Rare John Lennon Green Card footage discovered by filmmakers at the last minute

The directors of the new documentary The U.S. vs. John Lennon found a key piece of archival footage only weeks before the film was scheduled to wrap production. The film, which was released last month, chronicles Lennon's four-year fight to legally remain in the U.S. For years, the footage of Lenon and wife Yoko Ono appearing on July 27th, 1976 at the Department of Neutralization and Immigration in New York City was thought to have been lost forever.

David Leaf, who co-directed the film which documents Lennon's harassment by the Nixon administration, told us that the footage was discovered during the production's eleventh hour: "You know, we had interviewed people who were there and they had told us what John said outside the building, but to find John saying that, it's so impactful. You know, he thanks his fans, he makes the classic comment, 'Time wounds all heels.' We found that three weeks before we finished the movie. It was in a mismarked reel."

The footage of Lennon was shot for WABC-TV in New York.

The U.S. vs. John Lennon, which was produced with the cooperation and participation of Yoko Ono, is in theatres now.