If one were to dissect the fantastical hybridization of genres within Richard Lester and the Beatles's A Hard Day's Night, it might look something like a pseudo-mock-doc-musical-proto-music video film...Well, it was worth the shot, but I would like to strip away all that and categorize it as free-form fun, through and through. The timelessness, disregarding the huge fact that the Beatles, themselves, have become timeless, is found in the diversity in technique and the brilliant carelessness of any solid function within the film. The film, made in 1964, was said to have taken only two weeks to shoot. Frankly, it does seem that way, but just as frank, it looks raw and fantastic. We start out with the iconic scene of the Fab Four running away from an army of screaming girls, one of them falling (not improvised, mind you), and it seems like that is the philosophy of the film in general, which is perfect.
Then there is another aspect of the film that is so bizarre but fits appropriately with the free-flowing mantra of the filmmakers. Take, for instance, the scene in the train where the old man sits with the band. Generational tension arises through quick one-liners here and there and the Beatles are fed up and leave the room. We then seem them outside the train, running along side of it and then teasing the old man. It is a moment of brilliant arbitrariness that we can only smile at. We don't question it or scoff at it because, in the end, they are the Beatles, who, at this time and for the screaming girls watching it, seem to transcend any sense of time and space. Thus, they can do whatever they want. Note the hilarious gag with Lennon in the bathtub. The world the band lived in was unimaginably crazy, so such craziness is embraced by the film and gives the film and the story a playful edge.
One very intelligent element of the screenplay was the distribution of lines the guys were given; they are made up of one-liners and direct observation. The Beatles seem to do well at delivery, retaining the sense of carelessness and playfulness, and there are memorable pieces of dialogue that arise from such simplicity: Ringo Starr describing himself as a 'mocker', George's reaction when he sees a man in the wardrobe, and Lennon's wise-cracks. All this works because the amount of lines given to them doesn't seem forceful but, again, free-form.
When it comes to form in a more technical perspective, cinema-verite comes to mind instantly, and this film may have popularized the technique. The camera work correlates with amateur film, further immersing us with the fun in the day in the the life (no pun intended...aw, who am I kidding) of the Beatles. Spontaneity seems to be the motivation, and some of the running scenes have shaky cameras, but it never feels overdone. When the show they perform in starts, the camera work changes to half static, half frantic, the frantic shots being the ones of the slightly neurotic girls turning into mush, whose screams almost drown out the Beatles as they sing 'She Loves You'. There is a shot of a girl breaking into tears, no actor can mimic that. A Hard Day's Night is a constant blend of authenticity, fantasy, and absurdity that meshes together in such a captivating manner.
Renowned film critic Roger Ebert has it one his Great Movies list, saying, "...it stands outside its time, its genre and even rock. It is one of the great life-affirming landmarks of the movies." I agree, wholeheartedly. In the same sense that Singin' in the Rain and My Neighbor Totoro have limitless joy, A Hard Day's Night becomes something that celebrates this joy. In addition, it has become a document of a time that seems like it will never happen again; a time where we see the Beatles as both innocent and full of youthful energy before they become (for better and for worse) convoluted with drugs and disillusionment. Nevertheless, A Hard Day's Night becomes something much more than a promotional, which is what it started as. Here is a film that doesn't place the Beatles within the context of a predetermined cinematic structure. Rather, it goes for a ride and treats us to wonderment and exuberance.
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