Imagine: John Lennon - The Definitive Film Portrait

The personal film archives of Yoko Ono were utilized for this feature-length documentary on the life of John Lennon. Predictably, it downplays Lennon's association with the Beatles and concentrates on his years with Ono. The film spends a lot of time recounting Lennon's anti-war activities, highlighted by a confrontation on a talk show hosted by conservative cartoonist Al Capp.

The title of the documentary is, of course, taken from Lennon's idyllic ballad about a world free of hatred and discord. Imagine: John Lennon is a reverent but ultimately depressing chronicle of an artist who died the untimeliest of deaths. This documentary gives an intimate look at Lennon and his life. We get to see lots of rare footage of the Beatles' performances. We get to see John in his own studio, recording songs that reflected the main principles of his fight for life, for peace, and for hope.

We see him as a man of optimism who, like all of us, have our faults and take wrong steps, but whatever John did, he took the responsibility totally upon himself in hoping for the outcome. This movie shows no prejudice toward John Lennon it simply presents him to the world in his beautiful simplicity and deeply human nature. I was very pleased and pleasantly surprised, both with the unbiased "view" that Andrew Solt gives us and the huge archival footage that he used. Lennon fans and just people interested in discovering the man who wrote...