A Hard Day's Night (Richard Lester, UK 1964)

Meet the Beatles! Just one month after they exploded onto the U.S. scene with their Ed Sullivan Show appearance, John, Paul, George, and Ringo began working on a project that would bring their revolutionary talent to the big screen. A Hard Day’s Night, in which the bandmates play cheeky comic versions of themselves, captured the astonishing moment when they officially became the singular, irreverent idols of their generation and changed music forever. Directed with raucous, anything-goes verve by Richard Lester and featuring a slew of iconic pop anthems, including the title track, “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “I Should Have Known Better,” and “If I Fell,” A Hard Day’s Night, which re-conceived the movie musical and exerted an incalculable influence on the music video, is one of the most deliriously entertaining movies of all time.

Reviews

“A completely wacky off beat entertainment that’s frequently remindful of the Marx Brothers.”

—Rose Pelswick, New York Journal American

“An hour and a half of pure, chaotic bliss.”

—Stephanie Zacharek, Salon

“The kind of timeless artifact that, decades after its making, still hits the senses like a burst of fresh air.”

—Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle

"Manages to be both sweet and subversive... A winner."

—Bernard Zuel, Sydney Morning Herald

“The movie never feels like a nostalgia trip. It moves, breathes and sings with life.”

—Rafer Guzman, Newsday

“Part musical bonanza, part laugh-out-loud farce, part satirical social document.”

—Mark Kermode, The Observer (UK)

Trailer