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      The U.S. vs. John Lennon

      PG-13 Released Sep 15, 2006 1h 39m Documentary List
      77% 97 Reviews Tomatometer 81% 10,000+ Ratings Audience Score Lennon arouses the ire of the U.S. government when he focuses his musical talent and power of celebrity to campaign against the Vietnam War. Filmmakers David Leaf and John Scheinfeld focus on his life and antiwar activities with Yoko Ono during the years 1966-1976. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Aug 22 Buy Now

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      The U.S. vs. John Lennon

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      Critics Consensus

      Though it glosses over anything negative about Lennon, this documentary offers a lot of fascinating archival footage, plus its political issues still have relevance for today.

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      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member Slowly grasping a history of The Beatles from many documentaries, The U.S. vs. John Lennon sounded like an ideal chance to learn about one of music's most influential historical figures. The U.S. vs. John Lennon jumps straight into its story without giving any preceding context to who John Lennon or the history of Richard Nixon's presidency. There is enough pop culture in the world so that most viewers will already understand the background of the documentary even if they didn't grow up during or study the era. However, it does foreshadow the rather small scale the documentary sits on. The U.S. vs. John Lennon is clearly not a documentary with the broadest scope. Though it aspires to capture a lot of history with John Lennon's plight against the American government, it is limited to how much history it actually covers. Ambitiously choosing to go past the simplistic technique of voice-over narration, The U.S. vs. John Lennon relies on simply stock footage and interviews without a wider picture of the historical context of the story. Surprisingly there aren't any surprising members of The Beatles given contemporary interviews to discuss their perspective on John Lennon which is a real shame, but there is much in-depth discussion given thanks to interviews with Yoko Ono who reflects on her time with John Lennon with passion and sadness. We are also given the perspective of wise people like author Gore Vidal who speaks with such eloquence about the man. So as well as gaining an understanding of precisely how many people John Lennon touched, we are given insight to some of the individuals who have had their lives changed by having known a man like John Lennon. This ensures that the film is not just a documentation of his spectacular existence, but a touching sentiment as a platform to discuss the man he was to the world and to those who really knew him. Putting him on such a pedestal turns out to be a very one-sided approach to the material, but The U.S. vs. John Lennon pleads its case well enough to ensure that audiences are convinced that it is promoting the correct message. Since The U.S. vs. John Lennon tackles a complicated story about love and war against the context of an oppressive authority, there is a sense that the scope of the documentary could have been larger to truly convey just how much the nation of America reacted to both John Lennon and the US Government. There is room to go into depth about precisely how far the American government went and how involved Richard Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover were in attempting to silence him, but it is not realized due to the one-sided approach of directors David Leaf and John Scheinfeld who are more interested in glorifying his achievements than capturing the real structure behind how they came to be in the face of such oppression. There is potential to delve a lot deeper with The U.S. vs. John Lennon so it is a shame that it failed to achieve that, but there is still no denying the beautiful spirit of the film. Everyone who has ever heard of The Beatles knows that they made a big mark on history, but The U.S. vs. John Lennon teaches me something about that I didn't already know. The best thing about The U.S. vs. John Lennon is the amount of history it covers in the life of John Lennon. Each member of The Beatles deserves their own story since they all lived out magnificent lives, but the existence of John Lennon could be arguably the most notorious. The U.S. vs. John Lennon captures merely a glimpse of the massive impact he made on the world, but it focuses on a very prominent time in his life. Looking back on his influence as a promoter of peace during a time of war and the counterculture movement, The U.S. vs. John Lennon manages to bring history to life for a short time. Though there is potential for the documentary to go a little deeper, the fact that it only runs for 99 minutes ensures that The U.S. vs. John Lennon never overstays its welcome. The documentary is clear and to the point, concise and intelligent in reminding us all of what John Lennon's spirit was all about. The spirit carries throughout not just the history being depicted but also the film itself. The atmospheric life of The U.S. vs. John Lennon is kept alive by the soundtrack. Making use of many of John Lennon's musical works at the perfect time, The U.S. vs. John Lennon is ripe with feeling. It gives viewers an effective sense of nostalgia to the time being covered while also supporting the messages being promoted in the documentary. Viewers are given a trip through time by the beautiful music in The U.S. vs. John Lennon and as well as capturing different points in his musical career, it shows us precisely how well it all fit into the changing times of history which supports the notion of depicting the extent of success achieved by The Beatles. The viewers are given a glimpse of the world that The Beatles were in and treated to their music, left to piece together the timely relevance of their material . The U.S. vs. John Lennon is smart enough to trigger this thought pattern within viewers without explicitly stating it, ensuring that the messages of the film are able to seep their way into viewers and encourage them to go out and explore further. This is a smart idea when it is taken into consideration that a mere 99 minutes is the limit on how much material can be covered by the documentary. So The U.S. vs. John Lennon fails to truly capture the scale of history affected by John Lennon due to its one-sided focus, but with a passionate message about the way the man changed the world, The U.S. vs. John Lennon is a competent documentary with a very direct narrative and a nostalgic soundtrack. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Saw this documentary last night (Amazon Prime). Although I knew there had been a deportation hearing, I didn't know much about any of this. Very interesting, and I do think that the politics is quite relevant today... different topics of protest, but if Republicans did take the White House this year, we will need some high profile socially-minded people like John that are willing to speak out and risk their popularity for the greater good. I'm afraid I can't think of anyone who could fill his shoes like that. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Excellent documentary recommended to us when we visited John Lennon's childhood home. Surprised I hadn't seen/heard of it before. Uncomfortable viewing for many, I am sure..... Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Well done documentary, which isn't like the handful of other John Lennon documentaries. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Documentary about the U.S. government attempts to silence one of the most outspoken war critics during the Vietnam era, peace icon and rock and roll legend John Lennon. Lennon is such an interesting character to portray, but perhaps a lack of examination of Lennon's negative aspects makes this look rather one sided and less daring than it could have been. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Love John Lennon period. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

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      Stella Papamichael BBC.com If anything this film proves that song can have more impact than a little toe tapping and tub-thumping. Rated: 3/5 Dec 30, 2006 Full Review Damon Wise Empire Magazine What promises to be a provocative account of the late Beatle's involvement with the American underground delivers precious little in this Yoko-approved documentary. Rated: 2/5 Nov 29, 2006 Full Review Roger Moore Orlando Sentinel By the time The U.S. vs. John Lennon is done, the filmmakers have reinforced the sense that pop music once produced prophets, as well as profits. Rated: 4/5 Nov 24, 2006 Full Review David Lamble Bay Area Reporter The film's most obvious asset is a splendid soundtrack containing dozens of songs from Lennon's solo career... May 12, 2020 Full Review Michael Szymanski Hollywood.com Rated: 3/5 Nov 20, 2008 Full Review Jonathan Kiefer Sacramento News & Review Rated: 3/5 Aug 7, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Lennon arouses the ire of the U.S. government when he focuses his musical talent and power of celebrity to campaign against the Vietnam War. Filmmakers David Leaf and John Scheinfeld focus on his life and antiwar activities with Yoko Ono during the years 1966-1976.
      Director
      David Leaf, John Scheinfeld
      Screenwriter
      John Scheinfeld, David Leaf
      Distributor
      Lionsgate Films
      Production Co
      Lionsgate Films, LSL Productions
      Rating
      PG-13 (Some Strong Language|Drug References|Violent Images)
      Genre
      Documentary
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Sep 15, 2006, Limited
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Oct 6, 2016
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $1.1M
      Runtime
      1h 39m
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