Thirty years after "A Hard Day's Night", its producer, director, writer and others describe its making.
Phil Collins acts as host and narrator (he appears for half a second in a background shot), with Roger Ebert calling the film one of the two best musicals ever made (the other being "Singin' in the Rain").
What is so great about this film is that it was more or less created to push a soundtrack album, with United Artists expecting the actual film to fail. Boy, were they wrong! According to Lester, MTV declared him the "father of MTV". This is quite appropriate. He also says that the Beatles were not actors, and this is a big part of why they each get only one or two lines at a time. He claims the only one who showed acting potential was John Lennon. (They all succeeded in making a conscious script seem improvised, though!) Most amazingly, the hysteria of the (female) fans was natural, not acting. Can you imagine any band today getting this kind of response?
Phil Collins acts as host and narrator (he appears for half a second in a background shot), with Roger Ebert calling the film one of the two best musicals ever made (the other being "Singin' in the Rain").
What is so great about this film is that it was more or less created to push a soundtrack album, with United Artists expecting the actual film to fail. Boy, were they wrong! According to Lester, MTV declared him the "father of MTV". This is quite appropriate. He also says that the Beatles were not actors, and this is a big part of why they each get only one or two lines at a time. He claims the only one who showed acting potential was John Lennon. (They all succeeded in making a conscious script seem improvised, though!) Most amazingly, the hysteria of the (female) fans was natural, not acting. Can you imagine any band today getting this kind of response?