Unbelievable but A Hard Days Night is now 50 years old. The film which is a comic look at a day in the life of The Beatles has just been given a HD Blu ray release in the UK by Second Sight and has a fantastic new 4K transfer.
The film presents a typical day in the life of The Fab Four as they try and outrun screaming fans, find Paul’s mischievous grandfather, deal with a stressed TV producer and make it to the show on time. The film is fun, simple and all the better for it and is often credited for inventing the music video genre and its hard to disagree. The Fab Four come across as likeable guys, dodging screaming girls in now what was much more innocent times. Also, the music sounds as good today as it did when released, especially in this remastered version.
This Blu ray released by Second Sight is almost identical to the one Criterion released in the USA, having a superb 4K remastered image with fantastic clarity but retaining the film grain giving it a very cinematic look. Blacks are deep and overall the black and white image is superb.
Audio fans are in for a treat too as this release has two new remixes, an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and an English LPCM 2.0 stereo track, both supervised by sound producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell at Abbey Road Studios. They sound fantastic, the 5.1 mix gives a clear dynamic sound range and the musical numbers as expected sound the best they ever have.
Extras are plentiful as well.
- In Their Own Voices – A new piece combining 1964 interviews with The Beatles with behind-the-scenes footage and photos
- You Can’t Do That!: The Making of ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ – A documentary by producer Walter Shenson including an outtake performance by The Beatles
- Things They Said Today – A documentary about the featuring director Richard Lester, music producer George Martin, screenwriter Alun Owen, and cinematographer Gilbert Taylor
- Picturewise – A new piece about Richard Lester’s early work featuring a new audio interview with the director.
- Anatomy of a Style – A new piece on Richard Lester’s methods.
- The Beatles: The Road to ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ – A new interview with author Mark Lewisohn
- Audio Commentary with Cast and Crew
- New 50th Anniversary Trailer
A great release not only with a new remastered image and sound but a plentiful and interesting list of extras. Recommended.
