A documentary which focuses on Lennon's activism ; no Beatles music but solo tracks are heard ,"working class hero" " power to the people " "give peace a chance" ; plus the Buffalo Springfield's classic "for what it's worth". But ,although it's hailed as an international hymn which has crossed all the borders ,no "imagine" ...
A good deal of what the guests say is often merely a repetition of what's known by millions of fans ;but ,if the "we're more popular than JC " affair has been told and told and told , the director smartly introduces teenage girls' reactions ;one of them's words are particularly insightful : "I do not think that Christ wanted to be popular ; anyway he was not that much popular in his lifetime"
Much time is given over to Lennon's activism (roughly from 1969 to 1972) ; all the guests agree that his ideology was vague but they insist he was a leader, a historical force , a dangerous target for the FBI (his file is shown) ;sadly, his dream to tour the country and to play for free remained a dream ; the documentary abruptly segues into Lennon's assassination.
They pass over in silence the fiasco of the agit prop of his "some time in NYC " album ,which ,with hindsight,seems patronizing and simplistic ;and his retreat ,the lost weekend ,and finally the final years in the Dakota .
Few of them hint at a conspiracy ;people who are interested in the subject can read "the murder of John Lennon " by Ray Coleman (1989) but it's not convincing ; if "double fantasy " was a musical renaissance (( "just like) starting over" "woman" " watching the wheels " and "beautiful boy" were his best songs since the "Imagine " album ) , it did not indicate a return to activism ; in his interviews before his death ,Lennon urged people to "learn to swim" ,which was also the Beatles ' message.
But they are right when they say that Lennon's aura has grown over the years ; and nobody in the rock field has replaced him , one is terribly in need of a working-class hero ,even though it was not really his background.
A good deal of what the guests say is often merely a repetition of what's known by millions of fans ;but ,if the "we're more popular than JC " affair has been told and told and told , the director smartly introduces teenage girls' reactions ;one of them's words are particularly insightful : "I do not think that Christ wanted to be popular ; anyway he was not that much popular in his lifetime"
Much time is given over to Lennon's activism (roughly from 1969 to 1972) ; all the guests agree that his ideology was vague but they insist he was a leader, a historical force , a dangerous target for the FBI (his file is shown) ;sadly, his dream to tour the country and to play for free remained a dream ; the documentary abruptly segues into Lennon's assassination.
They pass over in silence the fiasco of the agit prop of his "some time in NYC " album ,which ,with hindsight,seems patronizing and simplistic ;and his retreat ,the lost weekend ,and finally the final years in the Dakota .
Few of them hint at a conspiracy ;people who are interested in the subject can read "the murder of John Lennon " by Ray Coleman (1989) but it's not convincing ; if "double fantasy " was a musical renaissance (( "just like) starting over" "woman" " watching the wheels " and "beautiful boy" were his best songs since the "Imagine " album ) , it did not indicate a return to activism ; in his interviews before his death ,Lennon urged people to "learn to swim" ,which was also the Beatles ' message.
But they are right when they say that Lennon's aura has grown over the years ; and nobody in the rock field has replaced him , one is terribly in need of a working-class hero ,even though it was not really his background.
