| Terry Eagleton once remarked that although it was easier to attract the art and English departments to radical politics than it was, say, the folks in chemical engineering, the engineers can at least be counted on to regularly get out of bed. I thought of that double-edged sword while watching John Lennon and Yoko Ono stage their "bed-in for peace" during the hagiography The U.S. vs. John Lennon. This is a film that marshals the praise of Bobby Seale, Jerry Rubin, Angela Davis, Tariq Ali, and Ron Kovic--all people not only more worthy of a documentary but also more instrumental in the ferment of '60s/'70s leftism--for the sake of a kind but inarticulate superstar who served as the conduit for their messages. The problem is not so much that the conduit has become the central figure, but that the film takes the position that conduitism is the same as being on the front lines; and while one can commend Lennon for his refusal to fade into the love generation's decline, ending one's political education at his feet is a tad inadvisable. The piece hinges on the moment where Lennon ceased to be a lovable mop-topped Liverpudlian and became a more committed political voice--a notion given flower by his fateful union with Yoko Ono. Though it downplays Ono's conceptual-art contributions-- the press conference conducted in a bag, the aforementioned bed-in, the WAR IS OVER billboards--to their subsequent publicity stunts, it rightly credits Lennon's refusal to be just another loafing rock star, in addition to his willingness to put his money where his mouth was for the cause. Trouble is, that mouth was not especially eloquent--and neither is the movie. Despite that Lennon and Ono are seen in vintage footage extolling each other's "rebellion," their politics are neither systematic nor detail-oriented: more than anything else, they're an outgrowth of youthful revolt. This, of course, is what makes Lennon--as opposed to the people to whom he lent cultural capital--interesting to VH1, under whose imprimatur The U.S. vs. John Lennon was produced.
Of course, there would be no film if he hadn't stepped on a few toes. His investigation by the Nixon administration is proof that even toothless dissent scares anyone under the influence of J. Edgar Hoover--and to be sure, the years-long effort to deport Lennon after his arrival in New York is as shameful as anything committed by the FBI during that ignoble period. Still, it's a matter of degrees. Lennon may have been threatened with exile and regularly ridiculed in the press, but he suffered lesser and fewer indignities than half the talking heads in this movie. Yet The U.S. vs. John Lennon never wavers in its refusal to contextualize our man's struggle, meaning a whole raft of other considerations get papered over to clear space for hero worship.
True, the filmmakers try to establish the mood in America and provide a reasonable timeline to the events occurring under Nixon's disgraceful tenure. Everything is passed through the filter of Lennon, though, to the extent that he becomes the only serious figure in the film: one isn't aware of the protest culture beyond what he could lend to it, and his radical associates are merely names without referent or ideological definition. I realize this is a music channel's attempt to lionize a big name, and maybe he deserves the attention up to a point. But when photos of the Kent State massacre are wistfully, inexcusably set to "Imagine," it's clear that co-directors David Leaf & John Scheinfeld will do anything to link subject and period. If you come away thinking Lennon was a courageous man, perhaps that's not a bad thing--but if you think you're seeing the model of a dissident, you'd better think twice.
Released on identical platters in Canada and the U.S. by Maple and Lionsgate, respectively, The U.S. vs. John Lennon docks on DVD in a suitably crisp presentation. The 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer lends excellent richness to what is often a masterpiece of restoration: the DV interviews are expectedly sharp and vivid, while the saturated stocks of the archival footage practically leap off the screen. An accompanying Dolby Digital 5.1 audio option isn't interested in smashing you with sound cues, though the music makes good use of both the surrounds and the subwoofer. Interviews, meanwhile, ring like crystal.
Extras begin with ten deleted scenes that are mostly the participants ruminating on then vs. now. Bush comes in for a serious drubbing, the matter of dissent vs. disloyalty is chewed over, and through it all, G. Gordon Liddy irascibly manages to be the unfailing voice of The Enemy. Also dealt with are episodes (the "Two Virgins" album cover, the One to One benefit concert, "Imagine") not addressed in the finished film; Yoko Ono gets the last word through a tearful recitation of her letter to Mark David Chapman's parole board. Also on offer is a .pdf file containing Lennon and Ono in conversation with Tariq Ali; Lennon comes off so much more lucid here than he does in the film proper that you have to question the skills and intentions of the filmmakers. The U.S. vs. John Lennon's trailer rounds things out; trailers for Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man, Deliver Us from Evil, Man About Town, Trade, and Conejo en el Luna cue up on startup.-Travis Mackenzie Hoover
© Film Freak Central; filmfreakcentral.net. This review may not be reprinted, in whole or in part, without the express consent of its author.
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Buy at Amazon Canada
DVD GRADES:
Image A
Sound A-
Extras B+ |
DVD VITALS:
Running Time
96 minutes
MPAA
PG-13
Aspect Ratio(s)
1.78:1 ONLY, 16x9-enhanced
Languages
English DD 5.1,
English Stereo
CC
Yes
Subtitles
English, Spanish
DVD-9
Region One
Lionsgate/Maple
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Published: March 8, 2007
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