John Lennon: Imagine

Starring:John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, David Bowie, Phil Spector, Cynthia Lennon, Julian Lennon, Sean Lennon, Al Capp, May Pang, Salvador DalÃ, Gloria Emerson, Brian Epstein, Allan Williams, Elton John, Derek Taylor, Elliot Mintz, George Martin
Director: Andrew Solt
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

It can hardly be a coincidence that this "deluxe edition" of John Lennon - Imagine should be issued in late 2005, a couple of months after what would have been the former Beatle's 65th birthday and mere days before the 25th anniversary of his death. Whether that's cynical, poignant, or just good marketing is moot; what matters is that Lennon's impact, not just as a musician but as a public figure, remains largely undiminished. The film, released theatrically in 1988, will already be familiar to many fans. "Narrated" by Lennon himself and culled from hundreds of hours of footage, much of it home movies shot by John and Yoko Ono, Imagine is a substantial, reasonably illuminating portrait of the man, warts and all, from childhood through the Beatle years, his solo career, and his life with Yoko straight up to his fatal encounter with Mark David Chapman. It's the new bonus features that are the principal draw here; but whether or not they qualify as "deluxe" is arguable. The Lennons' radio interview with a BBC reporter is notable mostly for John's patience in the face of idiotic questions like "Is love very important to young people today?" The ten or so minutes spent with Lennon's school headmaster, William Ernest Pobjoy (love the name), yield little insight, especially considering that the two were at the school at the same time for just one year, half a century ago; likewise, a new "making of" documentary with Ono, writer-director Andrew Solt, producer David Wolper, and others isn't exactly ground-breaking. However, a previously unreleased performance of "Imagine," with Lennon and some unknown accompanists on acoustic guitar, is nice, as is some heretofore unseen footage of the Lennons at home on their Tittenhurst Estate. Add to that a fine transfer and Dolby digital sound, and you have another addition to the filmed legacy of the Beatles--a subject that, for many of us, will never be old news. --Sam Graham

Description

Imagine John Lennon comes from a treasure trove: the legendary musician's own collection of more than 240 hours of film and videotape, much of it never seen by the public. With cooperation from Yoko Ono in its creation, producers David L. Wolper and Andrew Solt (partners on This Is Elvis) transform the archival footage - and a monumental 36-tune soundtrack - into a spellbinding account of a complex, fascinating man. Lennon's own voice narrates "a classic film biography" (Roy Leonard, WGN-TV/Chicago).

DVD Features:
Additional Scenes:Never Before Seen Footage of the Island House (Lake House at home of John and Yoko, Tittenhurst Estate in Ascot, England)
Audio Commentary:John Lennon Trivia Track (subtitled, not audio)
DVD ROM Features:John Lennon Music Guide
Featurette:Tribute to John Lennon: The Man, The Music, The Memories (w/ the Filmmakers David L. Wolper, Andrew Solt, Sam Egan, Editors Bert Lovitt and Bud Friedgen)
Interviews:John & Yoko: Truth Be Told (BBC Radio Interview with John and Yoko) William Ernest Pobjoy Interview (Headmaster Quarry Bank High School - John Lennon's Grammar School)
Other:Acoustic IMAGINE - never before released performance at the Apollo Theatre in New York City, Dec. 17, 1971
Theatrical Trailer:James Dean Trailer

Customer Reviews:

Imagine.......2007-07-06

The strength of "Imagine" lies in its clear-eyed depiction of its subject. Gifted and well-intentioned as he was, Lennon was no saint, and at times, misguided if not naïve. Example: John and Yoko taking to bed to protest the Vietnam War makes no more sense now than it did then. Conservative cartoonist Al Capp visits them and calls their action "self-aggrandizing" (don't miss this sequence). In truth, their motives were noble, but their tactics were too bizarre to resonate. Clearly Lennon was still assimilating an unprecedented super-stardom, and coping with the psychic scars of a mother who abandoned him, by letting Yoko infantilize and control him. As John himself wrote, "Whatever gets you through the night..." This revealing documentary is a must-see for any Beatles fan.

al capp's full of crap.......2007-06-30

One thing that stuck in my craw was the 'interview' with Al Capp. I always wonder, how can anyone criticise someone for seeking peace. What sick mind wants to parody an individual using his fame and fortune to try better the world? I usually believe such people have some serious and hidden ill-will towards mankind. With this in mind I did a few minutes Google search on Mr Capp and it didn't take long to find he was shortly after hounded out of his career by numerous allegations of sexual misconduct conducted at the time he was interviewing Lennon. A reprobate like that should not be given the time of day, let alone foul a film of one of the greatest artistic influences of the second half of the last century.

Posthumous rip-off.......2007-05-26

This 2-DVD edition could have easily fitted on 1 DVD. THe material is o.k. albeit a little self-congratulary with the director and producer of the DVD being interviewd on their own DVD. But it is little less than deceit to offer this as a 'double' DVD. Imagine John Lennon ripping you off.

Perfect.......2007-05-18

If anyone is a true Beatles/John Lennon fan, this is a must have. Music is terrific, film clips are amazing!

Imagine (Deluxe Edition) is Wonderful!!.......2007-01-22

I had been looking for this DVD because I had it on an old VHS tape and the sound and picture qualities were very poor. I love all the extras that are on this DVD! I can watch it over and over again and never get bored. I would definitely recommend this DVD to anyone!

Gimme Some Truth - The Making of John Lennon's "Imagine"

Average customer rating:

Somewhat misleading
Could have lived without seeing "How do you sleep?"
Yoko looking fine!
An Artist at Work
Imagine is great!

Gimme Some Truth - The Making of John Lennon's "Imagine"
Starring: John Lennon
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Imagine (Deluxe Edition)
Lennon Legend - The Very Best of John Lennon
The Dick Cavett Show - John Lennon & Yoko Ono
Inside John Lennon (Unauthorized)
John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band - Sweet Toronto

ASIN: 6305847118
Release Date: 2000-04-11

Amazon.com

An instant classic when released in September 1971, John Lennon's Imagine was the ex-Beatle's solo masterpiece, and its musical legacy is matched here by priceless footage of Lennon's creative process, independently edited from original 16-millimeter footage by producer-director Andrew Solt with the hands-off approval of Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. Incorporating footage from John and Yoko's original film Imagine (clips of which were previously included in the 1988 documentary Imagine: John Lennon), Gimme Some Truth presents Lennon, Ono, coproducer Phil Spector, and a host of gifted musicians in a fluid context of conflict, community, and craftsmanship. Bearing witness to every stage of the recording process, this 63-minute documentary succeeds as a visual diary, a study of familiar music in its infancy, and a revealing portrait of the then-30-year-old Lennon--from witty clown to confrontational perfectionist--at the peak of his post-Fab Four inspiration.

The film's horizons expand with a casual montage of Lennon's celebrity lifestyle, including New York party footage (by film theorist Jonas Mekas) featuring such guests as Miles Davis, Andy Warhol, and Jack Nicholson. Excerpts of a 1971 BBC interview reveal John and Yoko at their most thoughtful, discussing socio-sexual issues that remain compellingly relevant (and the entire 35-minute interview is included on the DVD edition). But the true value of Gimme Some Truth remains in the creation of music at the Lennons' estate at Tittenhurst Park, Ascot, England. The ballad "Imagine" is followed from rawness to completion, and the track-by-track progress is highlighted by "Jealous Guy" (after which Lennon playfully compliments Spector's studio wizardry), and especially "Gimme Some Truth," which alternates between full mix and isolated vocal track. With George Harrison on guitar, Lennon freely admits that "How Do You Sleep?" is a deliberately "nasty" criticism of Paul McCartney, but this remarkable film never dwells on negatives. A precious record of John Lennon's time on earth, Gimme Some Truth is as honest as it is entertaining. And while purists may object to the DVD's remastered sound--which was carefully remixed for Dolby Digital 5.1-channel stereo at Abbey Road studios--few would deny that this film is an important and illuminating document that any John Lennon fan will cherish. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Somewhat misleading.......2006-04-01

I really enjoyed this film, which provides a fascinating outlet into the private world of John and Yoko in 1971 during the making of one of his most famous solo albums (and which is probably tied with W&B as my second-favorite solo album of his, second only to POB). However, it is disappointing to find out that a lot of the footage actually came from other videos which have already been released. For people who don't know that or who haven't seen these other films yet, that's not going to be a really big or important concern, but for those who do know better, it is somewhat misleading and deceptive. What's the point in taking a bunch of recycled footage and padding it out with some new stuff while passing it off as an entirely new product?

The video as it stands, however, is a delight to behold. Even though I would have liked seeing a lot more footage of the making of 'Imagine,' the scenes that are there are fantastic, showing what went on behind the scenes. We see John doing rough takes, cursing out the other musicians because they're not doing things right, playing back what he just recorded, changing parts of the songs, all of the usual things that musicians do while making an album but which their fans usually don't get to be privy to. We also see footage of John and Yoko around their house, relaxing and having fun together, meeting with celebrity friends, and talking to fans. John explains to one of these fans that he's just a regular guy and isn't special or a demigod just because he's a musician, that most of the time he's singing about his own life, not anyone else. If a fan can relate his songs to one's own life, that's one thing, but it's not as though he deliberately wrote these songs because he felt the pain and life experiences of people he's never met. The John we see here is such a multifaceted human being, more proof of why he's the person I admire most. He could be funny, sweet, sarcastic, angry, brutally honest, gentle, tender, silly, and professional, and all of those sides of him just made him a flawed human being like any other person.

There's also an interview with John and Yoko included as a bonus feature. They're talking about love, sex, and relationships, in a very honest and realistic way. Although some people might not like some of their views, if one looks honestly at society and reality, there can be no denying that all of the things they say in this interview are true. For example, celebrities using sex appeal to sell their movies or music is nothing new and has been going on for ages. One can have love without sex and sex without love. How high one's hemline is or what age one became sexually active at isn't something that should assume great importance when one thinks about serious issues in the world, like hunger and war. Many times people throw up minor issues like that to deflect responsibility away from dealing with the harder things. People might strategically cover up a picture of naked people because they don't want kids to see that, but that just sends a message that the human body and sexuality are shameful, unnatural, and disgusting, and as John said, he and all of his friends had already seen dirty pictures and heard stories about sex by the time they were eight years old anyway. This was a really insightful interview, even though some people might be off-put by what they're saying.

All in all, I'd recommend this disc, but only if you haven't already seen the other videos that a lot of this footage was pulled from. I agree that this does kind of straddle the fence between the casual viewer, who might not be interested in it, and the hardcore fan, who will want it regardless but be disappointed because it contains so much footage from other films.

Could have lived without seeing "How do you sleep?".......2005-11-07

Footage was great and gave good insight for the above average fan. However I was pretty angry to see the footage showing John recording "how do you sleep?" I wish that had been completely left out. It totally ruined my view on John, and shows him as being a very ugly person.

John himself later regretted ever recording that song, and I'm sure would have protested it being on the DVD.

Yoko looking fine!.......2005-01-14

For the first time I can see what John must have seen in her. Yoko's looking fabulous in this!

An Artist at Work.......2004-01-10

This is an excepectional piece of Lennon memorabilia. I was very impressed by what I saw. See and hear John at work putting the finishing touches on some of the songs that would be on the "Imagine" album. A special treat is John and George at work on "How Do You Sleep" and "Oh My Love" The respect between them as well as chemistry is still evident. Yoko did a superb remastering of this 'piece of history' that she was a part of. The soundtrack remixed in Dolby 5.1 surround sound is music to the ears, especially John singing "Gimme Some Truth" and "Jealous Guy" Enjoy. Turn it up.

Imagine is great!.......2003-08-12

I really loved this video. It has alot of extra rare footage that I have never seen before in other Lennon videos. I enjoyed seeing how he recorded each song. It's as if your right in the studio with him. I treasure any footage of John.I'm a huge Beatles/Lennon fan!

John Lennon's Gimme Some Truth / The Making of Imagine [Import, All-regions] (Dvd)

Average customer rating:

John Lennon's Gimme Some Truth / The Making of Imagine [Import, All-regions] (Dvd)
Director: Andrew Solt
Manufacturer: Movie Korea Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Track Listings Include: Imagine ~ Crippled Inside ~ Jealous Guy ~It's So Hard ~ I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama ~ Gimme Some Truth ~ Oh My Love ~ How Do You Sleep? ~ Oh Yoko ~ How?
Enhanced import from Korea made for dvd players in the USA/Canada/Korea (NTSC, All-Region).
This is the ORIGINAL soundtrack.

ASIN: B000NYPVIO

Product Description

"Shot in the summer of 1971, this film follows John Lennon into the studio at his Tittenhurst Park, Ascot, England estate, where the recording of his classic album, "Imagine" took place. That process is painstakingly chronicled, and gives an incredible amount of insight into the mind of one of the most creative talents of the 20th century... The shear range of subject matter that finds it's way into Lennon's music is staggering. Lennon's philosophy is shown in the songs "Imagine" and "Crippled Inside". His political fury unleashes itself in "I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama" and "Gimme Some Truth". His frustrated anger toward fellow Beatle Paul McCartney is revealed in "How Do You Sleep?". His love for Yoko is expressed in "Oh, Yoko!", and "Oh My Love", and his own insecurities are dealt with in the songs, "Jealous Guy" and "How?". This is an extremely intimate portrait of the making of John Lennon's most intimate album." Allen J. Vestal, ZReview.uk

Average customer rating:

Imagine; John Lennon Deluxe Edition DVD

Manufacturer: Warner Bros
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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1 Disc Deluxe Edition
Rated R
Bonus Material Not Rated.
Narrated by Lennon Himself

ASIN: B000H51E7Q

Average customer rating:

Imagine
al capp's full of crap
Posthumous rip-off
Perfect
Imagine (Deluxe Edition) is Wonderful!!

John Lennon: Imagine
Starring: John Lennon , Yoko Ono , Paul McCartney , George Harrison , and Ringo Starr
Director: Andrew Solt
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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