'A Hard Days Night' - a massively influential band starring in a massively influential film.

The Beatles has to be regarded as artistically and culturally the most most amazing rock band in history. Their influence on popular music is beyond question and along with Elvis, were the biggest music force in the world. 1964 was the first year of their global domination but many people had thought that The Beatles were nothing more than a fad that would disappear quickly. So it was inevitable that they would make a major film before the end of the year. There is nothing unique about pop stars starring in films or musicals to cash on their success but nobody quite knew just how wonderful the fab four's debut film would be.

Written by Alun Owen and directed by Richard Lester, 'A Hard Day's Night' was made in the style of a documentary, describing a couple of days of the band as they travel to London to appear on a television show. It is a witty semi-fictional film with surprisingly fresh performances from John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. It also stars memorable British stars from the period such as John Junkin, Norman Rossington, Victor Spinelli and Irish actor Wilfred Brambell as Paul's grandfather who is always described in the film as "very clean", obvious punning with his "dirty old man" character in the famous BBC sitcom 'Steptoe and Son'. 

'A Hard Day's Night' was a massive critical and financial success which influenced many films during the 1960s. The photography and editing style had been acknowledged by many pop video directors as a major influence and it was rated by 'Time Magazine as one of the all-time great 100 films. The film can also be regarded as an historical document of the British show business scene of the day. Most importantly though, ' A Hard Day's Night' is a delight to watch and as you can expect from The Beatles, the music is great too. A British cinematic masterpiece.