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While The Beatles are best known for their music, the band also appeared in two movies: A Hard Day’s Night and Help!. Both films are musical comedies that feature the fab four on an adventure bolstered by an excellent soundtrack. Both movies were directed by Richard Lester, who enjoyed a successful film career after directing The Beatles.
Richard Lester directed the first two Beatles movies
The Beatles starred in their first movie, A Hard Day’s Night, in 1964. The Beatles play themselves in the film, and it centers around the band trying to maneuver around a bunch of hijinks before an important TV performance. The entire film had to be produced in around 16 weeks, with a low budget of £200,000. Fortunately, the film succeeded with critics and audiences, grossing $11 million at the box office.
Shortly after the first success, Lester and The Beatles began filming their second movie, Help!. The second film had a much larger budget and more complicated plot that saw The Beatles running from a dangerous cult looking for Ringo Starr. Help! didn’t receive the same praise as A Hard Day’s Night, but it did gross $12.1 million at the box office. However, The Beatles largely did not enjoy filming Help!, leading the band never to make another movie again.
Lester directed two movies in the DC universe
After directing The Beatles’ movies, Lester had several successful films. He directed a screen adaptation of the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, along with several The Three Musketeer movies. Many will know him from the two Superman movies he was a part of.
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In 1978, Superman, directed by Richard Donner, was released to the world and became a global success. However, the film was not complete upon its release, and Donner had to temporarily leave Superman II in order to finish the first. Donner had already directed 75% of the sequel, but the studio brought in Lester to finish the rest, unbeknownst to Donner.
Much of Donner’s footage was reshot or jettisoned by Lester, making the theatrical cut very different from Donner’s vision. In 2006, Donner’s footage was re-edited to create Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. Superman II was another hit, so the studio decided to keep Lester for Superman III. While Christopher Reeve returned once more, it wasn’t a hit with critics, but it did perform well at the box office.
Lester knows his legacy will be connected to The Beatles
While Richard Lester did direct several Superman movies and The Three Musketeer movies, he knows his legacy as a director will be attached to The Beatles. In the book, The Beatles A Hard Day’s Night: A Private Archive, the director said he’s “grateful” that he will be remembered for his work with The Beatles.
“I knew very quickly, soon after we started filming A Hard Day’s Night, that one day — when I fell under a bus and died — the newspaper headline would be BEATLES DIRECTOR IN DEATH DRAMA,” Lester said. “And still, more than fifty years later, I’m sure that’s the way it’s going to be. I’ve had a lovely life in the cinema and a career that has thrilled me — and sometimes entertained audiences — but I know it’s because of The Beatles that I’ll be remembered. And I’m very grateful for that.”
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