{"id":30754,"date":"2019-03-14T19:39:37","date_gmt":"2019-03-14T23:39:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=30754"},"modified":"2020-05-26T22:51:54","modified_gmt":"2020-05-27T02:51:54","slug":"i-wanna-hold-your-hand-1978-criterion-collection-blu-ray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2019\/03\/14\/i-wanna-hold-your-hand-1978-criterion-collection-blu-ray\/","title":{"rendered":"I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978): Criterion Collection [Blu-Ray]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Robert Zemeckis\u2019 \u201cI Wanna Hold Your Hand\u201d is a charming, if flawed tribute to the Beatles and the rampant Beatles Mania that ran throughout much of the late sixties. I\u2019m sure Zemeckis bear witness to a lot of the \u201cBeatlemania,\u201d and his film seems to come from a place of experience. For folks that loved movies like \u201cAmerican Graffiti\u201d or \u201cDazed and Confused,\u201d Zemeckis\u2019 1978 comedy is one of those movie set over the course of a night that centers on a group of teenagers that are so devoted to the Beatles, they risk just about everything to see them on the Ed Sullivan Show.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s 1964, the height of Beatle-mania, and four Jersey girls\/Beatles fanatics have concocted a plan to go on the road and catch the Beatles on their first live performance at \u201cThe Ed Sullivan Show.\u201d Along the way they experience their own individual obstacles, and come to age all the while embracing their love for The Fab Four. Pam (Nancy Allen) who is engaged is re-considering marriage to a domineering man. Grace (Theresa Saldana) is an aspiring photographer, hoping to take a picture of the group to help her career, Rosie (Wendie Jo Sperber) is stuck with a bellboy (Eddie Deezen) who is also a rival Beatles fanatic, while Janis (Susan Kendall Newman) insists on protesting the group\u2019s popularity.<\/p>\n

If the premise sounds familiar, then yes, the movie was very much ripped off in \u201cDetroit Rock City,\u201d but Robert Zemeckis\u2019 film is much more polished. Not to mention it channels a lot of the aesthetic of the sixties that we would come to adore in \u201cBack to the Future\u201d only years later. Zemeckis\u2019 film isn\u2019t a complete slam dunk, but it\u2019s a simple charming movie about the Beatles, and how they manage to help a small group of teen girls come to their own personal realizations. To help encourage the sense of fanaticism, Zemeckis uses mainly just Beatles music for the soundtrack of the film, conveying a lot of the rabid enthusiasm that fuels our main characters. Zemeckis compiles a strong cast of eighties regulars, and for all of its flaws with its uneven tone, shrill protagonists, and the immensely obnoxious Eddie Deezen, it\u2019s a cute rock and roll cinematic memento.<\/p>\n

The New Criterion Collection release includes the original vintage trailer for the film<\/strong>, and multiple radio spots<\/strong>. \u201cAllen and McClure\u201d<\/strong> is a twenty three minute brand new program produced for Criterion in 2018 with actors Nancy Allen and Marc McClure, both of whom recall working with Robert Zemeckis on the film, their interactions with the cast, the real Beatlemania and its impact on America and American culture. \u201cSpielberg, Zemeckis, and Gale\u201d<\/strong> is a forty two minute segment with executive producer Steven Spielberg, director\/cowriter Bob Zemeckis, and cowriter Bob Gale, all of whom explain the original idea for the film and how it came to exist, how it was developed, the production process, and the themes.<\/p>\n

There is a pair of short films by Robert Zemeckis<\/strong> who made them while a student at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Art. There\u2019s the eight minute \u201cThe Lift,\u201d and the fifteen minute \u201cA Field of Honor.\u201d There\u2019s a vintage 2004 audio commentary<\/strong> with director and cowriter Bob Zemeckis and cowriter Bob Gale, both of whom discuss in exhaustive detail the production history, the key locations where the film was shot, the problems with unions, music, scores, and other Beatles references, along with the finale. The physical supplement is an illustrated leaflet with an essay from TV writer Scott Tobias, along with technical credits for the film.<\/p>\n