Wednesday, June 5, 2013

F This Movie! - A Hard Day's Night

Patrick and JB have had the night of a very hard day and have been working as a dog.



Download this episode here. (31.5 MB)

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Also discussed this episode: Frances Ha (2013), Nature Calls (2012), Texas Chainsaw (2013), American Grindhouse (2010)

19 comments:

  1. A Hard Day's Night has been on my list of movies to eventually get around to watching for a long time, I finally did that today, and it's a real gem. If nothing else, it was super interesting to watch these guys in a movie at the height of their popularity. The movie is also very good. I enjoyed your discussion.

    I wish this movie had some sort of an audio commentary to go with it (which apparently it doesn't, but I'm not sure. I don't know what the special features are like since I watched it on YouTube). It would be cool to hear a running commentary by Lester, and even 100x cooler if he got together with Paul and Ringo to record a commentary. Fat chance of that, I'm sure, but one can dream.

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    1. Also, J.B.: According to the movie's Wikipedia page (which, take that for what it's worth...the information may be incorrect), Michael Lindsay-Hogg, the director of Let it Be, has stated it will be coming out on Blu-ray sometime this year.

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    2. Oh, wait, it specifically says MAY be released in 2013. Well, here's hoping..,

      (Sorry for the multiple comments)

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  2. This was a real treat. Hard Days Night is one of my all time favorite movies, and to see you guys posting a podcast about this just made me so happy, and took me out of the day to day funk I've been. Listening to JB break down the differences between version that have been release was great because I never got the DVD because of what I heard. I got the MONO boxset of CDs when they were released in 2009, just because I had heard so much about why they were superior, and they are. I could probabley sit down and pick JB's brain for days about the Beatles. JB didn't mention the first digital copy to be realse of this on CD-ROM back in 94, where you could watch the movie in a 2x2 frame on your computer. It totally sucked.

    This is one of those movies though, that having grown up with it, and having not watched it in a long time, I tend to notice little thngs I do because of it. "like Mr.s Can we have our ball back." or "What are you going to call them? They don't take kindly to insults."

    Anyhow... Job well done. And I am now going to listen to the Beatles for the rest of the day.

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    1. Yes, I actually owned that CD-ROM. It was crappy and disappointing.

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  3. One of your best podcasts yet. This movie and Help! were big parts of my early Beatlemania back in junior high, when I got made fun of for liking the Beatles (a welcome change of pace from cracks about my physical appearance!). I remember seeing that documentary on PBS many years ago, pretty sure it was during a pledge drive. I believe Ebert says this is a movie he could start again immediately after finishing — a standard of movie excellence I've carried with me ever since. And now, like everyone else who listens to this show, I'm going to go listen to the Beatles.

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  4. To echo Erich Aspersploitation this podcast really made me want to listen to some Beatles!

    Great job, guys, two of my favourite podcasters talking about my favourite band makes for a real treat indeed! And who knew there was an advantage to living in Canada - I didn't realize the US had yet to get the blu-ray for this - what gives?

    As I mentioned briefly in JB's last "Unsung" article, this movie did NOT do it for me AT ALL the first time I watched it and I was DEEP into the Beatles at that time. Like "let's do LSD and just listen to their music" deep (I'm way done with that now but it was pretty awesome so kids, do try that at home at least once) but the movie totally failed to click with me. I even invoked Blockbuster's "satisfaction guaranteed" clause and got my money back. When I happened on the blu-ray for $10 at HMV I figured I'd give it another shot and sure enough, loved the hell out of it. And the songs sound so great in lossless audio. It was very interesting to hear JB talk about the variances among editions, but I'm happy with what I've got.

    Anyway, much like my rambling response to the Furious 6 podcast, I could go on and on about Beatles stuff and the impact they've had on my life but I'll drop it for now and see where the comments conversation goes.

    Thanks for a great podcast guys!

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    1. Sadly all the Aspersploitation movies have been removed from Netflix, but if you look on Amazon you can find cheap used copies of Germaniacs VII and Ich Bin Ein Ninja Cop.

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    2. It makes me happy that so many of you like the podcast. If it makes you want to listen to the Beatles for the rest if the day, well, then my work here is done...

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  5. I agree. Thank you J.B. for going into detail on the versions.

    I have always loved this movie and its spirit.

    I have one question. How come after the "Can't Buy Me Love" sequence only three of the Beatles are in the far shot as they walk away from the man?

    Did something happen that day before filming?

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    1. Lennon had to leave filming early that day to accept an award for his first book. In the earlier ELS helicopter shot, it's actually director Lester dressed as John with his cap!

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  6. Still can't wrap my head around the concept that anyone would not like The Beatles.

    I can understand if you prefer one part of their output over another. I knew someone who considered everything pre-Revolver "kiddie songs and covers" but they loved everything after.

    Really think anyone who says they everything they did was bad is desperately trying to be contrary just for the sake of it.

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    1. I'm definitely more partial to everything from Revolver on (maybe Rubber Soul on). I think Abbey Road, specifically, is one of the greatest albums ever assembled in the history of all music. That being said, the stuff that came before is a lot of fun, as well.

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    2. Ironic since Abbey Road was kind of an after-thought when they saw what Let It Be had become and went, "Crap, we can't have THAT be our last album!"

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    3. "Abbey Road" is all the more beautiful of an album when you realize that, at least subconsciously, they knew they were recording the band's dying words. The fact they made their last words about love, with all of the turmoil and heartbreak of their own ending love of each other, is such a fitting finale for an historical phenomenon of a band.

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  7. Great episode. Reason #248 of why we love JB (J "The Professor" B, for short).

    Not to be too far off topic or a knock at A Hard Days Night but Ive always been more a fan of Help than AHDN, probably due to Help being my first exposure to Beatles movies. But I just love how absurd the humour is, and how there is literally no telling what is going to happen next. I mean, try explaining the plot of the movie to someone who hasnt seen it and see if they believe you.
    My favourite moment is the five failed attempts to get the ring at the start of the film, in particular the magnets in the elevator with John just pointing and mock laughing. Very funny.

    I am so glad that Victor Spinetti was a great guest (at least the fist time). While I wouldnt say he is my favourite part of any of the films, it is so nice to see the familiar friend pop up in each of the movies and he is consistently great in them. I thought he did a voice in Yellow Submarine too, but I might have been mistaken.

    (trying to wrap up) When Patrick was talking about what would happen if a modern group tryied this sort of movie I thought of Spicegirls doing Spice World. It was clearly trying to do all three of the Beatles movies in one...and it was terrible.

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  8. As a huge Beatles fan I especially enjoyed this podcast. Lots of insights etc. Thank-you Patrick and JB!

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  9. My relationship with A Hard Day's Night has grown more complicated as I've gotten older, which makes me a bit sad. I used to love the film and the wacky antics of The Beatles, but as the years passed and I got deeper and deeper into the band, I started to feel more and more distant from the film. As I connected to the individuals in the band and who they really were, I realized that so little of who The Beatles actually are ends up in their first movie. I know it was important in Beatlemania and in securing their legacy and building their myth, but looking back, it's difficult for me to see more there than the characters they portrayed for a very short time. These guys, with their wacky antics and wisecracks, feel artificial and fabricated. This feels no more realistic than their cartoon series to me, which is unfortunate. Great music, great film, but I wish I could see more of their true selves in it. Let It Bewould be the extreme on the other end, and unfortunately came too late to be anything but painful to watch. It's like seeing mom and dad fighting.

    Oddly, the movie I've decided I like the best from their film output is Magical Mystery Tour. It's incredibly flawed and thin, but it's completely THEM because they made it themselves. When it succeeds, it does so because of them. When it fails, it's because of their shortcomings. It's their most personal film project, and therefore, the one I connect to the most.

    Mr. (Sloop) John B (not a Beatles song): it appears our interests have crossed once again. I had no idea you were such a passionate Beatles fan. If it's possible, I love you even more. I hope to one day poop in the toilet of your Beatles Bathroom. Since I so rarely get to engage with a fellow passionate Beatles fan, I have some questions/statements.

    1) Have you watched the extras on the most recent DVD/Blu edition of Magical Mystery Tour and seen the footage of Ringo's Aunt (Jessie Robbins) playing the drums during the filming? It's fantastic and delightful.

    2)Have you read the book You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After The Breakup by Peter Doggett? It's a wonderful, nearly day by day account of their lives which begins in 1968 and ends (more or less) with the death of NOT John Lennon, but George Harrison. Therefore it covers the behind the scenes of The Beatles Anthology, which seems a lot more quickly thrown together than you'd think. There was plenty of information that I knew from the dozens of other Beatles books I've read over the years, but there was also quite a bit of information that Doggett appears to have uncovered for the first time.

    3) Have you read Patti Boyd's book Wonderful Tonight? I went into it with excitement, probably like you went to see her at the event she appeared at. By the end of the book, I had a strong dislike for her. In my opinion, she paints herself as a victim and innocent bystander. She talks about how both George and Eric were unfaithful and neglected her and how it hurt her. But then the book is FILLED with examples of how she behaved similarly. Stories of a nude swimming party at David Crosby's house followed by an orgy, or of Mick Jagger's infatuation and desire to have her (which it seems he did), or of the fact that she and Harrison were gone from each other for long periods of time and neither behaved themselves. When I finished it, I thought "well, there goes my opinion of her."

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