The Beatles take England by storm as they travel from Liverpool to London so they can do a live performance on a television show. What makes this movie so special and enjoyable is the way it vividly captures the Fab Four when they were still pretty fresh, dynamic, and even fairly innocent; by having the Beatles wisely just be themselves this film manages to astutely nail the charming effervescent quality that made them stand out as a group. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr all display a winningly natural rapport and a tight camaraderie that's a joy to behold. Moreover, they all deliver a slew of sharp snappy one-liners with cheeky aplomb. Wilfrid Brambell nearly steals the whole show as Paul's mischievous grandfather. In addition, there are amusing supporting contributions from Norman Rossington as long-suffering manager Norm, John Junkin as hapless lackey Shake, Victor Spinetti as a pompous TV director, and Kenneth Haigh as a pretentious advertising executive. Alun Owen's sly script pokes wickedly hilarious fun at everything from the media -- the press conference sequence is a riot! -- to television to the Beatles themselves. Directed with tremendous gusto by Richard Lester, exploding with infectiously anarchic energy, and further galvanized by a bunch of wonderful songs, there's a vibrancy and spontaneity evident throughout that's downright impossible to either dislike or resist. A total treat.

What I love about this movie is how authentic it is. I remember reading Roger Ebert's review of it and how interesting it was to learn that he was born on the same day as Paul McCartney! Anyway, what's amazing is how utterly realistic this movie is. It really does seem like a documentary. Most of this movie is just hanging out with the Beatles and them cracking some jokes and being interviewed. We of course get all their greatest songs.You could simply listen to those at day. It's such a relief to watch a good movie after being subjected to all these stupid films I've seen lately. It's funny how they're listed in the credits not as themselves, but as uh, themselves. Anyway, this is a really soft moving film. At first, I thought I would be mad that it was too short but instead the running time made it perfect. I guess you could call me a Beatles fan even if I'm not the biggest one.To a certain extent, this does seem like a really long music video. It does have a steady plot and it makes you feel like you're right there in on the action. It's hard to even believe that these people are acting. Well, they are playing themselves so it's technically not acting. There's tons of quotable dialogue and I especially like, "It's an in-joke!". A must for any music fan or really anyone. ****

For those of you (like me) who weren't alive in 1964, let me tell you this: back then, in Britain and America (and elsewhere), The Beatles were absolutely HUGE. Fans would swoon at their presence. So, naturally, it was decided a movie should be made of them. What came to be was: A Hard Day's Night.This movie isn't entirely plot less -- It's general plot is The Beatles, playing The Beatles, make their way to a concert, showing what they do behind the scenes, as Paul's wacky grandfather, played by Wilfrid Brambell, tags along and gets in some crazy antics. It almost seems to be a sketch comedy. But since it definitely has its humorous scenes, I can't blame anyone for anything. All in all, I recommend this one. It's worth watching, but if you want you can skip it. It's nothing spectacular.

I was a male teenager in the 1960's. To me and my friends, the Beatles and the British invasion was so important. We were normal kids with all kinds of other things going on, but whenever a new album came out we were there. There was so little footage of the guys because other than the news when they came to a new city, it was non-existent. Videotape was minimal. There was some film of their concerts but the screaming drowned out most of the music. When "A Hard Day's Night" came along it was gift. We had the "Ed Sullivan Show" and that was it, so to see all those songs being performed and hearing them talk and act. Fantastic. I couldn't afford to go to the one concert at the old Metropolitan Stadium (home of the Twins in Bloomington, MN) because we were a very poor family, but my friends told me they were unable to hear anyway. Still, it would have been a great experience. The wonderful thing about this film is that it is funny and intelligent and works so well. It is about the Beatles as it should be, and yet there is a surreal element that is so precious. So much has been written about Richard Lester and what he did, but he deserves it. A film that changed the world when it came to taking pop music to another level.