The U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006)

A documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.

Directors:

David Leaf, John Scheinfeld

Writers:

David Leaf, John Scheinfeld

Stars:

John Lennon, Stew Albert, Tariq Ali

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Lennon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Stew Albert	...	Himself
Tariq Ali	...	Himself
Carl Bernstein	...	Himself
Robin Blackburn	...	Himself
Chris Charlesworth	...	Himself
Noam Chomsky	...	Himself
Walter Cronkite	...	Himself
Mario Cuomo	...	Himself
Angela Davis	...	Herself
John Dean	...	Himself
Felix Dennis	...	Himself
David Fenton	...	Himself
Bob Gruen	...	Himself
Ron Kovic	...	Himself

Storyline

After background about the childhood and youth of John Lennon (1940-1980) and the birth of Vietnam-War protests, the film plunges into Lennon's quest for world peace: compositions such as "Give Peace a Chance", the lie-in following his marriage to Yoko Ono, appearances at concerts, "War Is Over" posters, and plans for a series of concerts in 1972 in U.S. presidential primary states reach newly-enfranchised young voters. This plan for concerts, in particular, led a prominent Senator, the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover, and Nixon's White House to initiate a concerted and illegal effort to deport Lennon. Thirty talking heads, led by Yoko, comment on Lennon and these events.

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Plot Keywords:

concert | peace | activist | poster | white house | 

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Taglines:

Musician. Humanitarian. National Threat.

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some strong language, violent images and drug references

Details

Official Sites:

Lions Gate Films [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 2006 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Akte USA vs. John Lennon

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$69,143 (USA) (15 September 2006)

Gross:

$1,102,937 (USA) (22 November 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate, VH1 Rock Docs, Authorized Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Gore Vidal: Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.

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Connections

Features Ten for Two: The John Sinclair Freedom Rally (1971)

User Reviews

A beautiful film about a beautiful man

I hope everyone sees this film, as it is a window into the life of an extraordinary person, who really did influence a generation with his music and his courage. But, I especially hope that the generations that came after John Lennon left us, so unexpectedly, have a chance to see this thoughtful and fitting tribute to the gentle artist who turned the hurt he experienced as a child into an international revolution with a spirit so open and willing to risk everything he had to teach the world that all we really need is love. This film explains to all of us, who were too young to understand what was going on, at the time, how John Lennon was persecuted by the U.S. government for simply expressing his opinion about the war in Viet Nam. How he was investigated, tapped, and followed, then threatened with deportation, in an effort to derail a tour that might have had a significant influence on the outcome of the 1972 presidential election, in which Richard Nixon was re-elected. The scenes of teenagers burning their Beatles records in protest of his quip that the Beatles had become more popular than Jesus, are eerily parallel with the Dixie Chicks fans who did the same thing. Excerpts from Nixon's speeches about the war are almost word-for-word the same rhetoric we get from Bush. This film is important, and moving, and includes some of the best music I know I'll ever hear in this lifetime. Go see it and get inspired.