REVIEW“Structured as a two-days-in-the-life portrait of the ‘real’ Beatles, Richard Lester’s film follows John, Paul, George and Ringo from Liverpool to London by train, up to a fancy hotel, out to a nightclub and off to the BBC. Along the way, they’re pursued by hordes of screaming girls… Inspired in equal measure by Godard and the Goons, the film is best remembered for its herky-jerky camerawork and mile-a-minute banter. So it’s easy to forget that this cheeky romp also contains a rabid speech about police brutality and a scene where the lads sneeringly harass a member of the aristocracy. Add to that a stream of homoerotic asides from Lennon and an almighty swing at commercial teensploitation and the film’s just-a-bit-of-fun reputation looks increasingly shaky. So, as well as positioning ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ at the top of the music-movie pyramid, we should also view it as the pinnacle of the 1960s British New Wave – and one to outlast all those gloomy, patronising grim-oop-North ‘serious’ dramas. And we haven’t even mentioned George’s amazing knees…”
— Time Out |
FILM SOCIETY SCREENINGSCanterbury
Monday, 17 August, 7:30pm |