It's been a hard day's night....

Yesterday, the local art theater played A Hard Day's Night for the midnight show. I have seen A Hard Day's Night approximately one hundred times. Maybe even one hundred and fifty. We wore out two VHS tapes. We have it on DVD. Sometimes, it'll show up on Sundance or IFC or Retroplex, and if I see it's on, I'll watch it again. When I was about fourteen, I listened to the Beatles Anthology Vol 2 Disc 1, with my sister, and we both fell in love with this band that broke up twelve years before we were even born.

We developed an obsession. As far as obsessions go, it was a pretty strong one. It lasted for about four years, and then we moved on to other things and interests. We never got to see the Beatles live--though I've seen Paul McCartney in concert, and if Ringo goes on tour again, I'll see him if he comes my way. My parents were born in the early 60s, and so they barely remember Beatlemania. Just in hindsight. Hell, I was born two years after John Lennon died. And yet...

I can feel that magic. When we watch A Hard Day's Night, especially on the big screen, I can feel that magic. But, I don't necessarily want to talk about how awesome (and hot) the Fab Four are. I want to talk about how A Hard Day's Night is actually a really good movie in its own right. I'm not entirely sure why. It has no narrative plot--"A day in the life" isn't really a plot. It's conflict is introduced through the machination of Paul's grandfather, but overall, it's not a huge element. Though they do a really good job of setting it up, I think. Ringo has a inferiority complex, he's a bit sulky, he's feeling caged in, he can't get lucky with the ladies (though John and Paul don't seem to have this problem), and to add insult to injury, he's expected to babysit Paul's grandfather!

The script is also pretty good. Seriously, it cracks me up every time.

Also, the directing and editing is great. Dick Lester is credited, by some, with inventing the music video. There were a lot of movies that featured rock 'n roll acts prior to A Hard Day's Night, but none of them were about the bands or musicians.

Ok, I'm rambling a lot. I'll just wrap this up by saying it's an awesome movie and I'll love it even if I see it 10,000 times.