A Hard Day's Night

Rating:
Summary: Classic & Timeless - - DVD is Overhyped!!
Review: The DVD from Miramax has a bunch of uninteresting and unneccessary interviews from people associated with the film. Outakes and the inclusion of "You Can't Do That" song restored to the concert near the end of the film would have been better. With that aside this film took Beatlemainia to greater heights back in 1964, and A HARD DAY'S NIGHT has remained a timless piece of filmmaking influencing many genres of media. The Beatles greatest strength as a rock/power pop band is that each member had its own distinct personality (furthered by the fact that because they were a very "musical" band one can count on their songs being varied, as each member took on singing duties along with the great harmonies on songs), and that even if one was not a fan, somehow could name each member of the band. The movie definitely enhanced the Beatles individual members. Classic songs, innovative direction from Richard Lester (black and white documentary style), pretty funny comedic moments, and decent comedic perormances from the Fab Four themselves, this is a very entertaining film. Great Fun!! Note - Degrees of Separation: Actor John Vernon who plays "Man on Train" in A HARD DAY'S NIGHT also appeared in the James Bond movie GOLDFINGER almost released at the same time (he plays a character "Smithers" in the film when he,"M", and James Bond are discussing Golfinger). In the film, James Bond (Sean Connery) states "...drinking Dom Perigon '53 above the temperature of 38 degrees farenheit. That's as bad as listening to THE BEATLES without earmuffs!

Rating:
Summary: A CLASSIC !
Review: I saw this movie on it's release at the Palace Theater in Duncan, Oklahoma. I was 9 years old. Seeing The Beatles again is a magical moment. The live performances are excellent. The enery is contagious. The Beatles are having fun and it shows. John,Paul,George,and Ringo are in top form in this black and white film. The songs sound great and the action is non stop. My 17 year old daughter has been a Beatle's fan for many years. She was delighted by this film. It was like an undiscovered treasure to her. If you are a Beatle's fan this film is a must for your collection.

Rating:
Summary: A classic.
Review: Great music, naturally, good comedy, good picture quality and nice special features. I loved this movie.

It's vibrant, filled with energy and a lot of just plain fun with John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Forget the Maysles Brothers
Review: Albert and David Maysles were on the scene for the Beatles first arrival in America {including the two Ed Sullivan Show appearances and live concerts} in 1964. 'A Hard Day's Night' was a direct copy of this earlier, documentary film they shot on the spot.

WHAT'S HAPPENING! THE BEATLES IN THE USA
a film by Albert and David Maysles

Rating:
Summary: Not really a review, just some notes
Review: Of course the music is brilliant. I was disappointed with the sound too - a few other people wrote about that here - but I wasn't aware that the sound was supposed to be 'enhanced', I just figured that was the best they could get from the original soundtrack, so more fool me.
I was disappointed that none of the surviving Beatles were interviewed, and George Martin regurgitated details for the ten thousandth time, and I can't take him seriously since the BBC Big Train spoof). That said, most of the interviewees were vastly interesting and informative. But surely they could have got Paul or Richard to reminisce a bit?

Rating:
Summary: poor sound quality but still a great movie
Review: This was the first DVD title I bought, and I was disappointed by the sound quality. There is hardly any surround sound at all; For the most of the movie, only the center channel is used, and the dialog sounds quite muddy. When there is a musical selection, the front L&R speakers kick in nicely, but the volume is much louder. Once the song is done, the volume returns to a lower level, and only the center channel is heard once again. The only time I heard my rear speakers was during the concert scene at the end of the film. If you buy this DVD expecting true 5.1 surround, you will be disappointed. But, the film itself is still a classic.

Rating:
Summary: poor sound quality but still a great movie
Review: This was the first DVD title I bought, and I was disappointed by the sound quality. There is hardly any surround sound at all; For most of the movie, only the center channel is used, and the dialog sounds quite muddy. When there is a musical selection, the front L&R speakers kick in nicely, but the volume is much louder. Once the song is done, the volume returns to a lower level, and only the center channel is heard once again. The only time I heard my rear speakers was during the concert scene at the end of the film. If you buy this DVD expecting true 5.1 surround, you will be disappointed. But, the film itself is still a classic.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Film with FABulous Extras
Review: This is one of the great films from the 1960s and should be seen by everyone at least once during their lifetime.

The film has held up very well and the editing still looks innovative nearly 40 years later. One thing that is very noticeable with this set is that the music has been digitally remastered and the sonic quality of the songs is markedly different from the dialogue in the rest of the movie.

The extra disc provides a lot of insight into the making of the film and the whole Beatles scene. Everyone from Richard Lester to the tailor and hairdresser on the film talk about their memories. Klaus Voorman gives an interesting interview where he shows drawings that he made during the early years of Beatlemania. There is also a documentary on the first disc that repeats clips from some of the interviews on disc 2 but most of the insights are unique to this special.

Despite the fact that there is a lot of bonus content, even more would have been appreciated. While there is an interview with the man who designed the film's movie poster, an actual gallery of posters and lobby cards would have been appreciated. It would have also been appropriate to include theatrical trailers for the film. This set does include DVD-ROM content but I did not have access to it so perhaps these things are located there.

Other things that could've been added to disc 2 include deleted scenes shown in "You Can't Do That! The Making of 'A Hard Day's Night'" and the "I'll Cry Instead" intro that was added to the film when it was re-released in the 1980s. Richard Lester's "Running Jumping Standing Still" film should have also been included since it's mentioned so much on the DVD.

For fans of 1960s cinema or the Beatles, this set is a keeper. Here's hoping "Help!" gets similar treatment someday.

Rating:
Summary: A good film but with bad sound
Review: A hard day's night always my favorite beatles film, but I am really disappointed with the sound of this DVD re-release, the echo sound is too "strange". I tend to buy the original MPI 1997 release instead, but I found that there is no place at Amazon marketplace for the sellers listing this product, if anyone know where I can get this, please email to me at [e-mail]

Big Thanks!

Rating:
Summary: Worst Sound Mix EVER!
Review: If I was reviewing only the picture of this dvd, I would rate it 4 or 5 stars. However, since the sound is simply awful, I can't. The old MPI video took the orignal recordings of the songs and mixed them back into the movie. This approach sounded crisp and clear, and more importantly in true stereo (since The Beatles at the time were using 4-track tape). I'm guessing that Miramax was not allowed access to the masters. Consequently, their new so-called 5.1 "remix", had to be built around the original mono track of the film itself. In other words, any kind of stereoization had to be electronically faked. My initial reaction, when hearing this dvd for the first time, was that all the songs were rerecorded by other musicians. This is obviously not the case. But the recordings sound so differently from what is expected, I wasn't sure!
The picture is decent. But what about that reissue prologue and the deleted "You Can't Do That" performance? The dvd producers must have known how long fans have been waiting for this film to be released. They could have put more time and care into it. Oh well. Let's hope Miramax doesn't aquire the rights to HELP!