England,
1964, 92 min
Shown in 1999
CREDITS
- dir
-
Richard Lester
- prod
-
Walter Shenson
- scr
-
Alun Owen
- cam
-
Gilbert Taylor
- editor
-
John Jympson
- cast
-
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Wilfrid Brambell, Victor Spinetti
- source
-
Miramax Films, 375 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10013. FAX: 212-941-3949
-
COMMENTS
Walter Shenson in person.
OTHER
Proclaimed by the Village Voice “the Citizen Kane of jukebox movies” at the time of its original 1964 release, this joyously chaotic rock-and-roll comedy is being re-released to mark the 35th anniversary of its debut, and comes packaged with new footage, a fully restored negative and a digitally remastered soundtrack. Erasing any pretense of plot in favor of an anarchic blend of music, comedy and general hysteria, the film is pure, unadulterated spectacle. A mod time capsule, it burns with a furious energy taken from the Beatles, their music, their panicked, screaming fans and from the director, Richard Lester, who seems hell-bent on inventing a new cinematic style to accompany the band’s frenetic pace and sounds. Seemingly improvised, it was actually scripted by playwright Alun Owen, widely acclaimed for his ability to capture the spirit and language of a new British generation. Spending weeks with the Beatles, he drew on their individual characteristics and crafted the images that stuck with them throughout their careers. As the New York Times summed it up in 1964, “The new film with those incredible chaps, the Beatles, is a whale of a comedy ... it may knock you right out of your chair!”
FACTOID #232
Our first seminar at the Festival was entitled Censorship and the Actor’s Art: A Symposium, featuring panelists Michael Mayer and Lou Greenspan at Grace Cathedral, October 24, 1966.
