Watch The U.S. vs. John Lennon For Free

Wonderful character development!

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I will admit I fell for all the negative publicity about this couple. I could not "Imagine" any musical effort to end war. I never even gave their message a chance at all. I was one who was the first to vote when they changed the voting age. At 18 I payed absolutely no attention to anyone except what I was told in the media and my neighborhood. To this day I am harboring doubts about the genius of this musician. After watching this film and several others which highlight John's talents I am finally starting to be more democratic in my thoughts.I will admit that I was jealous of the type of relationship that was portrayed in the film. If you have had a traumatic childhood and find someone you feel safe with and have deep trust and love, that is a miracle in my opinion. Their joint efforts to share their feelings is rather dramatic and impressive. I do not believe there is a forum for expressing these sentiments any longer due to the many restrictions on free speech. Hence, this documentary will most likely be suppressed in the near future to prevent such evidence of the power of the people.When they commented on how dare someone from another country criticize the policies of another who clearly devised a significant income and notoriety, I have another view. Who in their right mind would go through all that trouble to impact their livelihood, future, good opinion, and most of all safety, if they did not really want to make a difference. I have absolutely no desire to help another country propel to a higher elevation, my conscience is not that elevated. So after seeing this film I am impressed they took the time and effort to change world views. I would be more concerned with my public image, sales, income, and profit.High recommend for those of us who fell for all the negative campaigning in the media to hate these two.

There is a line in the movie from a former FBI agent. He said "If Lennon had just kept his mouth shut, and made his music, there never would have been a problem." And there is the fundamental issue. Here was John Lennon, who had fame and fortune as a member of the Beatles. Does he continue to write disposable pop tunes, or does he use song to uncover some of the injustice in the world? Thankfully for us, he chose the later.John Lennon used his platform for the greatest good. He gave a voice to those who were shunned. He allowed Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers to have his say, and refute how the news media had portrayed him. Lennon was a man of peace, which made him a threat to men like Richard Nixon, who dedicated their lives to war.The film goes into great depth Lennon and his views, as well as the infamous fight by the Nixon Administration to deport Lennon as an "undesirable alien" simply because he spoke out. The film features interviews with both Yoko and the attorney who fought the deportation and won.The documentary focuses heavily on his activism, and reveals many details not generally known, even to the most hard core fans. The film makes great use of home movies and news clips as well.One of the strongest uses of news clips comes at the end. The public display that went on for John Lennon was unmatched by anyone up to or since then. The raw emotions of the fans gathered for the tribute to him was grim, it was real, and it brought home how beloved John Lennon was to a people tired of war.John Lennon isn't simply portrayed as a musician turned social activist. He's not portrayed as a superhero either. He's portrayed as a man who looked upon the world, and asked why. Why must there be so much death and destruction? And looking at the state of affairs in the world now, we really could use John Lennon.

When "The U.S. vs. John Lennon" came out, it was no doubt an allusion to everything that had gone on under George W. Bush. In fact, recently deceased interviewee Gore Vidal says "Lennon represented life, while Nixon - and Bush - represent death." The combination of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War led to unprecedented protests, and the US government responded mercilessly, with J. Edgar Hoover's FBI acting as more of a paramilitary force.The point that the documentary makes is that Lennon used his fame to fight for social justice like no one else had, and the Nixon administration - spurred on by the infamous Strom Thurmond - spared no effort in persecuting him for it. Everyone should see this documentary partially to understand what Lennon was all about, but also to understand what the US government is really up to when it talks about keeping "undesirables" out of the country. In the end, Yoko Ono notes that despite Lennon's murder, his message never died.Just so as not to be totally one-sided, the documentary interviews G. Gordon Liddy to get the government's side of the story. Liddy is just as creepy as ever. Other interviewees include Stew Albert (whom I knew personally), Tariq Ali, Carl Bernstein, Walter Cronkite, Ron Kovic, Bobby Seale, John Sinclair and Leon Wildes.

War is over. Is it the people you "run with" or just the fact you have a conscious and the will to speak your mind? Filmmakers David Leaf and John Scheinfeld II present for our approval an evocative glimpse at the all-out efforts of Richard Nixon's administration and J. Edgar Hoover's gestapo-like minions to gag John Ono Lennon. Former Beatle and peace activist Lennon seemed to be an enemy of the United States government and the outspoken rock 'n' roller needed to be silenced. He and his wife Yoko Ono were wiretapped and kept under big brother's watchful eye as the Vietnam War raged on and TV nightly news told of massacred U.S. troops. Lennon's anti-war efforts led to threats of deportation. This documentary is well put together and sustained with some insightful comments in between archive footage. Featured are: Mario Cuomo, Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, Gore Vidal, George McGovern, G. Gordon Liddy, Geraldo Rivera, Ron Kovic, Walter Cronkite and John Dean just to mention a few. This 2006 film does not shy away from explicit language, violent images or drug references.