Everything Seems to be Ri-hight...

in life is pitting one person against another, which, in a film that has very little story, at least keeps the characters bouncing off each other, and leads to Ringo striking out on his own - and failing miserably - less than an hour before the group is supposed to appear live on television. Also making his mark is Victor Spinetti as the uptight TV director whom The Beatles drive to alcohol and tranquilizers. Spinetti, a very funny actor, immediately became a friend of the group and can also be seen in their second film HELP! (the scientist) and their TV film MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR (the insane military man).

The film ends with a mini-Beatles concert as the TV show goes on as planned. Like clips from their Shea Stadium concert or The Ed Sullivan Show, this scene documents Beatlemania for future generations to behold in wonder. The four musicians may be miming to their hits - a medley of the film’s tunes plus the bonus smash hit "She Loves You" - but the girls in the audience, screaming, shaking, weeping and most likely speaking in tongues, are not acting. The noise they make has been compared to a 747 taking off, and 35 years after the fact, it is still thrilling to see and hear.

One reason why every Beatles fan should own a copy of this film on video or DVD is that the songs themselves are presented at the proper speed as well as in stereo, unlike the compact disc version of the album, which is in mono and mastered too fast. A HARD DAY’S NIGHT is not only The Beatles most joyful and optimistic album, but also one of the most impeccably produced. The Beatles long time producer, George Martin, was the only true "fifth Beatle".

At a time when some other pop acts had difficulty filling an album with two good songs and twelve dreary filler tunes, Lennon and McCartney were on their way to becoming the premiere songwriters of their generation. Aside from the superb title tune and the already released "Can’t Buy Me Love", there are the melodic and beautifully structured love songs "If I Fell" and "And I Love Her" and the goodtime rockers "I’m Happy Just to Dance with You", "Tell Me Why" and "I Should Have Known Better". Though there were only seven songs used in the film, side two of the album was filled

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