Every decade has its central theme. In the 1940s, societies’ focus was on the war. The 1950s were all about entertainment; featuring the invention of color TV and the rise of Elvis Presley. The 60s, however, were all about the radical change that was sweeping across the Western World. There was a shift happening in nearly every facet of life in the 60s— religion was dipping in popularity, divorce was on the rise, the civil rights movement was gaining traction, and rock bands were consuming the minds of the youth. In many ways, the Beatles are the symbol of the 60s and the change that was taking place. By today’s standard the Beatles are about the most tame and family friendly band you can think of, so it is funny to imagine them as symbols of drugs, sex, and rebellion like they once were. 1964 was the year that the Beatles catapulted to super stardom— it’s when they made their famous appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, and they released their first feature film, A Hard Day’s Night.

The picture above is a still frame from the first opening scene of A Hard Day’s Night. It would be easy to simply write this off as the Beatles tooting their own horn and overstating how popular they were with the ladies. On the contrary, it is probably an accurate portrayal of just how beloved they were. A Rolling Stone article recalls that when The Beatles made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, “No one in Studio 50, the 728-seat home of The Ed Sullivan Show, at 53rd Street and Broadway, heard anything else for the next eight minutes, except a monsoon of teenage-female screaming”. It’s true the youth was crazy about the Beatles, but not everyone liked how they acted, or the change they represented.

Nearly any time period can be characterized by the youth getting more progressive, and the older folks resisting and trying to keep things how they have been. No period encompasses this phenomenon better than the 1960s. The 1950s was a fairly straight-edge time. Drug use was still taboo (with the exception of alcohol), and religious beliefs shaped how people behaved. As the 60s progressed, individualism, drugs, sex, and rock n’ roll were slowly becoming the norm — summed up nicely by the phrase, “If you remember the 60s, then you weren’t really there”.

Today, A Hard Day’s Night comes off as a fun, goofy, feelgood musical that follows the Beatles through a day in the life. I enjoyed the opening scene in particular, where they are chased by their female fans because it was so similar to the opening from one of my favorite films, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, a truly goofy flick.  But to “the old guard” the film was a portrayal of all the things they feared were changing. The Beatles being idolized throughout the film is a direct violation of one of the tenants of the from John 5:21, “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols”. And while the Beatles rebelling constantly throughout the movie is charming to watch today, it was a scary idea that the youth was thinking for themselves and doing what they wanted. A perfect example is when the group is ordered to stay in their room and finish the work they are supposed to get done, but Lennon simply walks out the door and says, “well he told us to stay, didn’t he?” Lennon was seen as a particularly rebellious figure, particularly for his comment in 1966 stating that the Beatles were bigger than Jesus.

The movie follows a totally conventional plot. The group is followed through a day in the life; they go to some press events, perform some shows, get chased by girls, and provide lighthearted humor throughout. The film was made to be a smash hit, and it was successful in that regard. Watching it with the controversy they stirred up in mind was an interesting exercise. I reckon that watching it with a critical eye significantly changed the way I saw the plot and the jokes. For example, the film constantly mocks the older characters in the film and portrays them as fools, which would have made it fun for the youth to watch and frustrating for adults to watch at the time it was released. Had I just watched this movie for fun I wouldn’t have noticed that aspect of it, along with several other similar points.

I found the movie to be exceptionally well made. The filmmaker, Dick Lester, did a great job at combining the musical genius of the group with some solid film making. In, The Deep Art of A Hard Day’s Night, Colin Fleming writes, “…if this was some mediocre band, or some invented band, A Hard Day’s Night would still be a legit, honking, gravitas-slathered cinematic masterpiece.” I would generally agree that this was a great movie, and it holds up over 50 years later.