A documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.

The U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006)
  • Rating: (3,229 votes)
  • Tagline:Musician. Humanitarian. National Threat. »
  • Runtime:99 minutes
  • Directors: David Leaf, John Scheinfeld
  • Country:USA
  • Actors:
    Himself (archive footage)
    John Lennon
    Himself
    Stew Albert
    Himself
    Tariq Ali
    Himself
    Carl Bernstein
    Himself
    Robin Blackburn
    Himself
    Chris Charlesworth
    Himself
    Noam Chomsky
    Himself (also archive footage)
    Walter Cronkite
    Himself
    Mario Cuomo
    Herself
    Angela Davis
  • Genres:Documentary, Biography, Music
  • Producers:
    Brad Abramson
    executive producer  
    Kevin L. Beggs
    executive producer (as Kevin Beggs) 
    Terry Castagnola
    supervising producer  
    Jonathan Flom
    executive producer: Authorized Pictures  
    Sarah Greenberg
    executive producer  
    Michael Hirschorn
    executive producer  
    Lauren Lazin
    executive producer  
    David Leaf
    producer  
    Peter S. Lynch II
    co-producer  
    Nicolas Meyer
    executive producer (as Nick Meyer) 
    Erik Nelson
    executive producer  
    Tom Ortenberg
    executive producer  
    Tim Palen
    executive producer  
    Steven Rothenberg
    executive producer  
    Bill Royce
    talent producer  
    John Scheinfeld
    producer  
    Sandra Stern
    executive producer  
    Kristina Wood
    associate producer  
    Arlene Wszalek
    coordinating producer (as Arlene Colbert Wszalek) 
  • Plot: After background about the childhood and youth of John Lennon (1940-1980) and the birth of Vietnam-War protests, the film plunges into Lennon's quest for world peace: compositions such as "Give Peace a Chance", the lie-in following his marriage to Yoko Ono, appearances at concerts, "War Is Over" posters, and plans for a series of concerts in 1972 in U.S. presidential primary states reach newly-enfranchised young voters. This plan for concerts, in particular, led a prominent Senator, the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover, and Nixon's White House to initiate a concerted and illegal effort to deport Lennon. Thirty talking heads, led by Yoko, comment on Lennon and these events. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
The U.S. vs. John Lennon
  • User's comment:Austin Movie Show Review (inspiring!!!) by leilapostgrad

    Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. If "The U.S. vs. John Lennon" is anything, it's an examination of the similarities between the Nixon Administration and the national debacle that was the Vietnam War, compared to the current Bush Administration and the national debacle that is the Iraq War. The difference, of course, is that Nixon had John and Yoko Lennon to contend with. Who do we have to lead our protests and write our anthems? Michael Moore? Not good enough.

    When Lennon moved to New York City in 1970, the Nixon Administration was terrified that he had the power to organize the anti-war protesters and affect the outcome of elections (particularly Nixon's 1972 run for re-election). Lennon was wiretapped and followed by the FBI (which was being used at that time to "quell decent"). The Immigration and Naturalization Service tried for five years to deport him, but he got a lawyer and fought back, and in 1976, on his birthday, on his son Sean's birthday, he learned that he and Yoko had won their case, and they could stay.

    "The U.S. vs. John Lennon" makes you want to take a stand, organize a protest, demand peace, and stick it to the man!


  • Quotes: Yoko Ono: John was daring to speak out! Gore Vidal: John Lennon was a born enemy of those who control the United States, which I always say was admirable. Lennon came to represent life, while Mr. Nixon... and Mr. Bush... represent death. John Lennon: Absolutely not. I believe time wounds all heels.
  • Also known as: Akte USA vs. John Lennon (Germany - DVD title), Ameriki enantion John Lennon (Greece - transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title), Ameryka kontra John Lennon (Poland), Egyesült Államok kontra John Lennon (Hungary - imdb display title), Les U.S.A. contre John Lennon (France), Os EUA x John Lennon (Brazil), The U.S. vs. John Lennon (Argentina), U.S.A. contro John Lennon (Italy),

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