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<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><meta charset="utf-8" /><title>From "A Hard Day's Night" to "Help!": changes in The Beatles' music and personality - The Terminal Programmer</title><meta content="2003-08-19T00:00:00-07:00" name="DCTERMS.created" /><meta content="2003-08-19T00:00:00-07:00" name="DCTERMS.modified" /><meta content="Suraj N. Kurapati" name="author" /><meta content="college, music, beatles" name="keywords" /><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" name="viewport" /><meta content="Readably https://github.com/sunaku/readably" name="generator" /><link href="style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /><link href="index.atom" rel="alternate" title="feed" type="application/atom+xml" /><script src="js/jquery.slim.min.js"></script></head><body><article data-entry-id="musc80v-midterm" id="body"><header><div class="navigation"><a class="rootlink" href="index.html#musc80v-midterm" title="The Terminal Programmer"><span>The Terminal Programmer</span></a></div><h1 class="title">From "A Hard Day's Night" to "Help!": changes in The Beatles' music and personality</h1><div class="author">Suraj N. Kurapati</div><time class="date" datetime="2003-08-19T00:00:00-07:00">19 August 2003</time></header><hr /><div class="description"></div><div class="content"><ol class="table-of-contents"><li><a id="__references__" href="#references" class="downlink">References</a><ol></ol></li></ol><p>The Beatles’ first film <strong><em>A Hard Day’s Night</em></strong>, helped establish their witty
and charming personalities among a broader audience. However, their second
film <strong><em>Help!</em></strong> changed this image into that of a group of meandering fools.
The Beatles, as musicians and song writers, evolved greatly from their teenie-
bopper beginnings in Love Me Do to their sophisticated album <strong><em>Rubber Soul</em></strong>
that defined classic rock.</p>
<p>In <strong><em>A Hard Day’s Night</em></strong>, the Beatles gained their first chance to
establish a broader consumer base apart from the usual screaming teenage
girls. This was the first time when adults, who payed no heed to teenie-bopper
hits, would come to see the band in a new light. Some critics argue that the
personalities of the Beatles in <strong><em>A Hard Day’s Night</em></strong> are exaggerated, but
as Ringo points out in a 1964 interview: “At first it was hard, because we
wouldn’t learn the lines like you’re supposed to. We’d learn them on the way
to the studio. In a way it might have been better because it was more natural”
[3]. This natural approach in <strong><em>A Hard Day’s Night</em></strong> resulted in the superb
personalities unique to only the Beatles. Their wit and charm, which many have
come to recognize in television shows and newspaper interviews, was exactly
what was portrayed in <strong><em>A Hard Day’s Night</em></strong>. Thus the Beatles’
personalities in <strong><em>A Hard Day’s Night</em></strong> are very much the real thing.</p>
<p>Ringo was a clever and “cheeky” fellow in <strong><em>A Hard Day’s Night</em></strong>. For
example, in a scene where he is being interviewed by a woman who asks “are you
a Maude or a Rocker?”, Ringo responds “I’m a Mocker”. This cleverness was
lacking in <strong><em>Help!</em></strong> where Ringo was a clueless simpleton: falling prey to
obvious traps and reciting dim dialogue; resembling an unintelligible fellow.
Another example in <strong><em>Help!</em></strong>, is where Ringo, who was kidnapped by two
Americans, is rescued from the trunk of their car by George. Ringo doesn’t
bother to escape and simply says “Hello”. Some critics welcome the idea that
the script writers were at fault for Ringo’s lacking role. To them, he was
indeed a clever fellow as portrayed in <strong><em>A Hard Day’s Night</em></strong> and
interviews.</p>
<p>John was a spontaneous and delightful character in <strong><em>A Hard Day’s Night</em></strong>,
where “you always had to keep your eye on him because you never knew what he
would do next” [1]. For example, in <strong><em>A Hard Day’s Night</em></strong>, the Beatles are
walking through the theater where they would perform; John spots a woman’s hat
with an extravagant ribbon, and says “look it’s a bird!”. Another example is
when John is with the barber and is shaving using an electric shaver, he
suddenly points the shaver at the camera and then winks. However, John’s
humorous spontaneity does not shine in <strong><em>Help!</em></strong> as he is given a mediocre
role supporting Ringo.</p>
<p>George was a straightforward and cunning fellow in <strong><em>A Hard Day’s Night</em></strong>.
As seen in television shows and interviews, George’s perfect timing with
humorous jokes is spot-on in <strong><em>A Hard Day’s Night</em></strong>. In a scene where George
meets with a Record label manager who tries to take advantage of his
popularity, George is humorously straightforward in refusing the offer.
However, just as the other supporting Beatles, George did not have much of a
role in <strong><em>Help!</em></strong>. He is, however, portrayed as being heroic when he rescues
Ringo from two Americans who kidnap Ringo.</p>
<p>Paul was the charming fellow who acted well with Wilfred Brambell, as his
grandfather in <strong><em>A Hard Day’s Night</em></strong>. His interaction with Wilfred Brambell
was superb as many jokes stemmed from their roles. Paul’s role in <strong><em>Help!</em></strong>
was somewhat more involved than the rest of the Beatles, as he was often the
one contacted by Ahme, played by Eleanor Bron, in the cult that was after
Ringo. However, his role was comically deprived as the type of chemistry
between him and Brambell in <strong><em>A Hard Day’s Night</em></strong> was outstanding compared
to that with Bron in <strong><em>Help!</em></strong>.</p>
<p>More-so in <strong><em>A Hard Day’s Night</em></strong> than <strong><em>Help!</em></strong>, the oft-made
similarities of the Beatles to the Marx Brothers becomes apparent as the film
is full of clever slap-stick comedy and jokes typical of Marx Brothers. There
is a tighter integration of jokes and spontaneity that shines through the
Beatles’ charming persona in <strong><em>A Hard Day’s Night</em></strong>, compared to poorly
timed and loosely coupled jokes in <strong><em>Help!</em></strong>.</p>
<p>From their first debut album <strong><em>Please Please Me</em></strong> in 1963 to <strong><em>Rubber
Soul</em></strong> in 1965, the Beatles dramatically evolved both as musicians and song-
writers. Their initial albums consisted of songs all of which could be used in
dance clubs. These songs used mostly intimate words like “you” and “I” and
were focused mainly on teenage love themes. Not surprisingly, their initial
fan-base consisted mainly of teenage girls who fueled Beatle-mania. These
early songs were not at all sophisticated with complex word play as they were
usually love letters and such for teenagers. However, one can find in the
Beatles’ later albums that, no longer were all songs suitable to be used in
dance clubs and themed about teenage love; a new type of Beatles songs
emerged, those with profound poetry and unique melodies which one could simply
listen to and enjoy.</p>
<p>The Beatles began to express their individual styles in later albums, such as
John’s theme of anger, George’s song-writing debut with “Tax Man”, Ringo’s
complex new drumming patterns and Paul’s cheerful and upbeat musical styles.
Lyrics of “Run For Your Life” show John’s anger, with phrases such as “I’d
rather see you dead, little girl” and “Catch you with another man, That’s the
end” [5]. John was also writing down-hearted songs such as “I’m a Loser” in
<strong><em>Beatles for Sale</em></strong> album, and “Nowhere Man” in <strong><em>Rubber Soul</em></strong>.
Alongside musical development, the Beatles’ lyrics become more sophisticated
with poetry and wordplay. Another down-hearted yet poetic song is “Eleanor
Rigby” from Revolver. The lyrics refer to “All the lonely people” using poetic
elements that develop over the course of the song: “No-one comes near …
Nobody came … No-one was saved.” [6]. Such sophisticated lyrics create a
gloomy and yet content mood as one thinks about the song’s message. This type
of creativity was not present in earlier albums and occurs more frequently
throughout later albums.</p>
<p>Although the Beatles’ films established their personalities with the general
audience, it is their progress as musicians and song writers which truly
defined them as a band. The charming and witty bunch from Liverpool may have
been portrayed as fools in <strong><em>Help!</em></strong> but their fantastic work in later
albums such as <strong><em>Rubber Soul</em></strong> and <strong><em>Revolver</em></strong> undoubtedly defines the
genre that is classic rock.</p>
<div id="references" class="section"></div><h2 class="heading">References<a href="#references" class="permalink" title="Permalink"></a><a href="#__references__" class="uplink" title="Contents"></a></h2>
<ol>
<li><p>The Beatles Anthology, 1996. Documentary. USA: Apple.</p></li>
<li><p>Unknown. (2002). The Beatles Ultimate Experience - Beatles Interviews, Photos, and Animations [online]. Available from: <a href="http://www.geocities.com/%7Ebeatleboy1/">http://www.geocities.com/~beatleboy1/</a> [Accessed 16 August 2003].</p></li>
<li><p>Unknown. (2002). Movies: A Hard Day’s Night [online]. Available from: <a href="http://www.geocities.com/%7Ebeatleboy1/dbmovies.html">http://www.geocities.com/~beatleboy1/dbmovies.html</a> [Accessed 16 August 2003].</p></li>
<li><p>Unknown. (2003). The Beatles Lyrics Archive [online]. Available from: <a href="http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Limo/3518/">http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Limo/3518/</a> [Accessed 17 August 2003].</p></li>
<li><p>Unknown. (2003). Run For Your Life [online]. Available from: <a href="http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Limo/3518/4urlife.htm">http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Limo/3518/4urlife.htm</a> [Accessed 17 August 2003].</p></li>
<li><p>Unknown. (2003). Eleanor Rigby [online]. Available from: <a href="http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Limo/3518/e_rigby.htm">http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Limo/3518/e_rigby.htm</a> [Accessed 17 August 2003].</p></li>
</ol>
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