprint for A Hard Day's Night.

Lester, who boasted a comedy background and collaborated with Peter Sellers previously on The Goon Show, was adept at blending humor with music. This was vital for capturing the Beatles' playful and charismatic personalities.

The director’s innovative and unconventional filming techniques perfectly matched the Beatles' image. His use of handheld cameras, rapid cuts, and dynamic editing gave the film a fresh and modern look that resonated with the 1960s youth culture. Lester’s choice to occasionally employ extreme close-up shots of Paul, Ringo, John, and George lends an intimacy to the visuals. His documentary-like style added realism and spontaneity to the film. The filmmaker apparently paid attention to the comic rhythm and silly visual style of silent greats like Buster Keaton, as evidenced by the use of undercranked, slow-motion, and birds-eye shots during the Can’t Buy Me Love sequence. And his decision to leave in mistakes—such as the famous trip-up involving George and Ringo in the opening chase shot, George accidentally knocking over the amp at the start of a performance, or the lens flare shown during the And I Love Her performance—provides a sheen of realism and spontaneity.

Lester said: “I didn’t care that we got everything right. What I wanted to do was catch the moment.”

The director fostered an environment where the band members were encouraged to ad-lib and deviate from the script, especially during dialogue scenes. This spontaneous approach enhanced the film's sense of authenticity.

Additionally, Lester's collaborative spirit enabled the Beatles to contribute creatively to the film, ensuring their unique voices and humor were authentically represented on screen. Plus, he refused to give in to United Artist’s demands to redub dialogue by George, Ringo, John, and Paul out of concern their accents would be incoherent to Americans.

Of the director, Criterion Collection essayist Howard Hampton wrote: “When Lester said that A Hard Day’s Night essentially wrote itself…he meant it was a matter of simply reproducing their private idiom, a coded language that sounded like a law unto itself…He didn’t impose either an aesthetic or his ego on them, instead teasing out a situational approach based on their own proclivities and circumstances, using whatever was needed, whatever would do the trick: An ample helping of mock cinema verité, touches of François Truffaut and Jacques Tati, a pinch of Buster Keaton, a dash of the Marx Brothers, multicamera setups, (and) jump cuts.”

Other films by Lester that evidence his flair for cinematic silliness and dramedy include A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), How I Won the War (1967), The Three Musketeers (1973), The Four Musketeers (1974), Robin and Marian (1976), and Superman II (1981).

Lastly, it’s important to appreciate how A Hard Day’s Night deviates from traditional narratives and our expectations for one. The film relies more on a series of episodic vignettes that combine to form a humorous and entertaining whole of a picture. The plot simply follows a day in the life of The Beatles, and the main story thread is that John, Paul, George, and Ringo have to travel to a TV studio to perform live on camera, but Ringo impulsively decides to wander about just prior to airtime on a personal adventure during which he tests his maturity; the other three then have to find their lost drummer before their live show begins.

While A Hard Day’s Night may disappoint as a cohesive, interesting story, it’s likely more satisfying as an impressionistic pastiche documenting this group’s immense charisma, talent, and popularity at this period in history. Showcasing them as more of their real selves and true personalities is more important to the filmmakers than peddling a ridiculous fictitious yarn.

Ultimately, the film doesn’t need a narrative to succeed: Paul, Ringo, John, and George are fascinating enough on their own merits to carry the film, as any fan of Peter Jackson’s Get Back documentary—in which very little, yet also so much, happens—can testify.