The Beatles’ ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ Headed Back to Movie Theaters
The Beatles‘ silver-screen debut A Hard Day’s Night will return to theaters this summer to mark the 50th anniversary of its premiere at London’s Pavilion Theatre. Janus Films has digitally restored the movie’s picture and hired Giles Martin – son of Beatles producer George – to remix and remaster its soundtrack for 5.1 sound systems at Abbey Road, Los Angeles Times reports.
Director Richard Lester helmed the comedy musical, which Alun Owen wrote, at the height of Beatlemania with a production budget of a little over half a million dollars. It went on to make over $12 million, according to The Numbers. The plot follows the Fab Four as they travel from Liverpool to London for a TV appearance, and tackle the hurdles of hysterical fans, the disappearance of Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney‘s trouble-prone grandfather, among others.
The soundtrack, which ranked Number Four on Rolling Stone’s list of the 25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time, contained the hits “I Should Have Known Better,” “Can’t Buy Me Love” and, naturally, “A Hard Day’s Night.” The U.K. version of the album was the first to feature songs exclusively written by John Lennon and McCartney.
The restored version of the film premiered earlier in April at the TCM Classic Movie Film Festival in Hollywood. The anniversary engagement will take place in more than 50 cities nationwide over the Fourth of July weekend.