Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

So I thought seeing as I've been delving into the entire Beatles back catalogue and next in line is the A Hard Day's Night LP that I might as well review the legendary movie.I'll try to keep this short and to the point. Now this movie has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was nominated for two Oscars and a BAFTA, which is pretty remarkable when compared to say Spice World. So how does it hold up all these years later? Well I have to say it's bizarrely watchable, it's really tricky to put my finger on it but it has a real charm that's inescapible. It's so laid back and sweet. Of course the music is fantastic but that goes without saying, but it doesn't dominate the film in the way that you'd expect. Instead it's a quirky comedy that sees the Beatles messing around, having fun, running away from the insanity of Beatlemania, and basically just being four lads in the prime of their lives with the world at their feet. There are two factors that make this film so wonderful and a sure fire cult classic. First of all, the direction is superb, even though it has been heavily borrowed from and parodied, it still feels exciting, the choice of shots is excellent, barmy, gritty and funny all at the same time. It feels years ahead of it's time in that way. Secondly and most importantly the movie feels like a genuine time capsule, it feels like taking a trip back into a different age, and even though it's clearly goofy and slightly surrealist it really does feel like stepping back into the 1960s. It feels like a more innocent time, and it's a fascinating social insight into a unique period of British social history. The early sixties in many ways was the end of an era before a great social, cultural and most importantly an artistic awakening. I have to say this film is so uniquely British I can't imagine how Americans must have recieved it, it feels very unique to our cultural identity.

Finally and most importantly the film has this irrepressible charm, the Beatles seem so human and likeable, especially Ringo. They just seem like four lads having a laugh, the acting feels stilted yet there is something incredibly genuine about this film. It's quite touching and relateable in a weird way. And that's the most intriguing aspect of the film, you're being transported into this different age, that's so different from the world of today, yet it's centre around a blokey relationship of four lads having a laugh that you can't help but feel attached to. Even with his biting sarcasm it's almost impossible to imagine that the goofy child like John Lennon in this movie would go on to write the Plastic Ono Band. Looking at these four young lads it's mazing to consider where they'd be in six years time. In many ways this film is an important document both socially and as a marker in the history of the Beatles. It marked their absolute zenith as a pop phenomina and along with the album marked the begining of their transition to transcendant musical albatroses. So the film isn't a classic on any regular critical scale, but it's something more, it's like a time machine, a social history lesson, that's garenteed to make you smile. And at it's heart is a charming goofy romp with some great tunes thrown in and if that isn't enough to sell you the film Ringo Starr does some of the comically worst dancing in all of human history.