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I was barely one year old when The Beatles officially broke up back in the early 70's, yet their music remained utterly ubiquitous when I was growing up, so much so that as incredulous as it may sound, I never even bothered to buy one of their albums. I did finally give in and picked up their mega-selling "#1" greatest hits compilation, if only because everyone should have at least one Beatles CD in their collection, right? And I was shocked to find that I knew all the words to a bunch of songs I never even owned before. How the heck could this be? So ingrained are The Beatles in the pop culture landscape that their music is inescapable.

It's worth remembering that at the time A Hard Day's Night first went into production, pop music films were generally dreadful, and the group had yet to make their landmark appearance on America's "The Ed Sullivan Show." In the course of only a few minutes of network exposure, The Beatles would kick off the first "British Invasion," the likes of which had never been seen before or since. And by the time the film actually started shooting, Beatlemania was finally in full swing, the first of a "little three picture deal" with this budding English pop group becoming one of the most highly-anticipated releases in the history of the group. More than a mere glossy promo reel or longform music video, the film would become massively influential, a cheeky, gleeful slice of pop insanity that both the group's easy-to-please fans and the band's harshest critics cherished as a highly innovative, instant classic.

For a relative Beatles neophyte like myself, watching the majority of this film is like receiving distant transmissions from another planet. Vaguely political in terms of the middle finger it gleefully sticks up in the face of the stuffy British establishment of the time, I can't say I understand the reaction of the hysterical teens depicted here - 99% female, judging by the film - other than that at a certain point, herd mentality sets in and any sort of individual reaction ceases to exist. The Beatles were more than just a group, they encapsulated the mindset of an entire generation, and the massive gap that existed between all that came before. I wasn't there at the time and don't really "get" it, but the film perfectly captures this irreverence, even apathy, both in terms of its narrative and visual style and form. The then-landmark plotless chaos, absurdist surrealism, tossed-off banter and playful, often ingenious use of cinema trickery - fast motion, jumpcuts, primitive animation - would influence the future of music filmmaking and presage the MTV revolution by nearly two decades.

Now, I'm going to incur the wrath of millions of Beatles fans by saying that the film's weakest element is actually the group themselves. Brit culture may have been unbearably boring and repressive at the time, but these four lads come off as unbearably obnoxious and insipid themselves. They are juvenile and often stupid, with the smarmy Lennon faring the worst, but I'm sure the kids at the time thought they were just the best. And admittedly, I'm really only a fan of "the second Beatles," i.e., all their later, non-poppy stuff when things got all psychedelic and weird. I can appreciate the impact of the Beatles v1.0, and I'm sure millions out there will disagree with me about the artistic merits of "Love Me Do." But no matter, who cares what I think? Let's just get on with the rest of the review...

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Originally shot in 35mm at an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, then exhibited theatrically in various aspect ratios, Miramax has elected to transfer A Hard Day's Night in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen. The matting is unobtrusive for the most part, although even at such a narrow aspect ratio, a few shots looked a bit tight on the top and bottom. However, given this kind of catch-as-catch-can style of moviemaking, many compositions were done on the fly with little forethought, so don't expect perfect framing by any stretch of the imagination...

Miramax has dug up a very nice print of the film for this new restoration, which looks to be in fine good shape for a film over 35 years old. There is some grain, dirt and a few speckles, but no major damage and a nice, film- like appearance. Blacks are generally solid save for a bit of fading in some shots, and contrast is also good, although whites occasionally suffer from blooming, again likely due to the neo-documentary style of the film. Detail is above average for a film of this period, with the bright lighting and locations coming across quite clear and sharp. Miramax has also done a fine job with the authoring, with no noticeable compression artifacts despite the source print's inherent grain, and I noticed only slight edge enhancement that is not distracting. A fine looking remaster.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Also receiving a rehab is the film's classic soundtrack, now presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. However, fans are likely not going to hear much that they haven't before, because this doesn't sound like a "true" 5.1 remix, i.e., going back to the original audio "stems" and remixing from scratch in surround. It's likely the original elements are long gone, so this is largely a stereo-esque mix, with only some slight "bleed" to the rears, and only during the climatic mini-concert. The soundtrack has, however, been cleaned up, with nice dynamic range and no audible pops or dropouts, and only minimal hiss in the high end. The music sounds even better, with more spacious highs and a sweeter, more natural sound. Alas, even with the .1 LFE, there is just no real low bass presence at all, as again this is really just a processed mono mix. While clean and spiffy, it doesn't offer much of an enveloping sonic experience.

Unfortunately, the film's original audio mix is not included, only an optional French 5.1 surround dub, English captions for the hearing impaired encoded as subtitles, and true English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Truly deserving of the special edition treatment, after a few delays and much anticipation, Miramax has finally delivered a two-disc A Hard Day's Night. First released on DVD by MPI a few years back with much cool stuff - the "You Can't Do That: Making Of A Hard Day's Night" special hosted by Phil Collins, newsreel footage, an early Richard Lester short film, and more - this new edition doesn't feature any of that material. While early press release info indicated commentaries, alas there aren't any included at all, and some other nifty stuff, such as deleted music and more, isn't here, either. Instead, we're treated to volumes of newly-produced video interviews; perhaps the job of editing all this stuff into cohesive commentaries was ultimately pointless? Beatles fans likely consider even a single frame of new information on their heroes worth its weight in gold, so what may seem like overkill to some (like me) will be a virtual treasure trove for the band's legion of admirers.

After being greeted by some very classy, monochromatic menus that perfectly capture the spirit of the film, the majority of the extras are on disc two, so let's go of order and start there. Since Miramax has elected not to include any sort of information at all about who actually produced these interviews, I don't know whom to credit, but there is over two hours of 'em. Disc two is compromised entirely of these unexpurgated recollections: while a bit numbing after awhile (all seem to have been shot in one sitting, from one angle and with a single camera), there is some clever insertion of past footage (much likely already familiar to Beatles fanatics) and handy text overlays for dummies like me who can't tell who's who.

Quite frankly it is nearly impossible to catalog all the information provided via these segments, so why don't I just list 'em? "Their Production Will Be Second to None" includes "Look at My Direction" with director Richard Lester (12:05), "Then There Was Music" with musical director Sir George Martin (7:28), "Better Hurry 'Cause it May Not Last" with studio exec David Picker (3:00), and "You Know His Name," with associate producer Denis O'Dell (9:44). "With the Beatles" features recollections by most of the primary cast: John "Shake" Junkin (4:00), Lionel "TV Choreographer" Blair (2:43), "Kenneth "Simon Marshall" Haigh (3:14), "David "Young Boy" Jaxon (9:59), Anna "Millies" Quayle (2:41), Jeremy "Club Dancer" Lloyd (4:40), and Terry "Casion Croupier" Hooper (3:45). "Working Like a Dog" showcases the production crew, including: director of photography Gilbert Taylor (7:16), camera operator Paul Wilson (4:15), hairdresser Betty Glasow (2:51), and 2nd assistant director Barrie Melrose (5:54), while "Busy Working Overtime" highlights the trials and tribulations of post- production, with assistant editors Pam Tomling and Roy Benson (4:00) and sound editors Gordon Daniels and Jim Roddan (2:43).

But wait, there's even more: "Taking Testimonial Pictures" with photographer Robert Freeman (9:54), "Dressed to the Hilt" with tailor Gordon Millings (7:33), "Dealing with 'The Men from the Press'" with publicist Tony Barrow (17:24), "They and I Have Memories" with artist Klaus Voorman (7:25), and "Hitting the Big Time in the USA" with promoter Sid Bernstein (3:51). And rounding it out are "I've Lost My Little Girl" with cutting room-floor actress Isla Blair (4:19), the "Listen to the Music Playing in Your Head" track-by-track retrospective with Sir George Martin (11:41), and "Such a Clean Old Man!" a fond remembrance of actor Wilfrid Bramble by writers Alan Simpson and Ray Galton (5:00). All these interviews are presented in full frame, and no subtitles or captions are provided. There is some seemingly rare production and publicity footage interspered throughout, along with some stills, but the majority of this material is pure talking heads.

I'm far from a Beatles historian, but what I enjoyed most about these new interviews is that the majority of the participants don't shy away from describing their personal feelings about the film, the surrounding hysteria, and the band themselves. Sometimes nice, sometimes pointed, but never mean, it's a highly informative visual tour that often says more about the interviewee than the subject themselves. Sort of like Citizen Kane meets A Hard Day's Night, after nearly two hours, all the button clicking does get to be a bit much if you're not a total fanatic. Best taken in small doses, in many ways I enjoyed the "greatest hits" version on disc one better, the 36-minute Things They Said Today. Taking the best bits of these interviews (plus some material not culled from disc two), this is a much more compact, to-the-point account of the film's impact and production, and is the best bet for casual viewers. (Note that due to obscure legal reasons, this is labeled as a "New Promotional Special" and not a documentary, but don't be fooled: It was produced exclusively for the DVD, although I suspect will end up showing on TV one of these days.)

You've probably noticed that the surviving two Beatles, Paul and Ringo, don't participate, which is indeed a shame. But who knows why they didn't (I'm sure they were asked), and even hardcore Beatles fans should enjoy all these interviews regardless. Also missing from the disc are any trailers, TV spots or other video promotional footage from the time (that's not already edited into the interviews), nor any sort of collectible booklet. However, the DVD-ROM features go a long way towards making up for that...

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

For once, here's some ROM features actually worth watching! More than just the casual throwaway we usually get, Miramax has put together a number of ROM goodies that enhance the experience significantly and shouldn't be skipped.

Pop disc one in your drive, and a spiffy interface pops up, filled with nice animations and easy-to-navigate menus. The most exciting extra for longtime Beatles fans will likely be the script viewer, which not only has "watch the movie while you read" split-screen functionality, but two versions of the script, including a never-before-seen production version with pencil notations by the filmmakers. You can toggle between the two, or print out the text version.

Also included in its entirety on the disc is the award-winning A Hard Day's Night website, which is more than just a few pictures and nice text. Essentially "Beatles for Dummies" for the uninitiated like me, we get extensive bios, photo galleries and facts on each member, extensive production notes on the film (including production antecedents, music facts, press clippings from the time, and the people behind the movie), tons of stills including the original movie program, the script, publicity stills, a LIFE magazine spread, and plenty more. It's award-winning for a reason!

Rounding it out are the usual weblinks, to both the official Miramax website, plus the active A Hard Day's Night destination, if you'd like to view it online.

Parting Thoughts