The U.S. Vs. John Lennon Review

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.

by Damon Wise |

Published on24 11 2006

Release Date:

08 Dec 2006

Running Time:

99 minutes

Certificate:

12A

Original Title:

U.S. Vs. John Lennon, The

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. In a far-fetched rewriting of American history, Lennon is portrayed as the most subversive thing ever to hit the US, with daft performance art and simplistic songs compared to the country’s indigenous folk tradition of Woody Guthrie or Bob Dylan.

Describing Lennon as a political victim, in fact he comes across as a political tourist, his fight with the US government saying more about his reluctance to pay the exorbitant taxes of ’70s Britain than his woolly-headed convictions.

Perhaps not an entirely a faithful portrayal of the era or the great man, but interesting in parts.

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