My Review

Press Release

SOURCE: Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc.

Major DVD/VHS Release to Salute Landmark Beatles Anniversary -- The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night''

Special Edition 2-Disc DVD Packed With Bonus Features; Includes New Footage to Be Released September 24

BURBANK, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--July 15, 2002-- Fall 2002 marks the 40th anniversary of a key event in the story of The Beatles' phenomenal success -- the recording and release of their first record, "Love Me Do." Saluting that landmark anniversary will be the major release of The Beatles' A HARD DAY'S NIGHT on DVD and VHS from Miramax Home Entertainment on September 24, 2002. This incredible DVD 2-disc edition, with rare and new footage, is likely to appeal to the same vast audience which purchased the last major release of Beatles material -- their greatest hits album "1" -- which has sold in excess of 28 million units worldwide since its November 2000 release.

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT on DVD includes The Beatles' breakthrough first movie "A Hard Day's Night" joined by the major new production "Give Me Everything!" -- a companion anthology to The Beatles' first film (2-Disc DVD $29.99 S.R.P.).

On VHS, A HARD DAY'S NIGHT includes a new promotional special, "Things They Said Today..." (VHS $14.99 S.R.P.).

The A HARD DAY'S NIGHT DVD includes the bonus disc "Give Me Everything!" -- an extensive new production which presents a huge amount of vintage and contemporary material relating to the 1964 film. The content will appeal to the broad mass of Beatles lovers, a fan base which now stretches across three generations. Included is material that will also appeal to film buffs, to lovers of comedy, and to the vast legions of young people who have discovered the fun of the 1960's through such popular vehicles as the "Austin Powers" films.

In addition to a new half-hour documentary about the film ("Things They Said Today..."), there are many extras that add to the appeal of the DVD, including thirty interviews with most of the surviving cast and crew members as well as close friends of The Beatles. These include specially filmed, in-depth interviews with director Richard Lester, Academy Award® nominee -- Musical Director Sir George Martin (Best Music 1964) -- and leading co-star John Junkin.

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT features twelve now-famous Beatles compositions, including three of their biggest hits -- "A Hard Day's Night," "Can't Buy Me Love," and "She Loves You" -- all of which were worldwide number one hits. Other familiar titles include: "All My Loving," "And I Love Her," "If I Fell," "I Wanna Be Your Man," "I Should Have Known Better," "Tell Me Why," "Don't Bother Me" and "Ringo's Theme," George Martin's orchestral arrangement of Lennon-McCartney's "This Boy" -- part of his Academy Award® nominated score.

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT was a massive commercial success upon its Theatrical release. The film, which had been prejudged as a standard teen jukebox movie, received almost universal critical acclaim upon its release from serious film reviewers. The film became a major factor in propelling The Beatles from their already massive teenage following into the stratosphere of worldwide fame and popularity transcending all generations.

The film's groundbreaking shooting, editing and directing style is widely considered to have been the forerunner of music video. In the 1990's MTV declared A HARD DAY'S NIGHT director Richard Lester the "father of music video." (Lester quipped that he demanded a paternity test!)

The 40th anniversary in fall 2002 of the release of The Beatles' first record is likely to generate significant media coverage. That first record paved the way for their eight years of mega-stardom between 1963 and 1970 -- and the unprecedented thirty-two years of subsequent perpetual fame that has kept The Beatles as famous, newsworthy and successful today as they were at the height of Beatlemania.

Street Date: September 24
Direct DVD prebook: July 30
Distributor DVD prebook: August 13
VHS prebook: August 13
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 formatted for 16x9 screens
Rated: "G"
DVD bonus features unrated.
Run Time: Approximately 87 minutes
Suggested Retail Price: $29.99 (DVD) $14.99 (VHS)

Miramax Home Entertainment is distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., a recognized industry leader. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. is the marketing, sales and distribution company for Walt Disney, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax, Dimension and Buena Vista videocassettes and DVDs.

These press materials are available in electronic form at www.BVHEPublicity.com.

Note: A Photo is available at URL:
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.071502/bb5
 

Contact:

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc.
Chris Bess, 818/560-5751 

Essentially when “A Hard Day’s Night” was first produced, it was basically meant to be a low budget, cash in on the wave of Beatlemania that was currently sweeping through the US. The film was quickly made because at the time, it was thought that this wave of Beatlemania and interest in the Beatles in general, would only be a short term cultural fad. Judging by the anticipation for this new release (and the subsequent controversial response to the new edition), the response to “A Hard Day’s Night” clearly exceeded the film makers expectations, as well as probably those of the Beatles themselves.

The MPI DVD of “A Hard Day’s Night” was withdrawn from the market about 4 years ago. Since then there has been a high degree of anticipation for this new edition. Factors of hype, high expectations, supply and demand, several postponements and delays have added to the anticipation. Unfortunately, these factor have put this release under a great deal of scrutiny among fans.

Since the DVD came out on September 24th, fans have discussed (many taking issue) with the aspect ratio, cropping, the audio mix, what’s not included on the menu, various omissions, and dubious merits of the bonus features.

Most people who will be reading this review will be familiar with the film itself - many people have the scenes and dialogue well committed to memory after all these years. So, I’ll resist the attempt to provide rehash as if it were a new film. Having not owned the previous DVD, my exposure to a “A Hard Day‘s Night” was mainly based on broadcast televison and the last few VHS editions. I also owned the CD-ROM version that was available through Voyager.

Aside from issues of aspect rate, the film video quality looks razor sharp. The contrast and detail is most impressive. Much credit can be given for the high quality video restoration. Many people may be surprised by how much they’ll be impressed by the video quality of this little low budget black and white film, especially since we’ve all become so accustomed to today’s state of the art in film making. The cropping is an issue and it does give the film a more compressed feel. However, the resolution and video quality itself is what stands out overall. It’s an acceptable trade off.

Obviously, in terms of content, there is an effort here to avoid repetition or overlap with previous reissues. That explains the omission of the “You Can’t Do That” footage; the theatrical trailers and the documentary “The Making Of A Hard Day’s Night” which was hosted by Phil Collins (and is still commercially available). From what I understand, little else is available in the way of out takes or additional footage. The practise of archiving out takes for historical reasons (or a future DVD release) wasn’t done in 1964 to the degree that it is done today. The long term importance of this film wasn’t anticipated at the time of it’s making. I don’t think the producers of “A Hard Day’s Night” even dreamed that people would be pouring over this film almost 40 years later.

As for the audio mix. The dialogue is incredible. I now hear things easily that I had to strain to hear or outright missed completely on previous editions. I’m not sure how the MPI DVD fared in this respect but the dialogue is more prominent here than in any other edition I’ve seen and heard. The main issue with the audio seems to be with the mix of the actual songs which results in an artificial sounding echo effect. Many audio purists object to this and I can certainly understand why. This was a curious decision the part of the DVD producers. Do I feel personally outraged or does it obliterate the other merits of this release. I can’t say that it does , however I’m curious to see how I’ll feel after repeated listenings. Either this aspect will lead to long term fatigue or familiar acceptance. Time will tell.

Unlike many others, I was impressed by the bonus features and was glad that they weren’t a mere rehash or restoration of what was on other versions. The commentary provided by the various participants placed this film in it’s historic perspective and gave an affectionate backward glance to events that took place 40 years ago. The recollection of fond memories, the feeling of happier (maybe, even better times) and affection of this project itself came through loud and clear. These recollections seemed to mirror what I feel as a fan of the Beatles and what they’ve meant to me over the years. There were a few antidotes that put a lump in my throat. Hearing what this film has meant to people, how they regard the Beatles as people - even to this day, how the Beatles music and cultural impact is regarded, and their appreciation of being part of something that was special then and important now was gratifying to these ears. It certainly wasn’t wasted effort and if I need a gentle reminder or nostalgic backward glance, this material is what I’ll fall back on. The only thing I would have added is current recollections by the surviving Beatles or archival footage of their recollections. Maybe it was felt that this was already done to the extent that it will be, in the Beatles Anthology.