One of my favourite things of living in a (legally, if not truly) bilingual society is checking out the French titles of movies. For example, did you know the French title of DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER (truly one of the great titles of all time) translates to 58 MINUTES TO LIVE? Why? Because it's based off a book called "58 Minutes". Apparently someone in Fox's French department thought people would come to see a Bruce Willis movie based on it's literary appeal and not the fact that it was the sequel to DIE HARD.
The French title of A HARD DAY'S NIGHT is QUATRE GARÇONS DANS LE VENT. That's right. Four Boys In The Wind. That's just delightful. I mean, can you picture the Jonas Brothers' new concert movie being titled The Unbearable Lightness of Being? Or Justin Bieber making his debut film appearance in A Change of Seasons?
Quatre Garcons dans le Vent must rank as one of the most pretentious titles I've ever heard. It doesn't really mean anything, except as some sort of vague Buddhist-tinged going-with-the-flow philosophy (and this was before they met Ravi Shankar!), but it's not a very good indicator of the film's personality. Despite the black-and-white photography and occasional delusions of intellectual grandeur, the film has an incredible amount of charm and wit. It's really just trying to entertain you - to a killer soundtrack.
There are several notable things about A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, the music chief among them, but there are also a few great cinematic touches that make this an enduring film. There's the (oft-imitated) great opening sequence where the Beatles escape throngs of screaming fans, which, while relying on the titular track for its energy, has a couple of great visual gags that make it so memorable. There's also the strange surreal powers the film sometimes ascribes to the Beatles, whether they're suddenly on bicycles keeping pace outside a train, or John's disappearing act from a bathtub. This is a film that will stop at nothing, especially not physics, from getting in the way of a good joke.
What really sets this film apart is its focus. This isn't a film about the brilliant John Lennon or how cute Paul McCartney is. It's not about George, either, because, quite honestly, who wants to see a movie about George? A HARD DAY'S NIGHT is all about Ringo Starr. The entire third act is devoted to his misadventures away from the band ("I'm goin' paradin' before it's too late!") and the attempt to get him back. Ringo is the everyman, a kid caught between outrageous fame and the desire for a normal life, and it's great watching him at the forefront of the band (for what was probably the first and last time). It's like a biopic on Barack Obama told from the perspective of Kal Penn (right? Kind of? A little bit?).
Anyway, I got a little sidetracked. A HARD DAY'S NIGHT is a great movie that I can heartily recommend throwing on for a nice 90-minute diversion, but before I go, I want to leave you with this, a little something to tie into the title of this post:
Notice the dropped letters in the poster design for Godard's BREATHLESS? The R, H, and the first S are all on a different level from the other letters, which leaves ... I just always thought that was weird, and maybe a little subconscious advertising.
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