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The US vs John Lennon hits theaters tomorrow (click link to view trailer). This will be one of those films we see within a week of it opening - even though it's sure to deliver more of what we've already seen in random clips and documentaries over the years.
Since John Lennon and Yoko Ono documented much of their daily life, there is plenty of footage - and Lennon becomes the narrator of his own story. MSNBC says we get a "softened perspective on the musician-turned-activist-turned-icon" with this film, while Ono says this is an accurate portrait of her late husband.
Covering 1966 through 1976, the film also serves as a snapshot of the nation during those years, and we're guessing shows how many of the issues Lennon was vocalizing and Americans were struggling with remain relevant today.
Lennon and Ono are holding their "War Is Over! If You Want It" signs above. The couple paid to have this message displayed on billboards in Times Square during the Christmas season of 1969. The two signs were on the South East corner of Seventh Avenue and 43rd Street on Times Square. Ono recreated the billboard in 1998/99.
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I know that up until last week, it could still be there for all I know, there was another sign up at 7th Avenue South and like Charles Street, right across fromt he NYSC and Gourmet Garage. But I don't know who put it up.
Yeah it's easy to say "war is over, if you want it" when you are a millionaire who can spend his time idling by in having a "bed-in" all day. John Lennon was a self serving quack.
the trailer was a good warm up for a scanner darkly, to get the funnybone limber.
it seemed to have a similar tenor and tone as one would expect from a pbs documentary. which is good or bad depending on your tastes.
"a millionaire who can spend his time idling by in having a "bed-in" all day."
that sounds like bush to me. that guy's always on vacation.
I saw it on Tuesday night. It was entertaining but not life changing for me.
And yet the FBI had a file open on John and was spying on him due to his anti-war efforts. I just mention that in passing for all those who mistakenly believe we live in a "Free" country.
Dan Soda doing his best to work in a Bush insult even when there is no connection whatsoever. Nice job.
There is nothing about being surveilled by the FBI that makes this a police state. You don't need a warrant to follow someone around. You do need a warrant to wiretap and if you get a warrant, it doesn't mean the death of freedom. For those of you that get upset about the FBI watching anti-war groups, if they are having an open meeting there is nothing to stop an agent from going an observing. If they want to meet in secret they should have a closed meeting. It's just common sense. The FBI follows lots of leads and drops some as quick as they start. Having a file means almost nothing.
Lennon was a putz. Just because you can write some solid songs doesn't make you a rabble-rousing genius.
Chalk this lameitude up to the yuppies.
He really was devoted to peace...when he wasn't donating money to IRA terrorists. One of the great limousine liberals of all time.
Judging from the trailer, this is a terribly counterproductive and selfishly overindulgent movie. It will drive all the red state moderates straight to Bush -- nothing annoys red state voters more than being told by celebrities how to vote.
Dear Whiny Whinersons,
Um, how do you not see the strong connection between George Bush, being lazy and the statement, "War is Over, If you want it."
The original poster said:
"Yeah it's easy to say "war is over, if you want it" when you are a millionaire who can spend his time idling by in having a "bed-in" all day. John Lennon was a self serving quack."
response:
"a millionaire who can spend his time idling by in having a "bed-in" all day.
that sounds like bush to me. that guy's always on vacation."
Explanation:
Bush is also lazy and happens to be a man who SUPPORTS the war, so lazyness seems to have nothing to do with supporting or denouncing a war.
Lennon was, and remains, one of my true heroes. Very flawed, of course, most heroes are (nola's points, while overly harsh, are somewhat valid). But in light of the current cultural landscape, it is refreshing to see someone who was willing to put up his fame and fortune for the sake of speaking his mind.
Yes he was rich. You have to be rich (or sponsored) to be heard, to a great degree. And how better to use his wealth than to push his aims?
Lennon was naive, politically inexperienced, at times inconsistent, and usually too quick to shoot off his mouth. Yet as someone who set out to be an agent of change and shake up the status quo, he earned my admiration. It would have been easy to sit on all that cash and do nothing and eventually vote Republican because its good for your tax bracket as so many current celebs do.
And he wrote some kick-ass songs.
BTW, one of his last financial acts was to donate a substantial sum to a fund that was trying to raise money to get all NYPD officers bullet-proof vests (this was not SOP in 1980 and the city didn't have to money to get them itself).
It's also interesting that Lennon chose to live in American and New York for the freedoms it offered to speak his mind, for the promise of America if you will, and was in fact nearly thrown out of the country for exercising the freedoms that he came here for.
OK, having said all that, I did cringe when I first saw the preview for this film (I'll probably wait for the DVD). Most Lennon admirers already know the story of how the Nixon Administration devoted huge resources to having him deported for speaking his mind, and while this is certainly a cautionary tale for our times, a little objectivity (and maybe subtlety) would have probably made the case better.
If you're really interested in the Justice Department's dogged, but ultimately comical, pursuit of Lennon, I can strongly recommend Come Together: John Lennon in His Time by Jon Wiener, at: http://www.amazon.com/Come-Together-JOHN-LENNON-TIME/dp/0252061314/sr=1-9/qid=1158337235/ref=sr_1_9/102-3980084-2713733?ie=UTF8&s=books
Lennon is good for music, but I prefer Mohandas Gandhi for politics and a lesson in calm perseverance. They already made a (very good) film about him.
In reference to Tim N's comment, Jon Wiener has a credit as the historical consultant for the film. I believe it's the same guy.
How can anyone criticize a man who was murdered by a schizophrenic? Somehow dissing an entertainer, because that's really what he was, seems wrong to me.