When former Beatle John Lennon changed from "entertainer" to political activist, he suddenly found himself under investigation by the United States Government. In a move that evokes the "Red scare" of the 50's, the Nixon administration pushed the Department of Immigration and Naturalization to deport Lennon, wiretap his phone lines, be followed by FBI agents and declared an enemy of the United States because of who he chose to associate with and his opposition to the Vietnam War. ***

Lennon relocated to New York and applied for a Green Card hoping to settle in the country that he had grown to love. This documentary presents comments from both sides; we hear from political activists such as Bobby Seale that Lennon knew at the time as well as his political opponents that worked for the Nixon Administration such as G. Gordon Liddy, John Dean and some of the former FBI agents charged with bringing in incriminating evidence to eliminate Lennon as a threat. Filled with footage of Lennon on "The Mike Douglas Show" and interviews throughout the 60's and 70's, the film presents a pretty even handed look at what happened to Lennon when he chose to try and help the various political causes he supported. ***

The one flaw that exists in the documentary is that it largely glosses over Lennon's life before Yoko Ono. His marriage to Cynthia Lennon is hardly acknowledged and reference to his oldest son Julian is only made once. Also skirted over is Lennon's lost weekend that resulted in Ono kicking Lennon out. Lennon fell into a maze of alcohol abuse. It's also missing any comments from the surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr discussing their impressions of him both before (Lennon's "The Beatles are more popular than Jesus" comment is included to provide a context for his eventual immersion into political activism). Whenever footage of McCartney, Harrison or Starr shows up on screen, but the director usually cuts away fairly rapidly without having anyone comment on Lennon's role in the band. While that may seem trivial (and yes, much of it has been discussed before), it also creates a vacuum in the film. They are not even acknowledged as an influence of Lennon which doesn't give the documentary the depth that it needs. For example, a brief section on Lennon's flirtation with TM and his constant search for spiritual enlightenment would have given us additional depth and understand that Lennon didn't suddenly, radically change over night. Instead, the potential was always there for the rebellious Lennon. The director's seem to suggest that the most important step forward for Lennon was his involvement with Yoko Ono. While that was important, the most important thing that Ono did was to encourage Lennon to do anything he wanted in pursuit of his goals even if they weren't well thought out. Whereas McCartney as a collaborator (and friend) would often try and channel Lennon's ideas into something that was more structured, Lennon's latter career both as a political activist and musician could often seem haphazard and fuzzy in focus. The documentary suggests that Lennon's years with the Beatles was somehow less important than after and while politically he was more vocal in later years, he always spoke his mind. By glossing over this important time frame in Lennon's formative years (and his use of LSD as well as other drugs in pursuit of that "enlightenment"), the documentary presents a skewed look at Lennon that may be favorable but is hardly fair balanced. ***

That said, "The U.S. vs. John Lennon" does prove that the Nixon Administration had an agenda and was behind trying to deport Lennon because of his views. Evidently Lennon frightened the administration less because of his radical views and more because of the audience he had as a former Beatle and spokesperson for his generation. Lennon could often be naïve but it was that very naivety that added charm to his political activism. As he himself pointed out the His approach was if it seemed like a good idea, just do it and he did, indeed, bring a higher profile to the peace movement and radical politics than they might otherwise have had. Truly, that naïve aspect of his character was a positive force because he could approach a project without the cynicism that might otherwise prevent from trying out the ideas that he wanted. Ultimately, Lennon was a great communicator and while his ideas weren't always clearly, the intent was always heartfelt and sincere. ---

Image & Sound:

The DVD quality varies a bit depending on the vintage sources used for the film. The new interviews shot on digital video look crisp and sharp which contrasts to the concert footage of Lennon (shot on film in 1972) and even some of the vintage videotape used (again, from roughly the same time frame). Regardless, this is a solid presentation of what was shown in theaters just be aware that not everything can look pristine. The audio spread in the Dolby Digital 5.1 format and 2.0 is active most during the concert footage but dialogue comes across crisp and clear for most of the film. ---

Just a comment about Lion's Gate's DVD authoring. It's annoying. You have to watch their logo and can't skip ahead. It may seem trivial but when you are watching a lot of movies and documentaries, 2 or 3 minutes wasted on warnings and opening logos adds up to a lot of time. Lion's Gate-you need to change this. ***

The selection of special features is small but significant for a documentary like this. We get deleted scenes including interview selections (where Walter Cronkite tells the true story of how Ed Sullivan found out about the Beatles; Sullivan had always claimed he saw a huge crowd for the band at the airport in London and was intrigued enough to book them based on this. Cronkite tells a different story. Evidently Sullivan asked Cronkite about the band after the CBS Evening News ran a story on the band in the UK) and a moving sequence where Lennon's widow Yoko Ono reads the letter that she wrote to the Parole Board in regards to Lennon's assassin Mark David Chapman. ---

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