Think about how Blow Up contrasts to A Hard Day's Night. A Hard Day's Night looks like an advert for the decade -selling an idealistic world to an extent. It is optimistic, upbeat, exciting, fun. Blow Up is much darker and pessimistic. The lead character (Thomas) and many of the other characters we meet are narcissistic, difficult to like, selfish and arrogant. Remember the quote from Time Out stating how "ugly" and self-obsessed the swinging sixties was - perhaps Blow Up is an example of that.
The characters are very much a part of the sixties (fashion, music, relaxed attitude to sex and drug-taking).
We see the changing face of Britain; the new concrete tower blocks being built alongside the terraced housing, the students celebrating rag week, the street protestors, the gigs, the world of fashion and photography. The characters are privileged middle class representations.
The style borrows from European cinema. A counter-culture film challenging the conventional narrative of classic Hollywood cinema or mainstream cinema.
Compare music / concert scenes of the 2 films (Yardbirds and The Beatles - study crowd response and reasons for the different responses.)
Compare the subjects of the 2 films (The Beatles versus Thomas, the group versus the individual, the working class versus the middle class, the northerners versus the southerner).
Compare the narrative events of the 2 films. Consider the content, the messages and the values.
Compare the genres of the 2 films.
Compare the pace of the 2 films and how they therefore reflect life in the sixties.
Consider the target audience for each of the films.
Key points: First 15 minutes analysis
Female focus / subjects.
Rural to Urban move (travelling to London which is where we see a swinging representation.)
Leaving home to live with a group of friends (independent life, not marriage) reflecting the more relaxed attitudes of the 60s.
Working as a model - female employment, modelling was also very fashionable.
Cosmopolitan city - the Australian flatmate, the homosexual brother.
Positive representation of homosexuality - this male is fun, kind, confident and likeable.
Fashion references; hairstyles, shaving legs, minidresses.
Promiscuity; references to all the men the Australian flatmate brings home.
Party invite; dancing, drinking, meeting men.
STYLE: Borrowing many French New Wave techniques; jump cuts, interludes to break up action, fast pans, empty narrative. Realist, documentary, actuality film techniques - Lester aims to emulate documentary style with a handheld camera, use of zooming and panning rather than cutting to follow the action.
Fast cuts are also used, juxtaposing the screaming fans with the calmer Beatles. The style enhances the feeling of chaos. The end performance is made to look as much like a true Beatles performance as possible. Think about how the fan reactions that we see depicts the enormity of their feelings for this band.
Artistic techniques are used - think of this train scene where the four Beatles are in the frame due to the use of the mirror on the carriage wall:
A similar technique is used to artistically capture the Beatles during their performance at the end of the film:
Film clip: train scene including the business man sharing the carriage and the first comically surreal moments
Themes: The key words are optimistic, hopeful, inoffensive, positive.
The film hints towards a change in culture; compare the act of the Beatles to the other acts featured in the variety show. They are fresh, exciting, stylish, escaping traditionalism.
The film shows positive representations of this youth movement; the parties are happy affairs where the Beatles can let their hair down, dance to their favourite music, meet people and unwind. They are not shown to drink or take drugs. The most daring thing they are shown to do is chat to girls.
There is some indication of social mobility - these 4 northern, working class males have made it big (they travel in the first class carriage, they stay in top hotel accommodation.)
There is a sense of identity and peer / friendship - the Beatles seem most at ease when together and performing on stage.
The management and members of the media are more bumbling and are easy to mock.
Representation: The Beatles are in London but the swinging element surrounds them, rather than existing in London (and the idea of a North / South divide). When Ringo 'escapes' he explores a very traditional London, with traditional, old man's pub with old pub games and lack of style. He is not recognised (when wearing a cap and coat). Fashion: We see the influence the Beatles have on culture. The media flock around them to ask questions about their clothes, their hair, their views on the world. We also see how the Beatles mock the media and seem mischievous or perhaps even a step ahead, unconcerned about their influence. We are able to see the style of the 60s - young ladies in mini dresses, with bobbed or bouffant hair styles, the Beatles in matching tailored suits and their instantly recognisable floppy hair styles.
There is a class divide and Lester encourages us to identify with our protagonists - the working class Beatles with their regional accents are cheeky and charming. The man on the train, the received pronunciation, the ordering about of what they should and shouldn't do annoys us because of his stand offishness and arrogance. Similarly, the media industry workers are mainly young, well spoken, we assume educated people yet they lack authority and, with the Beatles, we have little respect for them. They are obsessed with trends and scene setting yet are followers rather than leaders.
Gender is not equally represented. This film is concerned with male characters and females are objectified to an extent or offer very little to the narrative. The lady on the building site becomes the subject of a visual joke when Ringo covers puddles and then covers over a hole accidentally. The scantily-clad dancing girls in their sequinned tight fitting costumes that the Beatles flirt with and cavort with, the screaming masses of female fans who are worked up to a frenzy.
Age: The film shows an optimistic youth, a willingness to be educated, to learn and experience more cultures (the reference to Ringo trying out the wine bars in London, their interest in reading novels.) However, the film is not about comparing old and young; Grandad is positively represented in a role-reversal. He leads the Beatles astray, he gets them into certain predicaments and plays on their insecurities, all the time he wants to enjoy himself. The film references many early comedy styles (slapstick humour, Keystone Kops, etc).
The pub Ringo enters is quiet, almost depressing and appears to be in desperate need of change. Remember the baby-boomers wanted something different to what their parents had. There are hints of this change in the film.
Music: The songs were specifically written for the film, the classic Beatles sound, pop music, themes of love. The sound of the sixties. Upbeat and positive.
View this clip of Keystone Kops to see how the police station scene emulates this style of slapstick comedy.
Watch the Running, Jumping and Standing Still Film,a short film directed by Richard Lester. The Beatles were fans of this and wanted to work with Lester as a result.
You should be able to appreciate some of the visual style and the humour that is present in A Hard Day's Night.
Please remember to return your consent forms by the end of this week for the trip Wednesday 16th March. It will cost £3.00 if you are travelling on the coach.
This full day workshop is relevant to Section A of the AS exam. If you are asked a question about film distribution, exhibition, marketing, independent cinema, cinema audiences, choice and style of film - you can use the information from this event.
If you are serious about the subject you should find this an extremely useful workshop.
This is a link to one of Roy Stafford's related blogs.
View the trailer for the film you will be watching and studying:
This video clip shows the cast and crew accepting an award for the film:
