Customer Reviews

I Wanna Hold Your Hand [VHS]

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This unknown gem of a movie from director Robert Zemeckis ("Forrest Gump; Back To The Future; Castaway; Roger Rabbit" to name some) and Executive Produced by Steven Spielberg (now I know I don't have to supply THAT resume) is one of the best films ever made, and surprisingly, many moviegoers have not heard of, nor seen this film. It truly transports you back to 1964, during the height of the Beatlemania craze, when Ed Sullivan first introduced the Beatles on TV to the USA.

I wasn't born until after that time, but I love Beatles music, and this movie creatively uses not only their actual songs, but shots from the real, initial Ed Sullivan broadcast to comprise the film. Their songs and shots wrap around one of the most clever script plotlines ever devised, of a group of teenagers trying to see the Beatles in-person themselves. You have to see it to understand it.

I laughed out loud, and although some of the humor in the movie is way over the top, it's all hysterical, and makes you wish that you could go back in time and become a Beatles fanatic in NYC during that era. The cast is dead on...and it's a shame that many of the actors in this film never became household names. They're excellent and make the material believable.

If you're not a fan of the Beatles, or too young to understand this moment in history, it won't matter. "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" is really an homage to anyone and everyone who has had a wild crush on a musical group, or rock star, and has had the ultimate fantasy of meeting that artist in person.

The zany shenanigans in this plot are ingenius. Ultimately, this movie proves why Robert Zemeckis went on to such a major career. A MUST SEE!

ABOUT THE DVD: Great commentary, although filled with some pauses - the picture quality is decent despite the fact that this does not look like an impeccable transfer. (there is some grain that is inherent from probably the original film stock - (hey, it's from the 1970's) It's enhanced for 16 x 9 TV sets, so it looked good on my widescreen HDTV. The DVD also includes some black and white production pics.

Ultimately, catch this not on cable, but on DVD, because it looks much better, and it's not cut up by commercial breaks. (this is a hard movie to rent and find through somewhere like Blockbuster)

Really, I'm serious!

I watched this film with two friends: one who loves the Beatles, one who can't stand the Beatles, and all three of us had a complete *blast*.

Why? Because it's a riotous two of hours of zany, crazy, hillarious fun. The chemistry between the kids in the film is fantastic, and it covers all angles of the events of that insane February in 1964: from the over the edge obsessed 'Rosie' to the death-to-the-beatles 'Smirko'. The film even spends time focusing on the issue of kids vs. parents in putting in a sub plot about an enraged father stopping at nothing to get his son to cut his hair like a 'marine' and not a 'girl.'

And *that* is why the film is a gem, because in two hours it beautifully capsules an entire chapter in western pop culture when everything seemed to be turned completely on its head. Even if you can't stand the beatles you will surely have a great time with the movie if for no other reason that it's a terrific and surprisingly well made romp back in time!

(And it might even convert the non-believer... my beatle hater friend softened considerably after watching the climactic 'Ed Sullivan show' segment of the film... she said it was, to quote, 'awesome.')

Robert Zemeckis' I Wanna Hold Your Hand captures the time that was Beatlemania, February 1964. Who better to capture a time than Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg as executive producer helping out to bring out the authenticity to the period? The film was made 14 years after the event, and at the same time, when all the flurry of an immanent Beatles reunion was circulating around and Beatlemania was hitting Broadway. This film was a reflection of the baby boomers possibly turning 30 and their commemoration or celebration of their wild and crazy times where they lived for hysteria, that is, before the drug-hallucinations and San Francisco's Haight Ashbury would converge on the happy-go-lucky Hullabaloo and Shindig era, or in this case, Sunday night with Ed Sullivan and his circus of stars.

Nonetheless, I Wanna Hold Your Hand is not about the period of innocence, but rather the hype and the mass distribution of Beatles paraphenalia that occurred during the time - Beatles bedsheets, sneakers, or baby powder. The film had several hilarious moments as captured by the six New Jersey teenagers who hitch a ride to New York with one teenager taking his father's hearst as his only means of transportation in order to catch a glimpse of their Liverpudlian idols. For the female character played by Nancy Allen, she was the fortunate one - she was able to get into the four lads' hotel room. Unfortunately, it eventually put her in hot water as well with her fiancé where she broke off the engagement, but received two tickets to the Sullivan show. Though this is the purely a fantasy, the teenagers succeed at the end of the film.

The movie is definitely a recreation of the period with the early Beatle tunes blaring during the opening credits of the film, the screaming girls, and the general atmosphere with the cars and the clothes as well as the typical parent frowning down on these "long-haired" boys from England. I Wanna Hold Your Hand could have been any teenager's story, but with the magic of movies, these five teenagers had their dreams come true for one day and one night.

Probably the only film I ever enjoyed Nancy Allen in....
Seriously, the movie manages to PERFECTLY capture the still semi-sedate early 60s with the changes Beatlemania brought about. If you were fortunate enough to have lived through that period, this will hit the mark dead-on. If you weren't, you may learn something about the older folks. Worth seeing several times

I Wanna Hold Your Hand is a very entertaining movie that I would recommend to people of all generations. It is comical and will especially please Beatles fans. I could watch the movie over and over and not get bored. The plot is clever and well-written and will keep you wanting to watch the movie.

This one of the funniest movies ever made and far and away the funniest film Zemeckis ever made. Almost all the humor is slapstcik but what inspired slapstick it is. There's care put into every scene which you almost never see in B grade movies and is viritually never found in over the top slapstick comedies (with the exception of the brilliant 'Airplane'). Some may read this and think that I'm being too generous with this reveiw and maybe I am. Granted I Wanna Hold Your Hand isn't The Godfather or anything like that. But I challenge anyone to watch this movie and not laugh their head off.

I just turned 17. Saw this on We a few months ago. I'd heard about it and I thought it would be a stupid Beatles exploitation film. But since I'm a major Beatles fan ( I have all the original albums, the Past Masters, and A1 and A2 ), I decided to watch it.
Boy was I wrong! It's obvious the people behind this film had really done their homework. They got every fact right! I don't think that I could have been as clever (or in some cases, brave or stupid! ) getting into the Beatles hotel and getting tickets to the Ed Sullivan show as Pam and company were. Plus it's hilarius! My only complaint, since this was made after the Beatles broke up, of course they're not actually in the film, so for that reason I can only give it 4 stars. But there's just as much energy in this film as there was in A Hard Day's Night. I love that film and I love this one.

It was the Fall of 1964 and America was still mourning the death of President John F. Kennedy. Something had to help get the nation out of it's doldrums. That help came in the form of four moptop lads, called the Beatles, hailing from Liverpool, England! They started a musical/cultural/youth revolution, when they arrived in America and gave a historic, widely seen, live performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show". This is the backdrop of Bob Zemeckis' nostalgic, hilarious, slapstick comedy "I Wanna Hold Your Hand". The film chronicles the adventures of six New Jersey. teenagers, who travel to NYC hoping to either meet their 'Fab Four' heroes or at least get into the show. The group includes Grace (Theresa Seldano) an aspiring photographer who wants to get exclusive Beatle photographs, Rosie (Wedy Jo Sperber), who believes Paul McCartney is her future "soul mate", Janis (Susan Kendall) a beatnik/folkie, who sees the Beatles as a form of youth rebellion, and finally, Pam (Nancy Allen), who's on a last fling before getting married. The girls, along with two guys, split up and go on various wacky adventures trying to penetrate the Beatles' fortress-like, NYC, luxury hotel and eventually meet up at the " Really Bigggg Shewwww!!!" Director/Writer Bob Zemeckis (along with co-writer, Bob Gale) has done a wonderful job of recreating the electricity and manic atmosphere, that surrounded the Beatles' first visit to America. What's more he does this without ever really showing us the Beatles! Instead the smart and funny script focuses on the kids and the mania they are enveloped in. The pacing of the story is fast and furious. Much of the comedy is highlighted with slapstick stunts (suit cases go flying, cars crash and even gumball machines get broken), which evolve from the various plans to get close to John, Paul, George and Ringo. The cast does a fine job with their roles. Actress, Wendy Jo Sperber is hilarious as the portly teenie bopper, who is forever throwing a fist full of dimes at various telephone booths trying to win concert tickets from radio contests. I also liked comic actor, Eddy Deezen who plays a nutty, Jerry Lewis-like, Beatlemaniac, who helps the girls out. Mention should also be made of the wonderful costumes and sets, which give an air of authenticity to recreating the era. This is also helped by the film's great soundtrack, which is wall to wall, original Beatles' music. Extras include an excellent commentary track by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale, which really highlights the technical aspects of making the film. This is a very funny movie, which should satisfy both Beatle fans and fans of good slapstick comedy!

Take a quick trip back to 1964. The place is New York City and the setting is the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. That halcyon time of innocence and gaity, screaming mobs of female (and male) fans and that paragon of early TV, Ed Sullivan, who brought entertainment into the lives of ordinary Americans every Sunday Night. Six teenagers from New Jersey descend upon New York City to meet their idols, the Beatles. It is a bit wild, very funny and sometimes poignant.

...the Beatles hit the US Shores!

I love this movie. It is pure fun and a delightful fan fiction about how several resourceful kids from Maplewood, N.J. manage to see the Beatles two days after they arrived in America, the day of their first appearance on Ed Sullivan which was February 9, 1964!

This is an excellent, brilliantly executed masterpiece. The kids borrow a limousine and are somehow able to sneak past the police barricade at the hotel where the Beatles are staying. Once they get the car parked, they split up and embark on ways to meet their idols. Susan Newman, daughter of Paul Newman does an exemplary job of playing a Beatle-buster until she meets a charming 11-year-old boy with a Beatle haircut who provides her with a change of heart.

The kids' madcap methods to secure passes to see their idols on Ed Sullivan on February 9, 1964 range from posing as a prostitute to winning the tickets on a radio quiz show. Beatle fans will laugh at how ludicrously easy the questions are ("who's the youngest Beatle? GEORGE! Which Beatle is left handed? PAUL!")

One lucky young girl, who is engaged to be married somehow sneaks into the Beatles' suite and hides under a bed. Prior to hiding, she steals cutlery and other hotel room objects the boys have touched. Seeing her erotic rapture upon securing these items is almost humorous.

The Beatles themselves appear in "ghost" or shadow form. Images and pictures of them on album covers can be found; the man who plays Susan Newman's father owns a record store and he sports a Beatle wig and plays Beatle records to drum up business. In the hotel suite scene, the "Beatles" enter the room, but you never see them from the knees up. Convincing accents and light banter is exchanged; the fan hiding under the bed faints in an erotic swoon when George steps out of his "trousers" so he can have them pressed and cleaned.

The characters are fun, believable and provide some Beatle history for the Beatle-blighted era otherwise known as the Late Nineteen Seventies, when it took all but an Act of Congress (or like the Paul McCartney song of that era, "With A Little Luck") even to see a Beatle on television, let alone be treated to a Beatle themed movie! The Ed Sullivan sequence was seemlessly and flawlessly done. The actor who played Ed Sullivan was quite believable and so was the set, which looked like the now famous Beatle venue.

A must have for Beatle fans and their counterparts alike. The ending is hilarious and will leave you singing Beatle songs for a long time to come! Get ready to do some singing, dancing and having some fun!