Looming Large in My Legend

I'm watching the tail end of A Hard Day's Night as I type up this post. It's at the concert part where The Beatles do a medley of all the songs from the film and close it out with 'She Loves You', a song I'm not very fond of listening to normally, but kind of enjoy here. It's been years since I've seen the film and, until now, I've only remembered it in these little non-linear chunks of gags and music. Not all that different from the movie itself, actually.

Anyway, it's a really entertaining little bit of cinema and stands up pretty well considering it's about 40 years old. I'm so used to listening to The Beatles that I forget what it's like to actually watch them do what they do. There's a really fun energy and sense of humour to the group that doesn't come out, necessarily, in the songs. It adds that little extra bit of dimension to the music, the mythos, the magic.

I should also mention that the DVD is a nice little package as well featuring 2 discs jam-packed with featurettes spotlighting the folks who made the film, including director Richard Lester, in nice well-rounded interview bits. The music being mixed in 5.1 surround is also pretty sweet, now that I think about it.

If you like The Beatles, I would recommend seeking this set out to rent, borrow or purchase. It's well worth the time and effort.

mike