Ralph Pace
LUDLOW — FOLA (Friends of Ludlow Auditorium) will present the award-winning movie, “A Hard Day’s Night” at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 7 at the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium. This film starts a movie series exploring the depth and variety of cinematic landscape of the 1960s. FOLA is happy to once again host well-known Vermont film historian Rick Winston for the opening night of the film series. Winston will briefly discuss the three featured films in the context of the exciting trends of filmmaking in the 1960’s: the influence of the French New Wave on “A Hard Day’s Night,” the influence of Italian films on “A Fistful of Dollars” (and the related Japanese film “Yojimbo” that will screened with it as a double feature) and the influence of the European art film on “The Graduate.”
A Hard Day’s Night is a 1964 musical comedy starring The Beatles in their first full length movie. Directed Richard Lester and written by Alun Owen, this self-proclaimed “greatest rock & roll comedy adventure” capitalized on the fame and notoriety of The Beatles. It takes the tried and true formula of the Hollywood Rock & Roll musical, typified by the Elvis Presley movies, in a new direction as influenced by the French New Wave. The film stars George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr as themselves and as The Beatles as they work their way through a “typical day” of famous rock & rollers making their way from Liverpool to London for a television broadcast.
A Hard Day’s Night was nominated for two Academy awards, for one British Film Academy award and one Grammy award. It was recognized as the Best Picture of the Month for the Whole Family by the Box Office Magazine (it is rated G).
As with all FOLA movies, the film is open to everyone and is free; donations are appreciated. Popcorn will be provided by Berkshire Bank with water offered by FOLA. For more information, call (802) 228-7239 or visit the FOLA web site atwww.fola.us.
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