US vs. John Lennon, the Trailer
Filed under: Documentary, Independent, Music & Musicals, Lionsgate Films, Cinematical Indie
Produced and about to be distributed by Lionsgate, The U.S. vs. John Lennon is a documentary about Lennon that explores "the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist." It was directed by the well-established music-doc team of David Leaf and John Scheinfeld, and the trailer, trawling for viewers prior to the film's mid-September release, just showed up online.Now, don't get me wrong: The U.S. vs. John Lennon could be a phenomenal film. I'm immediately suspicious, however, of a preview that features an appearance by Geraldo Rivera as a sage-like talking-head in its first few seconds. The next talking head? Oh, that's G. Gordon Liddy, the guy who did the most prison time for Watergate-related offenses, far-right radio host and a certified nut-job to boot. Call me crazy, but these things trouble me a bit (and I honestly get a kick out of Liddy, at least when he's talking about Nixon and being all macho), as does the impression the preview gives that the film is less an exploration of Lennon's politics than a blunt instrument, designed to bludgeon its audience into agreeing with those politics. Like I said, the film could be brilliant, but the impression the trailer gives is a strange one to say the least.
[via JoBlo]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-18-2006 @ 4:35AM
ryan said...
Well, the Geraldo inclusion is appropriate I must say. Geraldo, for whatever he is nowadays, was back in the early 70's a fairly decent journalist. He gained some notoriety for revealing abuses of the mentally retarded at Staten Island's Willowbrook State School and befriended John and Yoko soon after their arrival to the states. There's video of Geraldo driving John and Yoko around San Francisco (during a rough patch in John's attempts to come clean from heroin) that shows the comfort that the couple had with him. John's one and only concert series at Madison Square Garden was even put together to help out the mentally retarded people Geraldo brought attention to. I just saw the trailer and I think it looks alot better than how you make it sound...Anyone who was around John and Yoko in those early 70's years deserves to share their experiences for the benefit of the film. Just my 2 cents...
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6-19-2006 @ 7:41AM
Richard von Busack said...
I seem to remember that the abandoned school in the film Freedomland is the ruins of the school Rivera exposed. Also, Liddy was an assistant prosecutor for Duchess County in upstate NY (that's how he busted Timothy Leary), so it's entirely possible he's aboard to discuss some arrest he made...
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6-28-2006 @ 1:28AM
Mary said...
All I can say is that no matter what, I'm extremely excited. I may not notice much of what else is going on in the film, but I cling to every word Lennon says. His fight was an amazing one, and I'm prepared to do what it takes to keep his message alive. You actually make the trailer sound awful like some brainwashing scheme. Every time I watch it, I feel ecstatic and energetic. I start singing "Give Peace a Chance" and I fix up more plans for my rallies and campaigns. That's right. I'm a kid activist and I find inspiration in this! WOOOOOO
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6-28-2006 @ 10:24PM
Brent said...
Was the Nixon administration really that worried about Lennon? Having recently read a lot of books about the Beatles, I get the impression that John Lennon was not that political during the 60's; but that he and Yoko Ono were kindred spirits that were interested in the shock value and reaction from the establishment rather than truly being political activists.
What changed during the 70's?
I know that the pressure of being a Beatle was gone.
Was he off the Heroin and his mind not so clouded?
Was he that devoted to the Peace Movement?
Can someone enlighten me as to who the 70's John Lennon really was?
Thank You !
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9-15-2006 @ 5:00PM
daniel said...
Does anyone know if this movie is also coming to Europe in cinemas?
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