LennoNYC

2010
7.7| 1h55m| en| More Info
Released: 25 September 2010 Released
Producted By: American Masters Pictures
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/lennonyc/about-the-film/1551/
Synopsis

This documentary takes an intimate look at the time Lennon, Yoko Ono and their son, Sean, spent living in New York City during the 1970s. It features never-before heard studio recordings from the Double Fantasy sessions and never-before-seen outtakes from Lennon in concert and home movies that have only recently been transferred to video. It also features exclusive interviews with Ms. Ono, who cooperated extensively with the production and offers an unprecedented level of access, as well as with artists who worked closely with Lennon during this period, including Elton John and photographer Bob Gruen (who took the iconic photograph of Lennon in front of the skyline wearing a “New York City” T-shirt).

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Reviews

Mjeteconer Just perfect...
Beanbioca As Good As It Gets
Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.
Jakester Overall the movie is good. I believe it was instigated and financed by Yoko under the guise of "Dakota Productions" or some such company. It very subtly whitewashes J.L.'s self-destructiveness - very canny how it does this, i.e., it delves into his craziness in-depth during the LA years of 1972-74 ("Oh, look, we're being honest in this film! We're delving into his madness!") but eschews examining it at all when Yoko accepts him back ('74 to '80). That's whitewashing in my book. Another example of the subtle whitewashing going on here - the film allows May Pang to be a talking head ever-so-briefly ("Hey, this film is honest!") but doesn't give her space to say any of the juicy and awful stuff that's in her book. Essentially the film is a rebuttal to Albert Goldman's book which depicts Lennon during the second half of the '70s as extremely impatient with Sean (the film, by contrast, shows J.L. as a dream of a father, a contemporary Father Knows Best), sealing himself off alone in his room with his books, TV and pot, starving himself to maintain the skinny rock star look, sermonizing naked ad nauseum to the servants, moping around and being generally depressed, and doing a lot of coke to get "Double Fantasy" made (the guy had all the marks of a cokehead in the studio in '80 with a lot of amped-up hyper energy). I will grant you that Albert Goldman's book has holes in it but I think it's more accurate than a lot of people with vested interests claim it to be (Yoko Ono, Jann Wenner, etc.). So anyway, yeah, it's a good movie - for one thing it's very well made technically. It provides nice glimpses of J.L. in the studio. And the sections at the beginning are fascinating when the entire apparatus of the federal government viewed him as evil and the pipe-dream was afoot in radical circles that a rock star could tour the world and singlehandedly change it.
tavm Just watched this on the DVR about three years after recording there. It chronicles former Beatle John Lennon's life and career after moving to New York with wife Yoko Ono. From their recording sessions to his outspoken rallies which led to deportation threats to his lost times in Los Angeles solo to a sabbatical while taking care of newborn Sean to a comeback with Ono just before his tragic fate. Quite insightful with many Lennon comments spread throughout and latter-day interviews with Yoko, Dick Cavett, Elton John, and many of the musicians who worked with him during those final years. So on that note, "American Masters: LennoNYC" is well worth seeing.
dbdumonteil The title is right:the period goes from 1971 to 1980;some will argue that the artist's best albums ("imagine" and the outstanding "plastic Ono band" )were behind him,but it does not matter ,for it is an excellent biography ,which dwarfs "imagine :the movie" and allows us to watch previously unseen sequences ;every Beatles fan should see it and it's amazing there are only two comments to date .There are roughly three parts : The activist,with a FBI file,with absorbing interviews with members of Elephant's Memory;Then the lost week-end -the role of Harry Nillsson and the "pussy cats "album are almost passed over in silence ;besides they do not tell us why Lennon had to record "rock and roll";ditto for the stint with Bowie.That said ,Lennon's confusion is perfectly depicted and Yoko is frank.And finally the househusband years ,which shows Lennon had found peace of mind and happiness ,after eventful years;the death of the working class hero is treated with a great sense of decency ,letting us feel what we lost and what they (Sean and Yoko) lost:with hindsight,it is a blessing Lennon retired for five years because his son has memories of his father who shared his life and took care of him for those precious times.(which made the song "beautiful boy" so endearing and so overwhelming :"the monster's gone (!) and your daddy's here") lots of people are featured:Jack Douglas,Elton John,photographer Bob Gruen,May Pang,and many more ;the Beatles appear in short flashbacks but the dream is over and we just have to carry on.Watch it!
blanche-2 "LennonNYC" is a wonderful documentary about John Lennon's life in New York City. It's sad at the same time, because his love of freedom and the Dakota's policy of letting people loiter outside the building cost him his life. Lennon himself took no security precautions, enjoying what he felt was the anonymity of New York. It's true, people are more laid back there about seeing celebrities. But there are always nuts around, and Lennon, alas, met one.There is lots of footage of Lennon in interviews and also recording - he was on top of the world with his Double Fantasy album. Though no one says it, I think he had been "written out" for a time. And when his son Sean was born, Lennon felt like it was the beginning of a new life for him. Before his death, he was happier than he had ever been - grown up, as he put it, and at peace with his life. That someone could take that away from him is very cruel.Excellent.

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