FLIX/TUBE!
Yes this has been simultaneously been released to selected theaters (the crazy art house types) and on HULU. I saw it on HULU.
Director Ron Howard, as most of you would imagine, would get a free pass from me because he was Opie in the Andy Griffith Show which most of you know is one of my passions. But it just isn’t so. Half of Ron’s film gratify, and the other half leave me flat.
But here he weaves together the no brainer, footage from the early touring years of the The Beatles. He just has to weave it's can’t miss footage into a compelling story. Not a tough assignment because these lads are compelling. In fact so compelling that he has a tough time putting on the brakes. Howard takes us into Sgt. Peppers and the roof top concert, which have nothing to do with the touring years.
During A Hard Day's Night, one associate producer mentioned they may need a title song for the film. The next day they presented the song "A Hard Day's Night" (even though the producer thought it would take 6 months, but they looked up and said, "don't ever do that again."
This is a great film because Ron gets to ride on the coattails of those who are greater. But he should have realized his original premise and been true to it.
The Beatles will forever be the ultimate band, no matter how some solos might have been weak, or whatever. These guys were inspired. They never again achieved as individuals what they achieved as a collective. They spit out masterpiece after masterpiece as if it were child's play.
So I have to now grade the film, not the band.
Grade: A.
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