|
starring: John Lennon, Pat Nixon, Chris Charlesworth, Everett Dirksen, Gloria Emersondirected by: David Leaf, John Scheinfeld
List Price: $14.98Amazon.com's Price: $10.49 You Save: $4.49 (30%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Lions Gate
EAN: 0031398209119
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Label: Lions Gate
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Lions Gate
Region Code: 1
Release Date: February 13, 2007
Running Time: 96 minutes
Sales Rank: 7124
Studio: Lions Gate
Theatrical Release Date: 2006
Related Items:
Editorial Review:
Description:
The compelling and provocative story of John Lennon's evolution from beloved Beatle to outspoken artist and activist to iconic inspiration for peace, and how, in the midst of one of the most tumultuous times in American history, Lennon stood his ground, refused to be silenced and courageously won his battle with the U.S. Government.
Amazon.com:
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 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 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 Ono 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.' For music fans, Lennon's solo recordings provide the soundtrack. The DVD also contains considerable additional documentary footage. --Sam Graham
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Great Doc.
So the thing that I enjoyed about this documentary is that it does not really rehash all of the stuff we already knew very well.
The movie pretty much starts at the break-up of the Beatles. It covers Richard Nixon, J. Edgar Hoover, and most of the seventies, and concludes with the assassination of John.
There is a brilliant interview with Gore Vidal who rips into past presidents very well.
I love it. This is a must have for John Lennon fans.
Rating: - In Defense of John Lennon Here
In a recent DVD review of A Tribute to John Lennon, a film that chronicled a concert held in New York City in early October, 2001 in the immediate aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks, I started the review with the following paragraph:
"I am here to rain on this tribute to the work of John Lennon in New York City in early October 2001 on two counts- musically and politically. As to the music. I make no bones about the fact that, as a product of the Generation of '68, I grew ... Read More
Rating: - Lessons Learned But Ignored.
I strongly recommend this documentary for insight into the twisted, paranoid ways
our government keeps tabs on anyone considered to be a threat to their grip on power.
Every member of Congress should have been required to view this DVD before
they voted on the new FISA legislation.
Rating:  - A generally good and endearing Love-Fest posing as a serious documentary
I saw this documentary when it initially came out. It works partially as an expose on the history of Mr. Lennon's legal entanglements, but it becomes too much of everyone's commentary on the times and his music. If it's to focus on his legal issues as the title conveys, then let it focus on that. It does add the gratuitous Beatles video and some pretty rare early '70s concert footage documenting John's anti-war stance and the Attica-era music, but there's already numerous documentaries that this ... Read More
Rating: - wow
i had no idea. Nixon had nothing better to do than to hunt a musician?
|
