I had been wanting to see this film since I am a major Beatles fan. This is an intricate study of the surveillance of John Lennon by the Nixon administration. Lennon’s music, anti-war activism and calls for peace not war brought him to the attention of the Nixon administration who thought he was a threat to their government message to the nation. They considered Lennon and his message to be powerful enough to start deportation proceedings on Lennon in order to silence him. This lead Lennon into a five year battle with the government to keep from being deported from the United States, a battle which he eventually won. Footage shows Lennon receiving his green card, clips of his music and his anti-war statements (the famous bed-in staged by Lennon and Ono), as well as interviews with political and news people people and their comments about Lennon’s investigation during that time. Lennon was followed by the FBI, his phones were tapped and he had a government file kept on his activities. It is obvious that the Nixon administration, particularly Nixon, wanted Lennon quieted or deported, fearing that his anti-war message might even be powerful enough to hamper Nixon’s re-election. However unfairly treated he was Lennon continued his anti-war activism and music instead of backing down to the government. Yoko Ono is interviewed and it is clear, whatever Beatles fans may think of her, that she was devoted to John and believed in the causes he believed in.

This film captures Lennon and his message as well as the era of the Vietnam war and shady dealings of the Nixon administration. This is a well made documentary enveloped in Lennon’s music that Lennon fans and history buffs alike will find fascinating.

2006. Directed by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld. Starring John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Angela Davis, Bobby Seal, John Dean, Carl Bernstein, G. Gordon Liddy, Gore Vidal and Ron Kovic.

Rating: