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| Movie Review: The US Vs. John Lennon Alternate Title: All He Was Saying, was - Give Peace
a Chance
Story: He was my favorite Beatle.
He was smart, funny, spontaneous, warm and a little bit bad (I liked
that part best). I still miss him. Directors and screenwriters David
Leaf and John Scheinfeld deliver a sanitized
portrait of John Lennon from 1966 until his untimely
death on December 9, 1980.
How John Lennon got involved in the US peace
movement is not a surprise. Everyone I knew was into the peace movement
except the powers that be ( and the people who voted for the bad guys).
The film covers the growing peace movement of
the late 60's as the US Gov't. got more deeply involved in Vietnam.
When John met Yoko, they ebulliently joined the movement with their
'give peace a chance' mantra. All was fine until they got involved with
the Black Panther movement. Nixon's administration (remember J. Edgar
Hoover?) added Lennon to their 'enemies list' and we watch as Lennon
and Ono go through the five year process of deportation by the US Gov't
and the pit bull like tactics of the INS.
I am not sure to whom this film is aiming its
audience. I, who lived though the time period, only learned one new
thing - AND it was a BIG thing. I learned that it was the rat bastard,
Strom Thurmond, who gave the Nixon administration the
idea that they should deport John Lennon.
If you liked John Lennon, still
have his music floating around in your head, and are still angry at
Richard Nixon (I am) , this is a film for you. If you wait a few months,
I am sure this documentary will appear on VH1.
To check out some of the FBI files in The US
Vs. John Lennon go to:http://www.lennonfbifiles.com/ Acting: Some of the talking heads include: Tariq
Ali, Chris Charlesworth, Walter Cronkite, Mario Cuomo, Angela Davis,
John Dean, Bob Gruen, Ron Kovic, Paul Krassner, G. Gordon Liddy (good
grief), George McGovern, Yoko Ono, Daniel Peel, Geraldo Rivera, Bobby
Seale, John Sinclair, M. Wesley Swearingen and Gore Vidal
Predilection: I like documentaries and I like John
Lennon.
Critters: none
Soundtrack: A wonderful soundtrack with Lennon's
music.
Opening Titles: Zippy
Theater Audience: A handful of old Beatle fans.
Sappy Factor: 0
Quirky Meter: 0
Squirm Scale: Seeing the Nixon men again made me
squirm.
Drift Factor: I admit to looking at my watch after
about an hour.
Predictability Level: Unless you were born yesterday
(that means under 20) there are no surprises.
Tissue Usage: I admit to some tear welling while
listening to some of the music.
Oscar Worthy: no
Soap Box: If there was a draft in 2006 there would
be millions of people out in the streets protesting like the good old
days.
Big Screen or Rental: Support the Indies and go to
a theater. Or wait a few months and see it on VH1.
Length: 90 minutes
LOBO HOWLS: 6
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