Underplayed Gems

I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978)

I Wanna Hold Your Hand poster
Directed by
Robert Zemeckis
Genre
teen film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 44m
Rated
PG
Rating
6.3 of 10 from 119 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More films like thisWatch the trailer

or watch the trailer on YouTube

How it feels

A group of teenagers spend a day in New York City trying to get into the Ed Sullivan Show to see the Beatles. The story follows their separate attempts and shows the excitement and craziness of Beatlemania.

energeticchaoticnostalgicfast-pacedcomedichopefulexuberantfrenzied

What happens

I Wanna Hold Your Hand is a 1978 American historical comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and starring Nancy Allen, Bobby Di Cicco, Marc McClure, Susan Kendall Newman, Theresa Saldana, Eddie Deezen, and Wendie Jo Sperber. Its storyline follows a disparate group of teenagers over the course of one day in New York City as they attempt to gain entry to the Beatles' first live appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964. The film also examines the mass hysteria surrounding the event, dubbed "Beatlemania" for the fervency of the group's fans. The film's title is derived from the Beatles' 1963 song of the same name. The film marked Zemeckis's feature film directorial debut, and was also the first film to be executive-produced by Steven Spielberg. In order to get Universal to finance the low budget film, Spielberg had to promise studio executives that if Zemeckis appeared to be doing a poor job as first time director, he would step in and direct the film himself. I Wanna Hold Your Hand was released by Universal Pictures on April 21, 1978. Despite positive previews and critical response, the film was not a financial success and was considered a box office flop, unable to recoup its rather modest $2.8 million budget. The film is now regarded as a cult classic. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.