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The U.S. vs John Lennon
2006
Before Iraq, before the Bush Administration, before the Dixie Chicks, Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam... there was John Lennon, the celebrated musical artist who used his fame and fortune to protest against the Vietnam War and advocate for world peace. Filmmakers David Leaf and John Scheinfeld trace Lennon's metamorphosis from .. Read more
| Starring | John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Walter Cronkite, Mario Cuomo |
|---|---|
| Director | John Scheinfeld, David Leaf |
| Genres | Documentary |
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The U.S. vs John Lennon
Before Iraq, before the Bush Administration, before the Dixie Chicks, Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam... there was John Lennon, the celebrated musical artist who used his fame and fortune to protest against the Vietnam War and advocate for world peace. Filmmakers David Leaf and John Scheinfeld trace Lennon's metamorphosis from lovable "Moptop" to anti-war activist to inspirational icon as they reveal the true story of how and why the U.S. government tried to silence him.
| Starring | John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Walter Cronkite, Mario Cuomo |
|---|---|
| Director | John Scheinfeld, David Leaf |
| Studio | LIONSGATE UK |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 36 mins Watch now: 1 hr 40 mins |
| Certificate | DVD: , Watch Online: |
| Genres | Documentary |
| Language | DVD: English Watch Online: English |
| Released | DVD: 02 Apr 2007 Watch now: 13 Oct 2009 Production year: 2006 |
| Watch now | £2.49 |
| Format | DVD |
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Most helpful member's review
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40 out of 49 people found this review helpful
Truely makes you wonder..
first and foremost, i'd like to say that this is only for true Lennon fans, do not expect a rosie film about the loveable Beatle who is always coming out with witty comments. This film shows the activist, the true Lennon at his most controversial. I am currently reading a book about Lennon and his battle with immigration etc in the 70's and it does make you wonder what really happens in the U.S. a & makes you wonder how far from the truth films like 'Enemy of the state' really are with such things as heavy surveilence and phone tapps...this is a very enjoyable documentary and any people who are truly interested in the real Lennon will love it
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Customer Review
In retrospect, it seems absurd that the United States government felt so threatened by the presence of John Lennon that they tried to have him deported. But that's what happened, as chronicled in directors David Leaf and John Scheinfeld's The U.S. vs. John Lennon.
The film starts slowly, with a familiar look at the former Beatle's troubled childhood, his so called 'outspokenness' as one of the Fabs ("We're more popular now than Jesus Christ," etc.), and his eventual hookup with Yoko Ono, paralleled by the growth of political protest in '60s America, particularly against the Vietnam War.
John and Yoko went on to stage their own peaceful demonstrations, like the Canadian "bed-ins," but these were largely harmless media stunts. It was when the Lennons moved to New York in the early '70s and took a more active role in the anti-war movement, making friends with again so called 'radicals' like Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and Black Panther Party founder Bobby Seale, that the government got interested--and paranoid--and men like President Richard Nixon, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, and right-wing Sen. Strom Thurmond began actively looking for ways to silence him (it was Thurmond who came up with the deportation idea). That's also when the film picks up.
An array of talking heads weighs in, ranging from Yoko and others sympathetic to Lennon's plight (Walter Cronkite, Sen. George McGovern, even Geraldo Rivera) to those on the other side, including Watergate conspirator G. Gordon Liddy. Though The U.S. vs. John Lennon is hardly impartial, it's safe to say that although Lennon was more an idealist than an activist, he was an influential celebrity whom Nixon viewed as a potential nuisance in an election year. And, even once Nixon had won the '72 presidential race, the Immigration and Naturalization Service refused to drop its case. Why? "Anybody who sings about love, and harmony, and life, is dangerous to somebody who sings about death," says author Gore Vidal. "Lennon... was a born enemy of the U.S. He was everything they hated." Lennon's solo recordings provide the soundtrack. The DVD also contains considerable additional documentary footage.
Lennon's music and lyrics should be compulsory listening for all!!!!!!!!!! -
News and features
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The US vs John Lennon
- 04 Dec 2006
Richard Nixon was no Lennonist. And Lennon wasn't crazy about Tricky Dick either. In the politicized climate of the early 70s he went much further into the radical fringe than his Beatles brethren, hanging out with the Black Panthers and key figures in the anti-war movement, like 'yippie' Jerry Rubin. These associations did not go unnoticed. The FBI opened a file on him, and soon John began to notice strange clicking sounds whenever he picked up the phone. Put together in the by-the-numbers VH- Read more
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