The U.S. vs John Lennon Reviews

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

Rambling Documentary

This brings together a hotch potch of interviews and tv clips. It lacks insight and reveals nothing new.

Not even worth the time for Lennon completists. Avoid unless you suffer from insomnia.

More a '70's doc than a Lennon doc

Quite an interesting documentary, but more about the anti-war movement and politics than Lennon. The footage etc of Lennon lasts maybe 30 mins of a 95 minute film.

A good historical piece, but not a biography of the man.

PA

the us vs john lennon

this film is not a hard days night or help ! the film is a must see for any lennon or beatles fan it has loads of footage of lennon ive never seen before. its all fascinating stuff. although his methods were naive alll he really wanted was peace

[Highly rated reviewer]

Good But Could Be Better

I thought this was an interesting film but it could have been so much better. It moved at a fairly slow pace and jumped from one year to another and back again. Fascinating subject though.

Thought provoking but overlong

I was intrigued that this film had been released on such wide release in the cinemas, and disappointed that I missed it. However having watched it on DVD I think its documentary style content is more suitable for the small screen - especially given that it only really deals with a small (albeit significant) portion of Lennon's life. The period in question, dealing with his time in New York (somewhere close to his heart and likened to his Liverpool birthplace), details his problems with acquiring a green card to stay in the US in the face of what transpired was a very corrupt administration headed by Nixon. Lennon's progressive pacifism and relationships with a number of high profile activists saw him singled out as a threat to the state - or more pertinently, the success of the Nixon administration - and placed under FBI surveillance. The famous bag-ins and honeymoon with Yoko are presented within a political framework which is interesting when juxtaposed with commentary and reflections from those working for the FBI. However, I think the film was slightly too long given the time period it covered, and found myself more interested in the conceptual art employed by Lennon and Ono to make their feelings known than the machinations of the FBI. This may be attributed to the fact that as someone who is fairly well versed in Beatles history, I felt that devoting an entire film to this subject was perhaps too much: much time has already been given to this period of Lennon's life. But for those less familiar with Beatles mythology, there is some interesting comment and relefection from those within and without the government administration of the time, illustrating the fear that politicians of the day reacted to Lennon with. The protests against Vietnam mirror those against Iraq today, but it is hard to conceive of someone suffering the same problems Lennon suffered with today - a testament to his intellectual force and talents, and a chilling reminder of the insidious politics of Nixon. Whether a singer can indeed change the world is equivocally concluded here, but what is certain is that Lennon was not scared to make his point and inspire others to do the same.

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!!!!!!!!!!

[Highly rated reviewer]

So tired

I'm a Lennon Fan. I'm a bit of a Beatles nut. I'm not one of these 'study every take on the Anthology' types you understand. Just, really digging their music.

I've enjoyed many a Beatles DVD. All the movies, The Abbey Road Doc, Yep even the anthology stuff and Backbeat was a cracking film. This however I found a bit thin. Lacking enough new stuff any real insight of enough weight to carry a whole movie.

It might have made a good half hour, or a decent pub conversation, but a movies worth of material there just ain't

a bit slow

a lot of the film was not about his life and the title is somewhat misleading

It improved from the middle onwards when it became more interesting

Tedium

Interesting as a slice of history perhaps and giving a warning of America [do they really take themselves that seriously] but overlong..