Imagine: John Lennon (1988)

A biography of the rock music star.

Director:

Andrew Solt

Writers:

Sam Egan, Andrew Solt

Stars:

John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Paul McCartney

Cast

Credited cast:
John Lennon	...	Himself / Narration (archive footage)
Yoko Ono	...	Herself
Paul McCartney	...	Himself (archive footage)
George Harrison	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ringo Starr	...	Himself (archive footage)
David Bowie	...	Himself
Phil Spector	...	Himself (archive footage)
Cynthia Lennon	...	Herself - John Lennon's first wife
Julian Lennon	...	Himself
Sean Lennon	...	Himself
Al Capp	...	Himself (archive footage)
May Pang	...	Herself
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dick Cavett	...	Himself
Salvador Dalí	...	Himself (archive footage)
Gloria Emerson	...	Herself, New York Times reporter (archive footage)

Storyline

This "biography" evolves around the nearly 240 hours of film and videotape fortuitously taken by Lennon of his life. The archive footage is transformed into a fascinating life story of one of the most complex and fascinating men of the modern music era. This effort includes a 36 song soundtrack. Includes some very personal and insightful footage, never before made available to the public.

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Plot Keywords:

john lennon | song | male nudity | 1970s | title based on song | 

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Taglines:

Discover John...the angry youth, the musician, the radical, the husband, the father, the lover, the idealist...through his own words and personal collection of film and music.

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Music

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Imagine

Box Office

Gross:

$3,753,977 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

George Martin remixed The Beatles songs used in the film for Dolby six-channel stereo used in theaters. He called the task one of the biggest challenges of his career.

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Quotes

Man: [a homeless-looking young man is found wandering the grounds of Lennon's Tittenhurst Park estate]
John Lennon: Don't confuse the songs with your own life. I mean, they might have relevance to your own life, you know, but a lot of things do. And so we've met, you know? I'm just a guy, man, who writes songs.
Man: Yeah, I figured that if we met, I'd know, you know, just by meeting you.
John Lennon: But know what, man?
Man: That it all fits, you know?
John Lennon: Anything fits, you know? If you're tripping off on some trip, anything fits, you ...
[...]

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Connections

Features Yellow Submarine (1968)

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Soundtracks

"In My Life"
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Published by SBK Blackwood Music Inc.
under license from ATV Music (Maclen)

User Reviews

Very well done

"Imagine" is an excellent look at John Lennon, as a young boy, a rocker, a Beatle, an advocate, a husband, a father, and finally, as a legend.

For those (like my sister) who dislike Yoko Ono and blame her for breaking up the Beatles, Yoko is present, but there is plenty else here.

John Lennon isn't an easy man to figure out, and I don't think this documentary tried to. Rather, it attempted to show all sides of him - the Beatle, the drug side, the sketch artist, his attempt to distance himself from the Beatles, stating that he had grown up, his musical journey, his hard-headedness, demands as a musician - the whole thing. One of the nicest scenes is one in which he speaks with a vagrant about his music and then has him come in for a meal. So with all his preaching about peace and being one in the world, he walked the talk.

Lennon provides a lot of the narration, which is taken from hundreds of interviews. There are also interviews with Yoko, Sean, Julian, his ex-wife Cynthia, and others.

If you grew up with the Beatles as I did and mourn the death of John Lennon as I do, or even if you just like his contribution to music, this is a very good look at the Beatles' most off-beat and possibly most brilliant member - a man who continually searched for an identity that kept changing.