"A Hard Day's Night" MPI (OOP) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Buena Vista - Region 1

(aka "Beatles No. 1" )

directed by Richard Lester
UK 1964

When it opened in September, 1964, ``A Hard Day's Night'' was a problematic entry in a disreputable form, the rock 'n' roll musical. The Beatles were already a publicity phenomenon (70 million viewers watched them on ``The Ed Sullivan Show''), but they were not yet cultural icons. Many critics attended the movie and prepared to condescend, but the movie could not be dismissed: It was so joyous and original that even the early reviews acknowledged it as something special. After more than three decades, it has not aged and is not dated; it stands outside its time, its genre and even rock. It is one of the great life-affirming landmarks of the movies.

Roger Ebert

Promo Material

Theatrical Release: July 6, 1964

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DVD Comparison:

MPI (OOP) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Buena Vista - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Enrique B Chamorro for all the Screen Caps!

PLACE mouse above above image!

(MPI (OOP) - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Buena Vista - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

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Distribution	MPI (OOP) Region 0 - NTSC	Buena Vista Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	90 min.	92 min.
Video	1.33:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.75 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.66:1 Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.40 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes
Bitrate: MPI (OOP) .
Bitrate: Buena Vista
Audio	English dialogue DD 1.0 and songs in DD 2.0, French & Spanish DD 1.0	English DD 2.0, French DD 1.0
Subtitles	English, Spanish, French	English
Features	Release Information: Studio: MPI (OOP) Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • 1982 photo montage prologue set to I'll Cry Instead 2 min. • British newsreel Beatlemania grips Gotham 1 min. • British newsreel Beatles get show biz top award 3:45 min. • 1981 Re-release trailer 2:22 min. • MPI's trailer for The First US Visit 1:45 min. • MPI's trailer for You Can't Do That! 1:45 min. • MPI's trailer for Help! 2:37 min. • MPI's trailer for Magical Mystery Tour 1:32 min. • 9 text screens on the restoration process • 6 text bios on the filmmakers & Support cast • 60's Interview with director Richard Lester 3:22 min. • Lester's short film Running, Jumping & Standing Still • 4 page insert DVD Release Date: 11/15/97 Plastic Keepcase Chapters 29	Release Information: Studio: Buena Vista Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterboxed - 1.66:1 Edition Details: • Documentary - Things They Said Today 36:16 min. • DVD-Rom Features - Screenplay, Scrapbook, etc. • 25 Featurettes on disc 2 - over 2.5 hours of short interviews • Their Production Will Be Second to None: Interviews With The Filmmakers • With the Beatles: The Cast • Working Like a Dog: Production Crew • Busy Working Overtime: Post Production Crew • Listen to the Music Playing in Your Head: Sir George Martin • Such a Clean Old Man! Memories of Wilfrid Brambell • I've Lost My Little Girl: Isla Blair Interview • Taking Testimonial Pictures: Robert Freeman, Photographer • Dressed to the Hilt: Costume Design • Dealing With The Men From the Press: Tony Barrow, The Beatles Publicist • They and I Have Memories: Klaus Voorman, lifelong friend • Hitting the Big Time in the USA: Sid Berman, promoter DVD Release Date: 09/24/02 Digipack Chapters 14

Comments

Aspect Ratio Per IMDB;
1.37 : 1 (negative ratio)
1.75 : 1 (intended ratio)
MPI 1.33:1 vs. BV 1.66:1

The MPI being an Opern Matte print offers more information in the frame (top and bottom), while BV offer a little more on the left and much more on the right side.

BV extras are almost too much, with interviews of everyone and anyone who is not a Beatle! The menus for BV are beautifully animated. MPI's menus are static, but the limited extras are only available on MPI. Subtitles on MPI are summarized but not on the songs. Subtitles on BV are spot on and even provided on the performance ofsongs.

End of the day, keep your old MPI and get the new one by BV.

For a quaint supplemental disc, get "The Making of A Hard Day's Night" hosted by Phil Collins, a short made for TV doc. sold by MPI but OOP.

- Enrique B Chamorro

A HARD DAY’S NIGHT – The MPI version is, save the MPI trailers, the same materials used for the transfer and supplement section from the 12” Criterion double LaserDisc set. MPI did the DVD when Criterion was still not involved with the format. In both cases, the film print is from the 1981 re-issue with the always-awful Dolby A-type analog stereo surround remix by producer Walter Shenson, which was bad on the Criterion version, and even worse in the recycled (and further compressed) Dolby Digital 2.0 from MPI. The film was restored a few years ago and Miramax issued it theatrically in Dolby Digital only, then Apple Records rejected a 5.1 mix that may or may not have been used theatrically, with the Miramax DVD of course does not have anything above Pro Logic surrounds (and no center channel?). They only kick in during the music numbers, making for a great disparity between those moments and the rest of the film. Note the good black and white quality from the Miramax version versus the greenish MPI recycle. The 1.66 was the way to go to get better picture quality versus doing a full screen image, already seen on the MPI version, albeit greenish. The new print, along with the still-to-be-issued-on-DVD HELP! (1965, EastmanColor) were restored frame-by-frame for preservation purposes at the time. With 6.1 configurations we now have and that the music from HELP! (both The Beatles songs and George Martin’s instrumental score) were recorded in the more authentic stereo of the time, so the choices made when that DVD arrives will be something to see and hear.

Nicholas Sheffo from FulvueDrive-In.com

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(MPI (OOP) - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Buena Vista - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)