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

Admirable film.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

When "The U.S. vs. John Lennon" came out, it was no doubt an allusion to everything that had gone on under George W. Bush. In fact, recently deceased interviewee Gore Vidal says "Lennon represented life, while Nixon - and Bush - represent death." The combination of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War led to unprecedented protests, and the US government responded mercilessly, with J. Edgar Hoover's FBI acting as more of a paramilitary force.The point that the documentary makes is that Lennon used his fame to fight for social justice like no one else had, and the Nixon administration - spurred on by the infamous Strom Thurmond - spared no effort in persecuting him for it. Everyone should see this documentary partially to understand what Lennon was all about, but also to understand what the US government is really up to when it talks about keeping "undesirables" out of the country. In the end, Yoko Ono notes that despite Lennon's murder, his message never died.Just so as not to be totally one-sided, the documentary interviews G. Gordon Liddy to get the government's side of the story. Liddy is just as creepy as ever. Other interviewees include Stew Albert (whom I knew personally), Tariq Ali, Carl Bernstein, Walter Cronkite, Ron Kovic, Bobby Seale, John Sinclair and Leon Wildes.

The concept of John Lennon being a peaceful uniter, is presented in this tired effort, as if he was against the USA.A vivid contradiction about a talented musician, who seemed eager to promote an enlightened existence amongst Humanity, regardless of his naive efforts.In this IMDb thread, we see the same mindless contradictions that the producers of this vapid film provided.Some have decided to label the Vietnam Conflict as Nixon's War, forgetting that the Republican was elected after two Democrat President's began the US involvement in Vietnam and led the fight in this conflict for years.But perhaps the most vacant aspect, the failure of so many - including the filmmakers, to not accurately portray the abandonment of Millions who sought freedom, and were later slaughtered by the Communists after the US Congress ran away from their commitment.A real Human Tragedy, encouraged by the same activists who sought 'peace'.And yet, in posts on this website, we are forced to be confronted by those who actually compare John Lennon's comments about Jesus Christ, to the mindless Dixie Chicks!It is rather embarrassing.It seems no matter the time, the situation, the Political Bigotry of some, will vilify the Republican regardless if they didn't begin the US Involvement in Vietnam - and ended the US Military Action in this Cold War Battle.Forget logic, facts, reason...Don't think about the Soviet and Chinese participation in that historic conflict.Ignore the ugly efforts of Democrat Presidents over the years, including the Clinton Administration's LIES about the Genocide in Rwanda.Today, we see a US President, whose actions have led to the potential Liberty of 50 Million in Iraq and Afghanistan.In Afghanistan, the Afghani People can NOW listen to John Lennon's music without brutal persecution from the horrid Taliban.But today, the anti-US mindset, the bias against a 'REPUBLICAN' is so overt, the objectivity is vacant.And this slanted, manipulative, uninspired Film, is yet another example of why such ignorance grows.The USA, a Democratic Republic, giving healthy opportunity for Millions (including the savvy song writer from Liverpool), remains the biggest humanitarian provider on this Planet...The USA includes historic Civil Rights, Women's Liberty, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, etc., continues to be 'persecuted' in misguided ways.It is sad to watch those who produce such blind efforts...If John Lennon had made such a display in another Country in the midst of a Global Cold War, he may not have been treated with any rights at all.In fact, the Communists simply removed you from all contact with society, and often ended your life.Thankfully, others (besides the vapid commentary on this board about this Propaganda Film) throughout history knew the true cost of FREEDOM, and were willing to sacrifice for a better life for all.The film could have been a fascinating look at the time, and the life of an amazing Creative Force, but instead, it flops on the old political blindness and propaganda efforts of the small minded.

John was always my favorite of the Beatles. His lyrics always attempted to make complex issues easier to understand. He was also a true artist and one of those rare individuals that never rested on the familiar, but strove to explore the human situation. That's why Yoko was the perfect partner for him. She was and still is an artist that traveled the same wavelength as John. They were true soul mates and this film helps to reinforce that truth to the world.Today, we are faced with a political machine that perverts the media to twist the truth in such a way that it is indistinguishable from fiction (for more on this subject read Al Gore's latest book; The Assault on Reason). This movie does a very good job at showing the heavy handed genesis of how a dissenting opinion is viewed today.In today's American climate, the actions of John Lennon would have been discredited and actively smeared. That's not to say that the 'establishment' of the time didn't attempt to discredit and smear John's actions, but things have changed in today's climate. Basically, I see the biggest difference between the '70s and today is this; In the 70s, a peaceful message was hard to counter. Today, a peaceful message is vilified as being simplistic or unpatriotic or forwarding a 'liberal agenda'. In fact, this movie goes a long way to the unmasking of the fact that peace, love, and non-violence are at the core of most religious and spiritual philosophies. The movie highlights a truth espoused by many great individuals; that non-violent protest it the higher road to truly effective change, because violence will always be responded to with more violence.The US vs John Lennon is a wonderful documentary that gives us a window to our past and highlights a period in the life of a truly good man. John Lennon had his flaws, as all humans do, but he was an intelligent artist who had the foresight to use his celebrity status for a noble cause. We need more John Lennons in this world. We have too many celebrities that squander the public eye in a never ending cycle of rehab and tabloid sensationalism. At least when the Ono-Lennons took off their clothes, it was to make an artistic statement.I miss you John. Thank you Yoko for keeping his memory alive.

There is a lot that I love about John Lennon, and a lot that I don't like much about him. I was interested in this film initially, but was not all that impressed. I'll try to explain my problems with it. I suppose I should start by saying that it is not all bad, but anybody who looks at this as "the" documentary on Lennon is grossly misinformed.In a nutshell, nearly everything in the film had all been said before. It was the first time I felt like I was watching a remake of a documentary! Some people claimed that it was the first time this part of Lennon's life was shown in a documentary, but there was absolutely nothing in this film that hadn't been said elsewhere, be it on film or in a book.I hated the overused "talking-heads" format. I had no need to hear what Gore Vidal had to say, particularly when he went on about Lennon representing "life" and Nixon and George Bush representing "death". Whatever. I'm not their biggest fan either, but that was pure sensationalism. It's not clear which Bush he was talking about, but Vidal takes every chance he gets to make pompous, oversimplified statements like that.Geraldo Rivera? You've got to be kidding! I just wasn't always sure if the film had anything more to say than "John Lennon ruled and Richard Nixon sucked." Does anybody who is going to see this film really need to be told that to the degree that this film tells the audience? While I'm at it, I hated the film's ad campaign. It centered upon the above Vidal quote and counted on people who didn't do their own thinking to applaud it as wholly original and profound. The fact that it bastardized "War Is Over... If You Want It" by making it the film's tagline irritated me, especially since the film wasn't supposed to be about war! Even if you read into it and say that it was about a war between Nixon and Lennon, I still say that's a flimsy reason.David Leaf is usually much more impressive than this. I, for one, value his work as Brian Wilson's biographer. This film, however, just seemed to be capitalizing on the current documentary craze. It used to be that a viewer could be enlightened and educated by almost every documentary that made its way into cinemas. Not anymore, though. This one simply staples together other, BETTER documentaries about the same stuff. Want to learn about Lennon? Read a book. Watch better Lennon documentaries like Imagine: John Lennon. That film wasn't perfect either, but at least it showed John at his best and at his worst. The U.S. vs. John Lennon is simply John worship that spends so much time treating him like a legend, it forgets to treat him like a man.I probably would not have felt so negatively had I seen this one on television instead of in a cinema. It was partly produced by VH1, and that's really where it belongs. At least on VH1, it can be taken with a grain of salt alongside I Love the 80s: 1982 and Flava of Love. (Okay, okay, that last part was pretty low, I admit it. I apologize.) I can't say that I hated the whole thing. There were some pretty interesting interviews, particularly the one with John Sinclair. His contribution was the best part of the film. They also made at least some efforts (i.e. two or three I think) to bring in opposing viewpoints so they could say they were being objective.Above everything else, it is always a pleasure to listen to Lennon, even when he wasn't thinking much about what he said. Yes, friends, even Lennons make mistakes. Either way, his interviews were pretty well used in this film. I walked away really wishing that John were still around to state his case for himself retrospectively.