Richard Lester

A Hard Day’s Night

A Hard Day’s Night

Meet the Beatles! Just one month after they exploded onto the U.S. scene with their Ed Sullivan Show appearance, John, Paul, George, and Ringo began working on a project that would bring their revolutionary talent to the big screen. This film, in which the bandmates play slapstick versions of themselves, captured the astonishing moment when they officially became the singular, irreverent idols of their generation and changed music forever. Directed with raucous, anything-goes verve by Richard Lester (The Knack . . . and How to Get It) and featuring a slew of iconic pop anthems—including the title track, “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “I Should Have Known Better,” and “If I Fell”—A Hard Day’s Night, which reconceived the movie musical and exerted an incalculable influence on the music video, is one of the most deliriously entertaining movies of all time.

Film Info

  • United Kingdom
  • 1964
  • 87 minutes
  • Black & White
  • 1.75:1
  • English
  • Spine #711

Director-Approved 4K UHD + Blu-Ray Special Edition Features

  • New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Richard Lester, with three audio options—a monaural soundtrack as well as stereo and 5.1 surround mixes supervised by sound producer Giles Martin at Abbey Road Studios—presented in uncompressed monaural, uncompressed stereo, and DTS-HD Master Audio
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
  • Audio commentary featuring cast and crew
  • In Their Own Voices, a program featuring 1964 interviews with the Beatles and behind-the- scenes footage and photos
  • “You Can’t Do That”: The Making of “A Hard Day’s Night,” a 1994 documentary by producer Walter Shenson including an outtake performance by the Beatles
  • Things They Said Today, a 2002 documentary about the film featuring Lester, music producer George Martin, screenwriter Alun Owen, and cinematographer Gilbert Taylor
  • Picturewise, a program about Lester’s early work, featuring a 2014 audio interview with the director
  • The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film (1960), Lester’s Oscar-nominated short
  • Anatomy of a Style, a 2014 program on Lester’s methods
  • Interview from 2014 with Beatles biographer Mark Lewisohn
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Howard Hampton and excerpts from a 1970 interview with Lester

New cover by Rodrigo Corral

Purchase Options

Director-Approved 4K UHD + Blu-Ray Special Edition Features

  • New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Richard Lester, with three audio options—a monaural soundtrack as well as stereo and 5.1 surround mixes supervised by sound producer Giles Martin at Abbey Road Studios—presented in uncompressed monaural, uncompressed stereo, and DTS-HD Master Audio
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
  • Audio commentary featuring cast and crew
  • In Their Own Voices, a program featuring 1964 interviews with the Beatles and behind-the- scenes footage and photos
  • “You Can’t Do That”: The Making of “A Hard Day’s Night,” a 1994 documentary by producer Walter Shenson including an outtake performance by the Beatles
  • Things They Said Today, a 2002 documentary about the film featuring Lester, music producer George Martin, screenwriter Alun Owen, and cinematographer Gilbert Taylor
  • Picturewise, a program about Lester’s early work, featuring a 2014 audio interview with the director
  • The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film (1960), Lester’s Oscar-nominated short
  • Anatomy of a Style, a 2014 program on Lester’s methods
  • Interview from 2014 with Beatles biographer Mark Lewisohn
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Howard Hampton and excerpts from a 1970 interview with Lester

New cover by Rodrigo Corral

A Hard Day’s Night
Cast
John Lennon
John
Paul McCartney
Paul
George Harrison
George
Ringo Starr
Ringo
Wilfrid Brambell
Grandfather
Norman Rossington
Norm
John Junkin
Shake
Victor Spinetti
TV director
Richard Vernon
Man on train
Anna Quayle
Millie
Alison Seebohm
Secretary
Kenneth Haigh
Simon Marshall
Julian Holloway
Adrian
Robin Ray
TV floor manager
Lionel Blair
Choreographer
David Janson
Charley
Bob Godfrey
Bearded man in pub
John Bluthal
Car thief
Eddie Malin
Hotel waiter
Deryck Guyler
Police sergeant
Michael Trubshawe
Club manager
Patti Boyd
Blonde schoolgirl on train
Prudence Bury
Brunette schoolgirl on train
Credits
Director
Richard Lester
Producer
Walter Shenson
Writer
Alun Owen
Director of photography
Gilbert Taylor
Camera operator
Derek V. Browne
Editor
John Jympson
Musical director
George Martin
Songs
John Lennon
Songs
Paul McCartney
Associate producer
Dennis O’Dell
Assistant director
John D. Merriman
Art director
Ray Simm
Costume designer
Julie Harris
Beatles wardrobe
Dougie Millings & Son
Wardrobe master
Ernest Farrer
Set dresser
Ken Bridgeman
Hairdresser
Betty Glasow
Makeup
John O’Gorman
Sound recordists
H. L. Bird
Sound recordists
Stephen Dalby
Sound camera
M. Silverlock
Casting director
Irene Lamb

Current

The Later Career of Richard Lester
The Later Career of Richard Lester
Director Richard Lester is best remembered for his delightfully mod films of the sixties, including the Beatles classics A Hard Day’s Night (1964) and Help! (1965) as well as The Knack . . . and How to Get It (1965) and Petulia (1968). In the follo…

By David Cairns

In Their Own Voices: The Beatles on A Hard Day’s Night
In Their Own Voices: The Beatles on A Hard Day’s Night

You can hear from John, Paul, George, and Ringo themselves in this piece on Criterion’s new special edition of A Hard Day’s Night consisting of audio recordings of the Beatles talking about the movie during their 1964 American tour.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand: All Perfectly Normal
I Wanna Hold Your Hand: All Perfectly Normal

Kicking off a career that would go on to explore the mysteries of pop culture, Robert Zemeckis’s first feature revisits the weekend the Beatles set youth culture ablaze with their American debut.

By Scott Tobias

A Hard Day’s Night: The Whole World Is Watching
A Hard Day’s Night: The Whole World Is Watching

In 1964, Richard Lester harnessed the Beatles’ exploding superstardom for a giddy day-in-the-life pop masterpiece.

By Howard Hampton

Queer, There, and Everywhere
Queer, There, and Everywhere

Now playing on the Criterion Channel, Christopher Munch’s New Queer Cinema landmark The Hours and Times excavates a gay fantasy from the annals of Fab Four lore.

By Michael Koresky

Paweł Pawlikowski’s Top 10
Paweł Pawlikowski’s Top 10

The Oscar-winning director of Ida and Cold War walks through key periods in his life that have been shaped by his favorite films, including masterpieces by Godard, Malick, and Tarkovsky.

The Fab Four’s Big-Screen Debut in Santa Monica

Repertory Picks

The Fab Four’s Big-Screen Debut in Santa Monica

Travel back to the height of Beatlemania and the swinging sixties with Richard Lester’s infectious rock-movie classic A Hard Day’s Night, screening this weekend at the American Cinematheque.