The U.S. vs. John Lennon
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Movie Reviews of The U.S. vs. John Lennon
Movie Review: "Well, we all shine on" - Lennon - 30 yrs on.
Summary: 5 Stars
I checked out this fine documentary from the library yesterday to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of Lennon's murder, and found it better than I though - a passionate and revealing look into the public/private/performance life of John and Yoko, as well as a glimpse under the curtain to the ugly ankles of the Great Wizards of the 60's &70's (Johnson and Nixon).
Beginning with Lennon's troubled youth (basically orphaned) and through the formative "mop-head" Beatles phase to the turning point of meeting Yoko and experiencing the breakdown of American order first hand (the unpopular Vietnam war, political assassinations and protests, and the violence of the '68 Democratic Convention), and befriending of radical activists (Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale), we see Lennon, always the rebel, mature into a counter-culture hero, realizing his global media power and using it to do good (promote peace, fight war and injustice), and then being cut down at just 40 years of age...
This documentary makes little attempt to be balanced and reasonable or show the darker side of the 60's idealism, it mostly presents Lennon from his friend's and widow's point of view. So we see a who's who of 60's radicals (who mostly have aged well, looking happy and healthy), from an era often associated with a muddled mix of change for change's sake idealism, anti-authoritarian rebelliousness, righteous pacifism and drug abuse..., mixed with clips of the playful (if also a bit self-indulgent) Lennon/Ono performance art of the time. For perspective there are some sympathetic and wise words from Sen. George McGovern, newsmen Walter Cronkite and Geraldo Rivera and Vietnam War veteran/activist Ron Kovic. There are also a few historic clips of Presidents Johnson and Nixon and Sen. Strom Thurman and J Edgar Hoover and some recent interviews with ex FBI and administration insiders. But they mostly just reinforce how dangerous, deluded and silly the establishment view was as well.
The result of all this conflict was that Lennon quickly became a threat (perceived if not actual) to Nixon's reelection, and in the spring of 1972, Lennon and Ono's visa were revoked and they were given 60 days to leave the country. This had the effect of making the pair less radical, more circumspect and realistic (paranoid yet probably rightly concerned for their lives), but they didn't just roll over and give in. In fact after three and a half years they won! And on a sweetly symbolic note, John and Yoko got the news of their victory on Oct 9th, 1975 his 35th birthday and the birthday of their son Sean!
John and Yoko are presented idealistically as the perfect artistic/creative/visionary couple. They also are presented as being a bit naive and used/manipulated by the more experienced political radicals of the time. But none of this detracts from the charm of Lennon (and his muse). From the vantage point of today it is easy to dismiss the whole 60's movement as naive and manipulated (and ultimately assimilated and commercialized by mainstream America), but within the confusion was real change and a real struggle of visions (Love vs. Fear, Peace vs. War), that continues to this day...
I remember hearing the news of Lennon's assassination one gray winter's day. The college radio station DJ made the announcement and then proceeded to play the second side of Robert Ashley's surrealistic spoken word's of Robert Ashley: Private Parts (the record) (from The Backyard; "...Giordano Bruno, I think they burned him, he was too positive; fight fire with fire...."). As I sat alone soothed and transported by Ashley's hypnotic voice, the news gently sunk in and I realized the whole world was grieving. Today, we remember that we still are.
RIP - rest in peace; rise in peace; remain in peace - John, and Everyone.
Movie Review: Instant Karma Revisited
Summary: 5 Stars
You wouldn't think that a simple Brit who was an integral part of the biggest rock band in history, and who promoted peace, love, and understanding throughout the world would be a threat to the national security of the United States. But that was indeed what John Lennon was, at least in the paranoid minds of the Nixon Administration. And it is that very thing explored in David Leaf and John Scheinfeld's superlative documentary THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON, which details how the ex-Beatle and his wife Yoko Ono had to struggle just to remain in this great nation of ours.
Lennon's effect on the world, of course, has been documented ad infinitum in books, magazines, videos, newspapers, and the like. But the level of paranoia directed against him is really explored in great depth by those who were there, and those who knew him face-to-face. The film shows us how growing up without a father or, for all intents and purposes, a mother tended to make him question authority to the nth degree; and his first public brush with authority in a big way was when, in 1966, he had to explain what he meant when he had said that the Beatles had become more popular than Jesus Christ (which, when put into context, was more than a little true). The revolutions and peace demonstrations that occured during the late 1960s and 1970s as a result of the Vietnam War were something that Lennon just couldn't ignore and he waded right into it with all the force of his convictions and, unquestionably, his celebrity. But at some point, particularly when the 26th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified to give people the right to vote beginning at age eighteen, Lennon was to find himself in the crosshairs of the Nixon cabal. For several years, the INS tried to kick Lennon and Ono out of America, ostensibly due to Lennon having been busted in London in October 1968 for having one-tenth of an ounce of grass on his person. The real reason, of course, was his anti-war stance--a fact made blatant here by the appearance of Watergate conspirator Gordon Liddy. Lennon became every bit as paranoid as the people trying to oust him, perhaps even so far as to believe they were out to kill him. They weren't able to, of course; but they made life very difficult for Lennon and Ono.
Featuring interviews with people like Yoko Ono herself, Carl Bernstein, Ron Kovic, Walter Cronkite, ex-Black Panther Bobby Seale, activist Angela Davis, former South Dakota senator George McGovern, and others, THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON is not only about Lennon himself, but the way this country was polarized along ideological and generational lines because of the Vietnam War. If this film is ideologically slanted towards sympathy for Lennon, as undoubtedly a lot of people with far-right-wing political persuasions would say, then so be it. Lennon believed in the country that had inspired him to seek the career in music that he had, and the ideals it stood for. But he did not agree with the powers-that-be of that era, and for that, he was hounded by those powers. The fact that he and Ono came out victorious in their struggle is a testament to this nation's belief in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON makes for a superlative double bill with the Dixie Chicks documentary SHUT UP AND SING in how big-name people can open up the eyes of a nation to injustices committed by their government in their name. Lennon was that kind of a celebrity, one who cared a great deal about America and the human race, and this film brilliantly celebrates the struggle he endured here.
Movie Review: Bridging the Generations
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me tell you about a movie that is sure to bridge the generations and bring the entire family together. For baby-boomers, it is history, for senior citizens it's a time period buried between their own youth and the more current passage of time, and for the new generation, it's an eye-opener.
A short time ago I played the DVD titled "The US vs. John Lennon" for my family. While I was very young during the 60's and early 70's, this time period comprised my childhood and early adulthood, therefore, it made its impact. That, plus the minor fact that I liked the Beatles, was why this film was so appealing.
My brother, being a little bit older and much brighter during the time period was able to recall all the historical aspects of the film, while my sister-in-law was enthralled, and especially delighted to see Yoko Ono. It brought a smile, equivalent to the grin of a Cheshire cat to her face. So when the political and cultural aspects of the film became too serious for her, she was able to turn to Yoko with fondness and humor.
Now my father kept making comments about how John Lennon wasn't a citizen (which at the time he wasn't). He kept making remarks such as: They could have deported him at any time; He should stick to music and not politics; We could have ended Vietnam in two weeks; Why was he wearing an Army jacket when he wasn't in the war; He (John) could have went back to his own country if he didn't like it here, etc., etc., etc., all throughout the film. Then when it was over, he kept telling me that that was a good movie.
My aunt was equally thrilled because besides Nixon, someone made a crack about Bush, which being a diehard Democrat, she appreciated. Mom didn't say too much, but at one point she looked at me and simply asked, "You paid for this?" But she was laughing, so she had some appreciation for this documentary as well. Perhaps it reminded her of when the family used to watch TV sitcoms and controversial news clippings together in the 60's.
As for the new generation, my niece was not present, as she is an actress working on tunes of her own. But she would have appreciated it from an artistic viewpoint. It was her idea to see Lennon on Broadway, and it opened up the doors to a decade of music that she previously labeled as scary. This would have built upon her interest and broadened her horizons.
Now the very little ones would also be impressed to learn about their parents' and/or grandparents' cultural youth. At least it would give them something to question, laugh at, or think about. In other words, they should be exposed to this time period as it is history, and as tumultuous as the sixties were, in retrospect they may appear more innocent than our environment today, with the exception of the Vietnam War.
Now it's the terrorists, not the rock stars, whom we want out of our country; so I am sure that they would find this movie to be perplexing, but a learning experience nonetheless. And isn't it time they should be exposed to someone promoting peace, not war.
So get the family together, place the popcorn in the microwave, and toss in the DVD today. And, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah: Give peace a chance.
Movie Review: Give Peace a Chance
Summary: 5 Stars
I chose this movie for reflection, as I have come to the conclusion that the U.S. Government, at the policy level (Cheney & top political appointees) is insane, criminal, and destroying the Republic. Like Lee Iacocca, I keep asking myself, "where is the outrage?"
John Lennon, whatever his warts, got it right. Give peace a chance indeed (see the image I have uploaded, it represents the rest of my life's work and illustrates what Lennon was hinting at).
I believe the Dick Cheney, Rudy Gulliani, and Larry Silverstein murdered most if not all of the victims of 9/11 in NYC, and that Paul Wolfowitz and Donald Rumsfeld put a missile into the Pentagon and separately orchestrated the murder of those on the airplane that crashed. I cannot prove it, but I can certainly say with authority that 9/11 has not been properly investigated; that Iraq was done on a web of lies and that Iran has played Cheney like fiddle, using US power and money and lives to get rid of Iran's two arch-enemies, the Talban and Saddam Hussein.
We have gone NUTS as country. Martin Luther King, John Lennon, even "Hanoi" Jane Fonda were on target. Civil disobedience in long overdue in this country, and this film reminds us why individual morality and individual passion for justice matters.
It also reminds us of the lengths that entrenched power will go to silence and intimiate its legal ethcial opponents. The federal government, at the political appointee level, has no honor.
Why We Fight
War Is a Racket: The Anti-War Classic by America's Most Decorated General, Two Other Anti=Interventionist Tracts, and Photographs from the Horror of It
The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (The American Empire Project)
The Fifty-Year Wound: How America's Cold War Victory Has Shaped Our World
Rogue Nation: American Unilateralism and the Failure of Good Intentions
The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People
Gandhi (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)
The Pathology of Power (A Challenge to Human Freedom and Safety)
Movie Review: A Powerful, Relevant Film.
Summary: 5 Stars
It is important to study the past to understand the present, here is a rock n' roll documentary that does better than almost any other recent film in snapping us to reality, in making us see the horrors of yesterday replaying themselves in the mistakes of today. "The U.S. Vs. John Lennon" is both a portrait of an artist and a work of truth and urgency about asking questions and speaking out. Directors David Leaf & John Scheinfeld brilliantly manage to capture the spirit of John Lennon, his music and message, and also frame the political unrest of a generation. This is a film that celebrates the marriage of music and history, how the music of an era can define and record it. Lennon comes across as a powerful activist who composed urgent songs asking the world to stop and listen, the music is nicely edited here with images of Vietnam and the 60s, showing how art can embody a time and place. Yoko Ono gives priceless commentary on her life with Lennon, their struggles to promote peace and their fights with a media that sometimes just didn't get it. The political situation of the time is brilliantly explored with key figures of the time giving their views and testimonies. There is also a nice balance here of views, both Noam Chomsky and G. Gordon Liddy appear to discuss Vietnam and the impact on society. Liddy recalls lighting his cigar with a peace activist's candle, a chilling reminder of the kind of politics that have lead us to Iraq today. And that is the film's great achievement, in finding a way through editing and commentary to show us how these stories are not regulated to the past, they are happening again today. War is again a central debate as well as the darker mechanisms of government. Watch Richard Nixon's footage explaining the needs and reasons to stay in Vietnam and they sound frighteningly close to what George Bush says today about Iraq. In an era where music has been regulated to cheap commercialism, when artists are warned that it's best not to make a fuss, "The U.S. Vs. John Lennon" is a call to wake up, to participate, to THINK. This is also a film about how dangerous art can be, it's almost darkly comic to hear about the Nixon White House doing all it could to crush Lennon, to try and even deport the man from the United States. The film tells it's story with great skill, creating a breathless pace in the way it assembles and delivers information with great editing, always employing Lennon's music to awesome effect. The music propels the film, framing every moment, helping the viewer better understand the moments and history. Like the best films, it feels too short and never boring. The filmmakers find a perfect balance of material here, never plowing us under, they keep everything clear and even suspenseful. "The U.S. Vs. John Lennon" is a great document of the past, and a powerful statement for the present.