The only movie Tom Hanks would ever want to exist in: “The most joyful movie I’ve ever seen”
Becoming a global superstar takes a certain amount of mettle. No matter how winning the smile or how seemingly shy they may be, every artist who has been blessed with an established career in Hollywood has a whole heap of grit and determination. Of course, if you can do all that and still be considered a sweetheart of public opinion, then you’re on to a winner. There’s a certain degree of charm that radiates from Tom Hanks in every one of his performances, and it’s a large reason why he is so beloved.
Although Hanks has found himself as a villain or an unsavoury character in a handful of projects, his enduring talent comes in how grounded he is as a human being, becoming one of the most lovable actors in Hollywood still working at the top of his game. Although Hanks has created different worlds with his craft, there is still one project that he wishes he could have been a part of.
Throughout his work with giants like Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg, though, Hanks has delivered a clinic in escapism on film. Whether working behind the vocal booth as Woody in Toy Story or the lovable Forrest Gump looking to tell the audience his life story, Hanks tends to make people forget about their lives for a few hours whenever he’s on-screen and live in a space where they feel comfortable.
Long before Hanks was working magic on screen, The Beatles were doing the same thing with music. In the wake of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, many Americans saw the Fab Four’s appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show as a turning point for the country. Although President Kennedy wasn’t around anymore, the lovable moptops singing innocent love songs became vicarious friends of people through their television sets.
Since The Beatles had idolised Elvis Presley from an early age, it was only natural for them to make their foray into movies. Working with Richard Lester, A Hard Day’s Night was the group’s first feature film, featuring the genesis of what would become music videos decades later with the rise of MTV.
Although Hanks had studied the different methods of acting before, he still thinks that A Hard Day’s Night has an energy unlike anything else, saying: “If I could live inside the world of any film, it is A Hard Day’s Night by the Beatles. It was the friendship that was exemplified by these four guys who just seemed to be having the greatest time of their lives doing what they naturally love to do. It remains the most joyful movie I’ve ever seen”.
The Beatles are one of the most beloved bands of all time. Across a comparatively short span of time, the quartet would dominate the charts, push forward creativity and become perhaps the most influential individuals in pop music history. But it is their movies that seem to have had a lasting impact on Hanks..
Looking back at the footage, it’s easy to see where Hanks is coming from. Before the heaviness of Beatlemania had begun to creep in, seeing the chemistry between John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr was infectious from the moment they came onscreen. Written to accentuate the members’ personalities, every Beatle feels like an enhanced version of themselves, playing around like schoolchildren throughout the sequence of ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’.
Then again, it didn’t take long for the weariness of their lives to start creeping in. Realising that the massive adulation from fans wouldn’t stop, the band would only make one more feature film with Help! before deciding to leave the road for good after releasing the album Revolver.
While the band may not have been going from one city to another, they lived to bring their audience joy in the studio, crafting incredible music in the back half of their career on albums like Sgt Pepper and Abbey Road. The days of running around in a field may have been a thing of the past, but the impact of that first film is still bringing joy to millions of fans across the world.
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