Their music may have not yet broken out into the creative insanity of "Sergeant Pepper" or "Magical Mystery Tour," but the Beatles were never more charming than they are in this film.
This is a movie that truly benefits from being almost entirely plotless. With no forced narrative arc and dramatic stakes no higher than making it on time to a TV performance, the Beatles just get to play themselves to a tee. For much of the film, it feels like we're just hanging out with the world's funniest, most loveable and unselfconsciously cool bunch of mates.
The lovingly shot musical numbers wisely avoid flashiness to focus on the Beatles as they play. While the non-musical parts of the film are soaked in an utterly British irony and sense of the absurd, the musical performances feel completely heartfelt and that combination helps sell the sweetness of the Fab Four.
Meanwhile, the documentary-style footage of the Beatlemaniacs losing it in the presence of their idols along with the staged chase scenes through Liverpool and London (with an affectionate nod to the Keystone Kops) give a great taste of an era.
Richard Lester's direction captures the beginning of true rock-star worship and, with cheeky goodwill, the generation clash between old 'proper' Britishness and the young Liverpuddlian upstarts who just want to be themselves and do their own thing, without taking themselves (or anyone else) too seriously.
Over and above all, what really makes "A Hard Day's Night" work is just how charming and loveable John, Paul, George and Ringo are, riffing off each other, their long-suffering management and Paul's utterly devious, conniving and (by all accounts) 'very clean' grandfather (an unforgettable Wilfrid Brambell).
"A Hard Day's Night" captures the joy of being young, creative and free. My favorite sequence is when the lads break out into a park and playground and just play, observed from the air by overhead passes of a helicopter. Whether or not you love the music or care about the history, this film has an infectious energy that makes it feel fresh even 50 years after its initial release.
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