DVD Review: Imagine: John Lennon (Deluxe Edition)

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).

Special features include:

A Tribute to John Lennon: The Man, the Music, the Memories,
John Lennon trivia track, Never-before-released performance of “Imagine” by John Lennon on acoustic guitar, Never-before-seen island house footage from Tittenhurst Estate, John Lennon: Truth Be Told (BBC radio interview), and an
Interview with William Ernest Pobjoy, headmaster of John Lennon’s grammar school.

Review:
Here we are in December 2005, the same month in which this brilliant musician was taken from us 25 years ago. With a new generation of music appreciators who have arose, this dvd will spread the story and magic that is John Lennon. This film was originally released in 1988, and is even narrated by John himself in parts, which helps the film to feel extremely personal. Most of the footage comes from hundreds of hours of private videos that John and Yoko Ono shot during their relationship. However the dvd spans past that relationship and gives us a glimpse into John’s childhood, time with the Beatles, relationship with his first wife and child, his solo career, and his family life that he created with Yoko and their child.

A scene that viewers will be particularly interested in is one that takes place at John’s mansion in 1970. We see that a homeless hippy has been loitering around the property, John and Yoko actually venture out into the garden to talk with this man, who believed that the song “Carry that Weight” was a song that written for him personally. John tries to explain to the man that when he writes the songs, he tries to have fun with words, and if people can relate to them, then that is great, but the song was not written solely for or about this one man. After their conversation, John invites the young man in for some food. It seems almost surreal to watch this man eating with the Lennon’s at their dinner table, but this look into their lives helps the viewers to see and understand how extremely down-to-earth John really was. He was very passionate about peace and love, and he was constantly in search of that himself.

There is a considerable amount of interview footage, which compliments the film nicely. It would have been nice to see a couple more full song performances scattered throughout the film, but even without them, this film is nothing short of incredible. It is a true tribute to a great man. They may have said he was a dreamer, but he most definitely was not the only one.

Review by Emma Loggins

Grade: A+
Official site: http://www.imagine-dvd.com/
Buy on Amazon: Imagine: John Lennon (Deluxe Edition)

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