The U.S. vs. John Lennon out on DVD. Happy birthday Yoko Ono!
Out now on DVD is The U.S. vs. John Lennon. The documentary details Lennon's active participation in the late '60s peace movement and his eventual four-year battle against deportation by the Nixon administration. The film touches upon what has been dubbed over the years as Lennon's "Radical Chic" period, when he and wife Yoko Ono became ensconced in various counter culture and left-wing causes such as women's liberation, opposing the British military occupancy of Northern Ireland, and most notably their outspokenness about the war in Vietnam.
David Leaf, the film's co-producer and director, told us that archival footage wasn't enough to make Lennon's fight to stay in America come alive: "The story itself was there. We just needed to get the people that were directly involved or were part of the times to talk about it. And I think that's the hallmark of our documentaries; whether it's Lennon, or Brian Wilson, or Harry Nilsson, is that we hear from the people who know the subject best."
The film includes appearances by Yoko Ono, Geraldo Rivera, counter-culture revolutionaries Angela Davis and Bobby Seale, 1972 Democratic Presidential candidate Senator George McGovern, former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, and Walter Cronkite. Also appearing are Nixon administration and Watergate scandal veterans G. Gordon Liddy and Howard Dean.
In other Lennon related news:
Happy Birthday to Yoko Ono, who turns 74 on Sunday (February 18th). Ono has just released her latest album, titled Yes, I'm A Witch, featuring younger alternative acts revamping and remixing her solo work.
Although the new set has been receiving raves on both sides of the Atlantic, Ono told us that she feels the same today about her critics as she did back in the late '60s: "I would say, 'What's my problem?! What's your problem about me?!' You know, that was the feeling that I had from the beginning, so it's not a new feeling."
David Leaf, the film's co-producer and director, told us that archival footage wasn't enough to make Lennon's fight to stay in America come alive: "The story itself was there. We just needed to get the people that were directly involved or were part of the times to talk about it. And I think that's the hallmark of our documentaries; whether it's Lennon, or Brian Wilson, or Harry Nilsson, is that we hear from the people who know the subject best."
The film includes appearances by Yoko Ono, Geraldo Rivera, counter-culture revolutionaries Angela Davis and Bobby Seale, 1972 Democratic Presidential candidate Senator George McGovern, former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, and Walter Cronkite. Also appearing are Nixon administration and Watergate scandal veterans G. Gordon Liddy and Howard Dean.
In other Lennon related news:
Happy Birthday to Yoko Ono, who turns 74 on Sunday (February 18th). Ono has just released her latest album, titled Yes, I'm A Witch, featuring younger alternative acts revamping and remixing her solo work.
Although the new set has been receiving raves on both sides of the Atlantic, Ono told us that she feels the same today about her critics as she did back in the late '60s: "I would say, 'What's my problem?! What's your problem about me?!' You know, that was the feeling that I had from the beginning, so it's not a new feeling."
The Rock Radio online