Mark Lewisohn always has special Beatles projects he loves to work on and then eventually share with the public. One such special project was issued back in 2016, nearly ten years ago. It was a special book dealing with the Beatles first film, A Hard Day’s Night. Having access to many rare items from the estate of the late producer of the film, Walter Shenson, Lewisohn produced this wonderful hardback book celebrating what is now considered as a film classic both in film and music circles.
I once met Walter Shenson at a Fest for Beatles Fans held in NJ and he signed a Fest program for me. He was a cordial and friendly man.
Though the book is expensive, it is a quality release as are all of Mark Lewisohn’s books and in my personal opinion, it is certainly worth the cost!
If it is in your budget, I recommend you seek this book out for your collections. There were a limited number of copies that were also bookplate signed by Mark Lewisohn as well. The signed copies can occasionally be found on Abe Books and on eBay!
Happy hunting for this wonderful and exciting book!!!
AMAZON US:
The Beatles A Hard Day’s Night: A Private Archive Hardcover – September 5, 2016
by Mark Lewisohn (Author)-Phaidon Press
The Beatles A Hard Day’s Night: A Private Archive: Lewisohn, Mark: 9780714871851: Amazon.com: Books
AMAZON UK:
The Amazon Description of the book:
Including never-before-seen photographs and ephemera, a behind-the-scenes look into The Beatles’ acclaimed first film
“In March of 1964, director Richard Lester began shooting A Hard Day’s Night, a feature film starring The Beatles. With fast, sharp humour and a brilliant soundtrack, the movie depicts the excitement and chaos of thirty-six hours in the life of the Fab Four, and stars John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, with Wilfrid Brambell portraying McCartney’s grandfather. This collection of photographs and unique ephemera captures the infectious energy and anarchic spirit of this groundbreaking film.”
Back cover of the book:
My copy featured a bookplate signature from the author Mark Lewisohn:
The front and back dustjacket flaps of the book:
Reading the reviews of the book on Amazon I would like to highlight one in particular written by someone named Stardazer. Wish I knew his real name as I would give him the proper acknowledgement that the review deserves. I loved the review because it helps to accurately capture the magical quality of the contents of the book! I was very impressed as he captured many shared feelings about the title:
This is one of my favorite reviews of this wonderful book-It is located in the Amazon review section at the book location
The Beatles A Hard Day’s Night: A Private Archive: Lewisohn, Mark: 9780714871851: Amazon.com: Books
Scroll down below the Mark Lewisohn bio info and you will find it:
An excellent Amazon review by Stardazer of the book:
Amazon review by Stardazer of the book:
“If you love the film A Hard Day’s Night, this is THE Coffee table book for you!! Drawn from the purchased collection of producer Walter Shenson’s personal archives on AHDN, this is a feast for the eyes of the ardent Beatles fan. The greatest number of images are film stills, most with outstanding clarity–far clearer than the ones you’ve seen in the Di Franco book (1977). For instance, page 62 shows that maniacal scene on the train with John pleading with Pattie Boyd about escaping, feigning invisible faux handcuffs. That image is clear enough to resolve that the magazine cover Pattie was browsing actually boasted a pic of the Dave Clark Five! Moreover, on page 120, the semi-clothed waiter holds another issue of Fabulous magazine where the name “Dave Clark” can be read on its cover, above the large image of Elvis! What delicious irony embedded so suavely in this movie! Admittedly, after seeing AHDN maybe a hundred times over the decades, I had never noticed that when John pantomimes in falsetto the line, “My name’s Betty” that the name Betty was displayed on the mirror he was standing in front of (see page 188)! Or how about that pic of Paul apparently mocking and mirroring Richard Lester’s body language in an unused scene on page 26? The snapshot of the continuity director logging details on a very old and heavy mechanical typewriter on her lap while seated on the train speaks volumes (page 65).
The film stills are ordered in the approximate sequence where they occurred in the movie as you page thoughtfully through the book. These are interspersed with many alternate or between the takes scenes as well as interesting memorabilia and lyric sheets of most of the songs featured in the movie. Many pics are full page or nearly so and some are in color! Reproductions of certain documents or news articles show you line item totals for the production budget, newspaper articles, magazine covers that will rekindle memories, letters from fans and that William F Buckley Jr op-ed that concluded, “The Beatles are not merely awful…they are godawful…unbelievably horrible, so appallingly unmusical…” well you get the gist! On the other hand, a reproduction of the actual AP teletype advance review of AHDN dated on July 30, 1964 and written by Bob Thomas gushed, “The surprise is that it is good…It shows that the quartet may be with us a long time, not as freaks but as unqualified entertainers.”
284 large sized pages showcased on thick glossy stock with superb attention to detail, informative introductions and occasional captions supplied by renowned Beatles historian, Mark Lewisohn, with glorious imagery of the Fab Four in their madcap heyday all beg for coveted ownership and a great, memorable gift to surprise and delight the Beatles fan in your life.”
Hope you enjoyed the details of this special book by Mark Lewisohn!!!
Be Healthy and Be Happy!
Buzz
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