Although home "sell-through" video cassettes began to appear as early
as the mid 1970's, no solo Lennon or Beatles home-video appears to have
been officially released during John's lifetime. The first commercially
available Beatles video in the UK was The Compleat Beatles documentary
issued by MGM/UA in October 1982, which was originally on sale for
a whopping £39.95 (about 8 times the price of a regular Beatles album!)
but such high prices were not uncommon for home-video's in the early 1980's
as most were primarily aimed at the rental market. The long running format
war did little to encourage customer confidence in home-video either, though
by 1984 it had come down to a choice of two: VHS or Betamax. Sadly the
noticeably inferior VHS won out in the end but not before a handful of
Lennon video's were issued on Betamax. The first bona-fide UK solo Lennon
home-video did not materialize until the release of Imagine in 1985,
a seemingly late foray into the market for John, yet all but one of the
Beatles films were still awaiting release in the UK at the time.
Beatle fans in the US had been better served, but importing US videotapes
directly into Britain was not an option as NTSC playback was incompatable
with British equipment (and vice-versa)*. Such cross-border problems need
not have affected DVD's but a regional coding system was insisted upon,
however this annoying obstacle was more easily overcome.
In the U.S and Japan, many 1980's/'90's home-video titles were also
on issued on 'LaserDisc' (double sided 12 inch discs with an analogue video
signal), but this format struggled to make much of an impact in Europe.
DVD's first began to appear around 1997 and quickly caught on at the turn
of the millennium on both sides of the Atlantic, not least due to the addition
of bonus material and commentaries.
The following list of official Lennon/Ono Home-Video's and DVD's are presented in order of release. Where possible I have used scans of the original version (whether it be American or British in origin). See our Filmography and John Lennon on Television pages for full details of projects originally produced during the 1960's & 1970's. John and Yoko also made a number of guest appearances in films that have since been made available on Video/DVD, details of these less obvious Lennon/Ono releases are dealt with in an appendix at the foot of this page.
*British/European Video Recorders with the added facility of NTSC playback capability would not become widely available (and affordable) until the mid-late 1990's.
In
the early hours of 29th April 1975, John was interviewed by Tom Snyder
for the US NBC TV programme "The Tomorrow Show", it was to be the last
time Lennon was seen inside a TV studio. John talked about Beatlemania,
groupies, the
Two Vigins cover, the bed-in and his fight against
deportation, for which his lawyer Leon Wildes was on hand to explain the
finer details of the case. The show was repeated on 9th December 1980,
top and tailed with a new introduction and interviews with journalist Lisa
Robinson of the New York Post (who had interviewed John on four occasions
1973-80) and
Double Fantasy producer Jack Douglas. It was this revised
1980 version that found its' way onto the home-video market in May 1981
when the Karl Video Corp. (KVC) issued an American NTSC VHS cassette*.
In Britain, it was left to Select Video to import a Starbox version
in 1983 (presumably European in origin), this version was re-titled
The
John Lennon Interview
(VHS 3113/43) and aimed at the rental market,
it was 're-promoted' in April 1985 on general sale for around £25.
The budget home-video firm
Channel 5 issued a more widely available
UK version under the title
Lennon A Legend on 3rd March 1986 (VHS
CFV 01562) priced £6.99, the cover of this 1986 version showed a
large picture of John's trademark 'granny glasses' on a light blue background,
see here.
*It was re-issued in the US in 1984 (the promotional poster is illustrated left, this artwork was apparently similar to the original sleeve design with a subtle change to the colour scheme), Baker & Taylor video also issued a US version at some point. Please E-Mail urthepob@hotmail.com if you are able to shed any further light on these American tapes.
DVD version
The 9th December 1980 re-broadcast version of
"The Tomorrow Show" (with the additional Lisa Robinson and Jack Douglas
interviews) was included on The Tomorrow show with Tom Snyder: John,
Paul, Tom and Ringo, this being a 2 DVD set released by Shout! Factoryon
1st April 2008 (region 1 NTSC, region 0 PAL). The set also included a 1979
interview with Paul McCartney & Wings and a 1981 chat with Ringo Starr,
the cover design was a pastiche of the "Yellow Submarine" animation film.
This
56 minute American documentary was written, produced, directed and narrated
by Barbara Graustark (who had interviewed John for Newsweek magazine
in September 1980). It included home movies of Yoko as a small child, never
before seen
Let it be film outtakes (including footage of Yoko jamming
with John, Paul and Ringo), various clips from John & Yoko's numerous
film projects and TV appearances plus new exclusive interviews with Yoko
Ono. It was a revelation at the time of its' release. In the US, Polygram/Music
Media Video issued the NTSC VHS home video on 14th October 1984, there
was also a LaserDisc version (illustrated). In the UK it was initially
screened on the ITV network in a late night slot on Saturday 8th December
1984, although the first section detailing Yoko's life before she met John
was edited out and in some regions it was re-titled
A Tribute to John
Lennon. 11 days later it was released in full on a PAL home video in
the UK by Videoform Music (VHS VFV 23 and Betamax VFX 23) for a
pricey £25. Various ITV regions repeated the full length version
a few years later in a small hours slot before
Channel 5 (the home
video company, not the TV station) re-issued it in stereo on 9th July 1990
with a new
cover design depicting a black & white graphic of John and Yoko
during their peace campaign period (VHS only for £10). The documentary
is unlikely to ever see a DVD release or another TV repeat, making it one
of the more collectable Lennon related home-video's.
Although
John dominates the video cover, his role in this anti-war/comedy movie
was relatively small, but he does pop up every now and then throughout
most of its' 106 minute length. Filmed in 1966 and premiered the following
year, it was the first project John was involved with after the end of
his final tour with the Beatles. Further details can be found on our Lennon
Filmography.
DVD versions
A long delayed DVD was eventually made available
in 2004* (Region 1) and 7th February 2005 (Region 2), these featured a
similar cover design to the 2000 American VHS, sadly there was no DVD bonus
material.
*Amazon gives a date of 08/Sep/2002 but this may well have been one of the planned release dates that came and went without anything materializing.
Not
to be confused with the 1988 biopic Imagine: John Lennon, this 1985
home-video was an edited version of an 81 minute film originally shot in
1971 to promote John and Yoko's
Imagine and Fly albums. It
was basically a collection of promo's and was very much ahead of its time,
all of the tracks from the Imagine album were featured plus (on
the original film) four from Fly, the film also captured various
John & Yoko activities throughout the summer of 1971 whilst George
Harrison, Andy Warhol, Jack Palance and Fred Astaire all made cameo appearances.
The Imagine and
Mrs Lennon sequences were first seen on The
Dick Cavett Show
in the US in September 1971 but the film itself was
not shown in full until over a year later (again on American TV on 23rd
December 1972). The title song sequence was resurrected for TV screenings
in the wake of John's death in 1980/81 but the bulk of the film remained
largely unseen in Britain* until this home video was released by
Picture
Music International on 11th November 1985 (VHS MVP 99 1101 2 [illustrated]
and
Betamax MXP 99 1101 4, the price was £14.99)**. Sadly some sections
of the original film were excised reducing the running time to 60 minutes
-
I Don't Want To Be A Soldier and some linking scenes were shortened
whilst Yoko's
Midsummer New York and Mind Train were cut
altogether***. A full length original version on DVD is well overdue.
* The film had only been shown in a handful of selected
British cinema clubs in 1973/74.
**The US release was apparently delayed until the following
year. It also appears to have been re-issued in 1989 with an alternate
sleeve featuring the album cover, this is also how the LaserDisc appeared
upon its' release that same year.
**The Tracklisting for the video is as follows:
Imagine, Crippled Inside, Jealous Guy, Don't Count
The Waves (this track was from Yoko's Fly
album), It's So Hard, Mrs. Lennon (from
Yoko's
Fly album), I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama, Give
Me Some Truth (this number is preceded by a snatch
of
Power To The People), Oh My Love, How Do You Sleep?,
How?, Oh Yoko! and John And Yoko
(the
final number is a re-working of the Wedding Album track and is played
over the credits). Full details of the original film can be found in our
Filmography.
A
55 minute video of John, Yoko and Elephant's Memory performing a concert
at Madison Square Garden on 30th August 1972. Unlike the original 1972
TV film of the event (entitled One To One*) which was exclusively
based on the evening performance, the footage for the Live in New York
City home-video was largely culled from the afternoon gig, however
this version included all 11 of John's numbers plus 2 of Yoko's** (the
40 minute 1972 TV version only offered 6 from John, 1 from Yoko and 3 from
the support acts). The soundtrack was radically remixed and issued as an
accompanying album to the home-video, both were first released in America
by Sony
on 24th January 1986, the visual version available on VHS
and LaserDisc. British fans had to wait until 24th February 1986 (probably
because the
Imagine video had only just been issued) when it was
released by
Picture Music International (VHS MVP 99 1115 2 [illustrated]
and
Betamax MXP 99 1115 4).
*The original film was not shown in Britian, only Yoko's
performance of Move On Fast
was seen on British TV in the 1970's
when it was broadcast by BBC2's late night Rock programme
The Old Grey
Whistle Test
on 30th January 1973 in order to promote her album
Approximately
Infinite Universe.
**The tracklisting for the video is as follows:
Power To The People (merely
a part of the record played over the PA during the introduction, the video
used the afternoon show intro), New York City (from
the afternoon show), It's So Hard (afternoon),
Woman Is The Nigger Of The World (afternoon),
Sisters,
O Sisters (Yoko vocal, evening), Well,
Well, Well (afternoon), Born In A Prison
(Yoko
lead vocal, afternoon), Instant Karma! (afternoon),
Mother
(afternoon), Come Together (afternoon),
Imagine
(afternoon), Cold Turkey (evening),
Hound Dog (evening) and
Give Peace
A Chance (this was only performed at the end
of the evening concert). John's introductions
were also a mixture from the afternoon and evening concerts, many of which
did not match the choice for the actual performance. Yoko also performed
four other songs that were not included on the video, these were Move
On Fast (afternoon & evening), We're All Water
(afternoon
& evening), Open Your Box (afternoon & evening) and Don't
Worry Kyoko (afternoon show only).
An
overly sweetened 150 minute TV 'docudrama' of John & Yoko's life together
which had been produced by the Johnny Carson company and premiered on American
TV (NBC) as John & Yoko: A Love Story on 2nd December 1985.
The project was overseen by Yoko who was said to have rejected three scripts
as unsuitable. An actor by the name of Mark Lindsay had been cast as John
Lennon until it was discovered that his real name was Mark Chapman! Liverpudlian
Mark McGann was the replacement having been initially turned down on the
grounds that he was too young (24 at the time, his acting career had actually
begun with playing Lennon in a stage musical). American actress Kim Miyori
(aged 29) played the role of Yoko Ono and a real life romance developed
between McGann and Miyori and they were later married.
*The BBC would probably not have been interested in showing the film as they had produced their own docudrama to commemorate the 5th anniversary of John's passing, a more studious 64 minute affair entitled A Journey in the Life with Bernard Hill playing John. Yoko was provided with a copy which she and Sean watched at the Dakota before giving an interview to the BBC which was broadcast immediately after A Journey in the Life on Friday 5th December 1985.
This
55 minute edit of DA Pennebaker's original 140 minute film of the 13th
September 1969 "Rock & Roll Revival festival" in Toronto was first
screened in the US by Cinemax in October 1988. It included the Plastic
Ono Band's entire set* as well as scenes of John and Yoko arriving for
the gig. Sequences showing the other artists on the bill were drastically
cut, although token performances remain**. The new edit was first released
in Britain on 28th April 1989 by Parkfield Publishing (VHS MKM 0001
see full
cover/back cover scan) with the American release occuring a few days
later on 1st May 1989, both versions included a short interview with Yoko
Ono at the beginning of the tape which had been filmed at the London
John Lennon Art Exhibition in 1988. Although the tracklisting for the
Plastic Ono Band set is identical to the original Live Peace in Toronto
1969 album release, the video version offers a new mix. It was later
re-issued in the UK by BMG on 28th October 1991.
*Tracklisting for the Plastic Ono
Band set is as follows:
Blue Suede Shoes, Money, Dizzy
Miss Lizzy, Yer Blues, Cold Turkey, Give Peace A Chance, Don't Worry Kyoko
(Mummy's Only Looking For Her Hand In The Snow) and John John (Let's
Hope For Peace).
**Bo Diddley is seen performing
Bo
Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis is shown doing Hound Dog, the Chuck
Berry number is Johnny B. Goode and Little Richard performs Lucille.
DVD versions
An American region free NTSC DVD version with
a new cover was issued on 20th May 1998 by Pioneer Artists (PA-11667),
the 1988 Yoko interview was included as an extra. It was re-issued as a
region 1 only version with another change of cover on 29th January 2002.
A
region 2 PAL version was released by Direct Video Distribution Ltd
on 18th November 2002 (this had the same cover as the region 1 version),
Slam
Dunk then re-issued a region 2 disc with a new cover on 28th August
2006.
This
official Yoko Ono sanctioned biopic was originally given a theatrical release
in October 1988, it was a timely antidote to Albert Goldman's notorious
biography which had been published a few months earlier. The film was produced
by David L Wolper and Andrew Solt, Solt also directed with Sam Egan assisting
with the writing. Archive Lennon interviews provided the narration so that
John was heard to tell his own story. The film was built around footage
of the 1971 recording sessions for the Imagine album at John &
Yoko's home studio in Ascot and intertwined with film and TV appearances
from Lennon's entire career including his Beatle years. Almost 200 hours
of material was cut down to an initial twenty-hour version before a 100
minute master was settled upon.
Warner Home Video issued the film
in mainland Europe first [VHS illustrated],
then in America on 28th April 1989 and Britain (VHS PES 11819) on 8th May
1989.
DVD versions
With demand for a DVD release gathering pace, a two disc region 2 widescreen
DVD was eventually issued on 14th November 2005*, the special features
included a John Lennon Trivia Track (which doesn't appear to do
anything, at least on my copy), A Tribute To John Lennon: The Man The
Music The Memories (this was a new 14 minute documentary featuring
interviews with the filmmakers and Yoko Ono), John Lennon: Truth Be
Told (6 minutes of the 1971 Women's Hour interview that had
already been included in its' entirity on an earlier Lennon DVD release),
a live acoustic performance of Imagine (17th December 1971 at the
Apollo in NYC),
"Island House"
(outtakes from the 1971 Imagine
film which shows John & Yoko choosing a summer house for the island
on the lake of their Tittenhurst Park estate, followed by scenes of it
being delivered and erected),
The Headmaster Looks Back (an interview
with Ernest Pobjoy, John's Quarry Bank School Headmaster) and a scene selection
menu.
* The Region 1 NTSC DVD version was delayed until December
2005. Those of you with multi region players are advised to seek out the
Region 1 version as the Region 2 main feature disc suffers a very noticeable
pitch problem (it runs far too fast, to the point of becoming unwatchable),
this was blamed on the NTSC to PAL transfer.
A
re-edited version of the previously unscreened John and Yoko produced colour
film of the May/June 1969 Montreal bed-in was released in the UK by Picture
Music International (VHS MVN 9912613 see full
cover/back cover scan) on 3rd December 1990, the
American Video Music Inc version was delayed by almost a year and
retitled All We Are Saying Is Give Peace A Chance for
its' release on October 2nd 1991, there was a LaserDisc version too.
A
video released a few days after the 10th anniverssary of John's death,
it included the 9th December 1980 edition of ABC News Nightline
as broadcast by the American TV network on the day after he was murdered.
Only 10 minutes are actually devoted to John with the rest of the programme
looking at other world events of the day. Mpi Media Group issued
this video in America only on 12th December 1990.
On
5th May 1990 a three hour "John Lennon Scholarship concert" organised by
Yoko Ono took place at the Pier Head in Liverpool, it was broadcast on
British TV later that night*. Dave Edmunds was the musical director of
the event (John had been a big fan of his 1970 hit I Hear You Knocking),
British DJ Mike Read and American actor Christopher Reeve were the on-stage
comperes. Yoko and Sean Lennon also intermittently appeared on stage to
help with introductions and commentary whilst each of the artists involved
were seen (off stage) to offer their thoughts of John/The Beatles before
performing a Lennon song**. John also featured by way of some archive clips.
Paul McCartney later said that he didn't think that John would have been
too hot on some of the acts chosen to appear - the audience certainly voiced
their displeasure at the sight of Kylie Minogue (then still in her Stock,
Aitken & Waterman period) whilst Wet Wet Wet later spoke of their frustration
at having to perform a Lennon song rather than one of their own!
*The UK TV broadcast was shared between ITV and Channel
Four, with ITV showing the first half and Channel Four the remainder.
**Those included on the 5th May 1990 UK broadcast were
Al Green, Cyndi Lauper, Dave Edmunds, Joe Cocker, Hall & Oates, Terence
Trent D'Arby, Kylie Minogue, Lou Reed, Dave Stewart (not in Liverpool but
performing via a satellite link up from LA and seen on the big screens
by the crowd), Wet Wet Wet, The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra,
Deacon Blue, Natalie Cole, Lou Gramm, Justin Hayward & John Lodge,
Ray Charles (pre-taped video performance), Lenny Kravitz, Roberta Flack,
Randy Travis, The Christians, Ringo Starr (pre-taped video performance),
Natalie Cole, Paul McCartney (pre-taped video performance) and finally
Yoko & Sean singing
Give Peace a Chance with all the acts back
on stage to join in.
***The highlights show (with the addition of new material)
was broadcast to the UK by 'Power Station' (an obscure satellite channel)
on 8th December 1990.
****The full tracklisting for the highlights show/video
was as follows (*Tracks marked with an asterix were performed in Liverpool
on May 5th 1990):
Elton John Imagine, Natalie Cole Ticket To
Ride*, Wet Wet Wet I Feel Fine*, Lou Gramm Eight Days A Week*,
Terence Trent D'Arby You've Got To Hide Your Love Away*, Paul McCartney
P.S.
Love Me Do, Billy Joel Back In The USSR, Randy Travis
Nowhere
Man*, Joe Cocker Isolation*, Lenny Kravitz Cold Turkey*,
Dave Edmunds The Ballad Of John And Yoko*, Hall & Oates Don't
Let Me Down*, Al Green Power To The People*, Michael Jackson
Come
Together, Cyndi Lauper Working Class Hero*, David Bowie
Fame,
John Lennon Give Peace A Chance and Imagine, Ringo Starr
I
Call Your Name, U2 Help!, Kylie Minogue Help!*, Roy Orbison
Help!,
Ray Charles Let It Be, Sean Lennon Dear Prudence.
This
80 minute, 19 track* collection of solo video's was loosely based on the
compilation album The John Lennon Collection which had been released
ten years earlier. It was compiled by Martin Smith and issued by Picture
Music International (VHS MVN 4910343** see full
cover/back cover scan, priced £14.99)
on 5th October 1992. The first 10,000 copies were shrink-wrapped with a
free copy of a two-track CD single imported from Holland: Instant Karma!/Oh
My Love
which had been issued in some European countries to tie in
with the contentious Nike commercial which had been granted use
of John's own recording of the 1970 hit. The American release (on VHS and
LaserDisc) was delayed by 6 months until 6th April 1993, it made No. 26
on the Billboard Music Video Chart.
* The tracklisting for The John Lennon Video Collection
was as follows:
Give Peace a Chance (original
1969 promo), Cold Turkey (original
1969 promo), Instant Karma! (1970 'Top
of the Pops' performance version one with Yoko holding cue cards),
Power
To The People (John did not produce a promo or
appear on TV to promote this single in 1971 and so a new video was created
mixing footage of John and Yoko from later that year with somewhat jarring
modern day footage of political protest and an annoying marquee of the
title, perhaps a montage of late 1960's/early 1970's protests/riots would
have yielded better results), Happy Xmas
(War is Over) (a promo for this was apparently
screened by the BBC in December 1972 but it has since been wiped, for the
purpose of this home-video the producers returned to Harlem to capture
footage of a modern day choir miming to the song), Mind
Games (a TV ad for the Mind Games
album featuring John dancing with a man impersonating Her Majesty the Queen
was produced in 1973, but here we have to make do with a montage of John
& Yoko material from before and after the time of its' original release),
Whatever
Gets You Thru The Night (John was filmed
by the BBC wandering around New York in November 1974 to promote his latest
single, that footage should have been used here, but for some inexplicable
reason the producers decided to comission an animation of John's drawings
coupled with unrelated footage from the Imagine film),
#9
Dream (again, unrelated footage from the
pre-lost weeked era was utilised for this track).
Stand
By Me, Slippin' And Slidin' (two songs
as originally performed for the BBC's late night Rock show The Old Grey
Whistle Test in 1975), Imagine (pedantically
placed after the Rock 'N' Roll tracks owing to its belated British
single release in late 1975, but at least they used the original 1971 film
sequence),
(Just Like) Starting Over (No
promo for this song was seen in 1980 but this new 1992 video worked well
- in that it used contemporary footage which could have been screened at
time),
Woman (original
1981 video),
Nobody Told Me (original
1984 video),
Borrowed Time (original
1984 video), I'm Stepping Out (original
1984 video),
Jealous Guy (this
song was released as a single in Britain in 1985 with a decent video making
use of 1971 footage to promote the Imagine home-video which was
released at the same time, but the 1988 American 'Imagine:John Lennon'
version was used here which shows biopic 'flashbacks' intercut with John
recording the song in his home studio), Grow
Old With Me(original 1984 video, all of
the 1984 video's were screened in the USA on an MTV special that year entitled
Milk
And Honey) and Imagine (live)
(this
was the 1975 Lew Grade Tribute show performance). Watching the Wheels
is played over the closing credits. John & Yoko made a number of TV
appearances in 1972 performing songs from Some Time in New York City,
regrettably none of these were included.
**The catalogue number was changed to 4910513 once the
initial stocks (shrink wrapped with the free CD) had been exhausted.
A
home video release of the original TV film version of John & Yoko's
30th August 1972 Madison Square Garden concerts was issued in Britain by
BMG (BMG 791 138) on 16th November 1992 for £10.99. This version
is shorter than the John Lennon - Live in New York City video, it
runs for 40 minutes and only includes Come Together, Instant Karma!,
Sisters O Sisters, Cold Turkey, Hound Dog, Give Peace a Chance and
(over the credits)
Imagine,
there are also three tracks from support
acts:
Superstition by Stevie Wonder and two from Roberta Flack:
Reverend
Lee and Somewhere. A LaserDisc version was also issued (781
138) on sale in the UK for £19.99 (The Japanese LaserDisc version
is illustrated).
A
deluxe box set of five NTSC VHS cassettes was released in America by Rhino/Wea
on 26th May 1998. Each tape averaged 73 minutes, one for each of the 5
editions of the show that John and Yoko co-presented as broadcast by WBC
during one week in February 1972. A 48-page hardbound book (individually
numbered) was also included featuring photographs taken by the show's photographer
Michael Leshnov, plus a new interview with Mike Douglas and excerpts from
a February 1972 press conference with John, Yoko and Jerry Rubin discussing
the show.
DVD version
Rhino appear to have prepared a DVD box
set at some point, but it may have been withdrawn.
An
18 minute Takahiko Iimura film of Yoko's October 1971 art exhibition (a
10 year retrospective of her work entitled This Is Not Here) at
the Everson museum in Syracuse, New York with an interview with Yoko providing
the narration, John is also seen in the film. The video version was first
issued on 1st June 1999.
DVD version
This Is Not Here was the main feature
on a DVD entitled Original Yoko Ono scheduled for release by Art
Media K.Y in Japan in late 2006 (said to be region free) featuring
a black & white side profile photo of Yoko on the cover. Also included
on the disc are "Early Works Yoko Ono" (this was a gallery, mostly of the
works exhibited at the Syracuse exhibition) and "An extra film" (billed
as 'a controversial film with John Lennon and Yoko Ono on Pop and Avant-Garde').
The package also included a brochure with a Yoko Ono interview by Takahiko
Iimura from 1971.
The
first new Lennon product to be issued simultaneously on Video and DVD,
this 56 minute film partly realised John's original intention for a TV
show which would document the recording of his Imagine album in
1971. Compiled by Yoko Ono and Andrew Solt, it was premiered in Cannes
on 5th October 1999. Whilst some of the most memorable recording sessions
footage had already found its' way into the 1988 biopic
Imagine: John
Lennon, there was more than enough previously unseen delights here
to make Gimme Some Truth an essential purchase, the only criticism
would be of the unnecessary use of scenes already included in or intended
for the 1971 Imagine film - this gave the impression that Gimme
Some Truth had superseded Imagine when it ought to have been
compiled as a companion, the choice of cover photo also added to the confusion.
Gimme
Some Truth was first shown on British TV by BBC2 on 14th February 2000*
before being issued as a Capitol VHS video and region free DVD two
months later (17th April 2000, available in both PAL and NTSC**). The DVD
version added 7 minutes to the main feature plus, as bonus features, raw
footage of John & Yoko being interviewed at their Tittenhurst Park
home for a radio programme in the summer of 1971***, an interactive John
Lennon discography (offering a sample of one track from each) and the obligatory
scene selection****.
*The UK TV premiere was originally
scheduled for 11:30pm on the night of Sunday 13th February 2000 but was
delayed until 00:58am due to Snooker coverage over running. The US TV premiere
(on Bravo) was held back until 17th April 2000.
**The American NTSC version is
distinguished by a full height reproduction of the cover photo (The EU
PAL DVD has a white panel as illustrated).
***An edit of the bonus interview
was originally included in an edition of BBC Radio 2's Women's Hour
which
was broadcast on Tuesday 9th November 1971, 2:01-2:59pm.
****The tracklisting for the DVD
is as follows: 1. Imagine (John demonstrating
the song to the other musicians / recording a take / discussing it with
Phil Spector and Yoko), 2. Crippled Inside
(John
sings a snatch of this to Tariq Ali / the regular version played to a montage
of clips and photo's from the summer of 1971),
3. Oh Yoko! (attempting an overdub
vocal with Phil Spector and then John getting angry with the tape engineer
who cannot find the correct verse / John and Yoko in the garden trying
to find oneanother in the fog / John doing a full frontal flash to camera),
4. Jealous Guy (clip from the Women's
Hour interview / John recording his vocal track in the studio / scenes
from the summer 1971 holiday in Japan), 5.
It's
So Hard (being driven to Yoko's book signing
sessions and then surrounded by press and fans / scene at the kitchen table
showing John talking with George Harrison and Phil Spector),
6. I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier (on a
protest march / another Women's Hour interview clip),
7. Gimme Some Truth (recording the
vocal), 8. Oh My Love (discussing
the song with George Harrison, Yoko and Phil Spector / rehearsal / Women's
Hour clip / recording a take / George and John talk about Ringo and
Paul whilst Yoko pours the tea), 9. How
Do You Sleep? (John running through the
song on piano for George, John says "That's the nasty one" / rehearsing
it with the musicians, John sings "How do you sleep ya cunt?" / another
grittier take / fan found in gardens and John invites him in for soup),
10 How? (recording the vocal track
/ picking a spot for the island summer house, John's son Julian calling
to them but only Yoko responds), 11. Imagine
(listening
to a playback / the regualr video), 12. Film
Credits (an alternate take of Look At Me
played
as John and Yoko are seen walking to the sea).
An
87 minute dramatisation originally broadcast by NBC in the US at 9pm on
3rd December 2000. Based on an original screenplay by Michael O'Hara, the
production focussed on John's teenage years through to the Beatles first
appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964. It was directed by
David Carson with Irish actor Philip McQuillan (23 at the time) playing
John. It was released as an NTSC Studio/Sterling VHS video and region
1 Lions Gate DVD on 24th July 2001.
Hiding
behind attractive packaging, this misleading and presumptuously titled
unofficial release is definitely one to avoid, not least for the inclusion
of an interview that panders to the warped fame seeking fantasies of Lennon's
killer (as if the constant re-appearance of a tribute band singing their
own excruciating composition plus Words of Love wasn't bad enough!).
Haphazardly compiled, much of the content focusses on John's death - The
main feature begins with the sound of 5 gun shots, soon to be followed
by friends talking about the time John was killed and BBC2's 9th December
1980 Newsnight programme reporting on the murder. Continuing the
morbid theme, there's also a section on the death of Brian Epstein. John
does actually make an appearance here and there, including a brief clip
from his June 1968 colour BBC TV interview which ironically can be found
in much greater length on the audio only CD that forms part of the 2 disc
+ booklet* set (why didn't they just show the whole thing on the DVD?).
This release was Australian in origin and first issued as a region free
PAL DVD by Waterfall on 27th May 2002, a region 1 NTSC DVD was issued
by Video Music inc on 10th September 2002, it was also issued on
VHS. Beware - This DVD has also been re-issued as John Lennon Through
the Looking Glass in 2006 and it looks like the same material was also
used for John Lennon In My Life issued by
GMVS
on 29th March 2004.
*The booklet is a short biography which erroneously states that John's mother died when he was still an infant and that his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George had to sit him down and tell him the news (In actual fact John's mother died when he 17, his Uncle George had died when he was 12). The section dealing with the entrance of Yoko Ono into John's life is illustrated with a picture of John with May Pang!
An
excellent 52 minute documentary looking back at John & Yoko's visits
to Canada in 1969 with rare footage from the CBC (Canadaian broadcasting
company) archives. As well as covering the Montreal bed-in and the live
Plastic Ono Band Toronto performance, the Lennon's meetings with Marshall
McLuhan and Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau were also included.
It was directed by Paul McGrath, produced by Allan Lysaght and first shown
on Canadian TV in December 2000. Among those contributing new interviews
to the programme was Yoko Ono. The documentary was issued as an NTSC VHS
cassette and region 1 DVD on 17th September 2002 by
Image/CBC
who
also released a region 2&4 PAL disc*, there are no bonus features other
than a scene selection menu**. After watching it, one can't but help wish
that John had been deported from the U.S. in 1972 and re-located
north of the border!
*The dual (2&4) region DVD was released either on
the same day or within 2 months of the R1 disc. It appears that a R2 only
version was issued by BMG the following year on 28th July 2003.
**The documentary is divided into 15 chapters which are
titled as follows: 1. Main Title; Love & Peace, 2. Getting into Canada,
3. The Montreal Bed-In, 4. Celebrity Visitors, 5. Recording Give Peace
a Chance, 6. Hoodwinked into Ottawa, 7. The Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival,
1969, 8. War Is Over! The Peace Festival, 9. Selling Peace, 10. Hangin'
With Hawkins, 11. Meeting with Trudeau, 12. Money Problems, 13. The Death
of John Lennon, 14. Imagine, 15. End Credits.
Released
by
Geneon/Pioneer on 3rd December 2002 (NTSC Region 1 DVD and VHS)*.
This was a 95 minute document of the 2nd October 2001 concert staged at
New York's Radio City Music Hall (just three weeks after the terrorist
attacks of 9/11). Hosted by Kevin Spacey, the show had been broadcast live
on US TV by WB & Turner Network Television.
*A region free PAL DVD was eventually issued by Eagle
Rock Entertainment Ltd. on 3rd November 2003.
*Artists performing were as follows: Yolanda Adams and
Billy Preston Imagine, Dave Matthews In My Life, Stone Temple
Pilots Revolution, Alanis Morissette Dear Prudence, Moby,
Sean Lennon and Rufus Wainwright Across the Universe, Cyndi Lauper
Strawberry
Fields Forever, Marc Anthony Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, Shelby
Lynne Mother, Nelly Furtado and Dave Stewart
Instant Karma, Lou
Reed Jealous Guy, Natalie Merchant Nowhere Man, Kevin Spacey
Mind
Games, Craig David Come Together,
Sean Lennon and Rufus Wainwright
This
Boy, Sean Lennon Julia,
Ensemble Give Peace a Chance/Power
to the People. There were also guest appearances by Kevin Bacon, Benjamin
Bratt, Steve Buscemi, Edie Falco, James Gandolfini, Dustin Hoffman, Yoko
Ono Lennon, Tim Roth, Leelee Sobieski and Ben Stiller
Sporting
an identical cover to the 1997 compilation album of the same name, this
DVD actually has more in common with the 2005 compilation Working Class
Hero for it boasts re-mastered and re-mixed versions of Lennon's best
known classics, some of which are slightly extended in length on the DVD
(precious seconds that cannot be heard on any other official release).
That was the major plus point, the negative was the problem which had beset
the VHS John Lennon Video Collection, exacerbated here with further
unnecessary tampering of the visuals, the most glaring example being the
performance of the 1975 hit Stand By Me (a perfectly good live 1975
Lennon performance for The Old Grey Whistle Test was now intercut
with scenes from the unrelated peace campaign period of 6 years prior).
Lennon was always a contemporary artist describing what he was going through
at the time and a man who went through many changes - Illustrating these
performances with chronologically misplaced footage rarely sits comfortably
with the discerning fan and there are also moments of deja vu with the
same bits of film cropping up in montages for other songs. In terms of
rare material, there were rewards, but it would have been nice to see such
treasures presented in their original context.
* The tracklisting for Lennon Legend was as follows:
Imagine (original 1971 promo),
Instant Karma! (1970 'Top of the Pops' performance
version two with Yoko knitting, version one had appeared on The John
Lennon Video Collection), Mother (a
new photo montage), Jealous Guy (footage
of John recording his vocal track merged with the sequence used in the
original Imagine film, this was possibly the version that was put
together in 1985 to promote the British single release & the Imagine
home video), Power to the People (as
produced in 1992 for The John Lennon Video Collection albeit extended
in length here), Cold Turkey (new
video combining 1972 Madison Square Garden footage with film of John and
Yoko arriving at court in 1968 following the drug bust),
Love (new video, a mixture of Imagine
film clips from 1971 and the 1980 'love making' footage), Mind
Games (footage of John filming a promo for Whatever
Gets You Through The Night), Whatever Gets You Through The
Night (as produced in 1992 for The John Lennon
Video Collection), #9 Dream (a
new video combining extracts from the Two Virgins, Smile and Imagine
films, this was met with much criticism at the time as it showed Yoko on
a track that John recorded during his 'lost weekend' with May Pang),
Stand By Me (mostly the 1975 Old Grey Whistle
Test performance pointlessly intercut with 1969/71 footage),
(Just Like) Starting Over (a new photo and memorabilia
montage, a far superior video had been produced for The John Lennon
Video Collection), Woman (original
1981 promo), Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) (new
video - slow motion sequences from a home video of John, Yoko, Sean and
two friends sat and playing by the sea), Watching The Wheels
(the
highlight of the new video's - this utilised home movies from 1975-80),
Nobody Told Me (a new video - yet more Imagine
film clips from 1971 and 1969's Apotheosis used to illustrate a
track from 1980), Borrowed Time (new
video - another montage of clips, some rare, spanning 1968-80),
Working Class Hero (new video which mixed stills
& Beatles footage with newly shot film of John's childhood home on
Menlove Ave. & Strawberry Fields), Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
(new
harrowing video showing scenes of war and its' inevitable consequences)
and Give Peace a Chance (partly the
original promo mixed with contemporary late 1960's/early 1970's footage
of student riots, anti war rally's, John and Yoko singing the song with
a large crowd in 1972 and finally the crowd of mourners singing it outside
the Dakota in 1980).
**The special features were as
follows:
Working Class Hero (an
artificially extended version with interview clips interwoven with the
song), Slippin' And Slidin' (as
originally performed for
The Old Grey Whistle Test on 18th March
1975),
Imagine (the
18th April 1975 Lew Grade tribute show performance), Hair
Peace (a snatch of March/April 1969 Amsterdam
bed-in footage, inexplicably presented here with a time-code),
Everybody
Had A Hard Year (December 1968 footage
of John and Yoko in the back garden singing what would become part of the
Beatles song I've Got A Feeling), Animations(a
selection of John's drawings animated into brief cartoons of just a few
seconds each) and Imagine Instrumental
(the
backing track set to a montage of photographs).
Passport
International released this 80 minute biography DVD as a region free
PAL disc on 10th November 2003, an NTSC Region 1 version soon followed
on 9th December 2003. Among those interviewed were Allan Williams, Tony
Sheridan, Alistair Taylor, Julia Baird and members of the Quarry Men. The
cover made no secret of the fact that it was an unofficial release with
the word "Unauthorized" emblazened across the front, as a result of which
there was no Beatles/Lennon music or performances. Two stories told by
Alf Bicknell and Alistair Taylor were added as bonus material.
In
contrast to recent offerings, this 2 disc DVD set offered the viewer the
chance to step back in time and view the events as they actually happened
- as it was seen at the time. Consisting of three ABC (US TV) chat show
appearances by John and Yoko in 1971 and 1972, the footage was unedited
- except for commercial breaks of course - and the other guests were included*.
Disc One contains Cavett's 12th and 19th September 1971 broadcasts: John
and Yoko were only scheduled to appear on the 12th September show but they
continued talking beyond their alloted time, thankfully ABC continued taping
and this was shown the following week. Disc Two has the 11th May 1972 show
on which John and Yoko performed two songs live as well being interviewed**.
Cavett recalls his meetings with John and Yoko in a bonus featurette Cavett
and the Lennons and an 8 page booklet includes an essay by Marc Weingarten***.
Housed in attractive packaging, the total running time is 3 hours 30 minutes.
The only negative thing to say about this DVD is that it was a region 1
release only, issued by Shout in the US on 1st November 2005.
*Stan Freberg and Robert Citron
appeared on the 19th September 1971 show and actress Shirley MacLaine was
Cavett's other guests on the 11th May 1972 programme.
** John's Woman is the Nigger
of the World and Yoko's We're All Water were performed on the
1972 show.
***Two original trailers are also
included on the DVD as Easter Eggs - On disc one Cavett (with Freberg and
Citron sat beside him) plugs the 19/Sep/1971 show, whilst on disc two John,
Yoko and Shirley MacClaine appear with Cavett as he hypes the 11/May/1972
edition. To view the trailers, highlight 'Play All' and then press down
arrow, a caricature of Cavett will now appear - press play.
An
unofficial 74 minute DVD biography issued by Artemis Strategic on
4th April 2006 (NTSC Region 1) and by Pickwick on 18th September
2006 (PAL Region 2). Apparently it includes John & Yoko press conference
footage and 4 bonus features*.
*Tracklisting; 1. Opening 2. First gig 3. John's great
wit 4. Bed-in 5. Paul leaves The Beatles 6. Double Fantasy 7. Bonus Feature
- How I Won The War 8. Bonus Feature - London Lyceum Ballroom 9. Bonus
Feature - Ontario Science Center 10. Bonus Feature - Jutland, Denmark.
ILC
issued this 60 minute region free PAL DVD on 4th September 2006*, it was
described as "an historic attempt to contact [John Lennon's] spirit....
Famed psychics from around the world travel to significant locations in
the life of the former Beatle to try to find out more about the fabled
musician.". The show had originally been broadcast as a 'Pay per view'
event in the USA from 24th April 2006.
*A region free NTSC version was released by Crystal
Entertainment on 13th March 2007 with an alternate cover showing a
close up picture of an electric guitar.
Effectively
a companion volume to John & Yoko's Year Of Peace, this CBC
production (again directed and produced by Paul McGrath and Alan Lysaght)
focussed on the peace anthem Give Peace A Chance which had been
written and recorded in Montreal during John & Yoko's 2nd and final
bed-in event. Yoko Ono and Tommy Smothers were among those who contributed
new interviews. Whilst this new documentary was not quite as essential
as it's predecessor, it managed to avoid the pitfalls of repetition and
was a welcome addition to the Lennon DVD collection having first been screened
a year earlier on Canadian TV (9th December 2005). Hip-o/CBC released
a region 1 DVD on 3rd October 2006 which ran to 81 minutes in total - the
main feature being 45 minutes* with the 35 minutes of bonus material including
some raw archive material from the Lennon's visits to Canada in 1969**,
there was also a 4 page booklet of credits and stills. Fabulous Films
Ltd. issued a region 2 version almost a year later on 27th August 2007.
*The main feature is divided into 6 chapters which are
titled as follows: 1. The Bed-In Begins, 2. The Choir Assembles, 3. Recording
Give
Peace A Chance, 4. Pete Seeger Makes The Song Famous, 5. The Song Lives
On, 6. John Lennon Performs Give Peace A Chance.
**The bonus material includes: "Peace Weekend" interview
20/Dec/1969, "Television Interview" 18/Dec/1969, "Press Conference" 17/Dec/1969,
"Andre Perry Interview", "Petula Clark Visits The Bed-In" and "Tom Smothers
And Judy Steinberg Bonus Interview"
Yoko
Ono said of this film "Of all the documentaries that have been made about
John, this is the one he would have loved". Without doubt the most important
of all John Lennon Film/Video/DVD releases (it included contributions from
Noam Chomsky no less*), The U.S vs. John Lennon was a 96 minute
documentary by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld that told the story of how
the American government came to view John Lennon as a serious threat to
their chances of being re-elected in 1972 and their efforts to silence
him. It was produced by Lionsgate in the mid 2000's amid ever increasing
opposition to American foreign policy, thus inviting the viewer to draw
parallels between the Nixon administration of the early 1970's and that
of present day conditions under George W. Bush. Among those contributing
new interviews were Yoko Ono, George McGovern, Gore Vidal, Walter Kronkite,
Tariq Ali, Bobby Seale, John Sinclair, Angela Davis, Bob Gruen, Elliot
Mintz and Jon Wiener (Wiener was the author of Come Together, a
book based on classified FBI files held on the subject of John Lennon).
For balance (or amusement), G. Gordon Liddy was also interviewed as well
as ex-FBI agents. Rare archive material included colour footage of John
defending his 'We're more popular than Jesus' statement in 1966 and a news
report showing John on the day he received his green card (which had not
been seen since it was first shown in 1976).
*The author of this web-site appears
on the credits too :-D
** The release of the DVD in Britain
occurred three days after it was first shown on BBC Television, to my ears
the BBC2 broadcast sounded as though the film had been slightly speeded
up and I feared a similar problem that had so obviously affected the R2
DVD release of Imagine:John Lennon, but thankfully no such problem
was in evidence on the R2 U.S vs. JL DVD.
***The main feature was divided
into 24 chapters and titled as follows: 1. Setting the stage, 2. Growing
up, 3. Unpopular War, 4. Total Communication, 5. Honeymooners, 6. Bed Peace,
7. Give Peace a Chance, 8. Impacting the White House, 9. War Is Over! if
you want it, 10. A Dreamer, 11. John and Yoko in NYC, 12. Tools against
the government, 13. Song for John Sinclair, 14. Monitoring the opposition,
15. Aggressive steps, 16. Harassing the Lennons, 17. Nutopia, 18. Challenging
case, 19. Facing forward, 20. Improper interference, 21. Great news, 22.
Beautiful boy, 23. Sudden tragedy, 24. Worldwide message. The bonus footage
was titled as follows: Theatrical trailer (not on the R2 version), Becoming
John Lennon, Power to the People, Dissent vs. disloyalty, Then & now,
Walter Kronkite meets the Beatles, The Two Virgins album cover,
"Some time in New York", "Imagine", The 'One to One' benefit concert and
Yoko Ono Lennon's letter to the parole board. There was also a DVD-ROM
feature which offered the text of the Red Mole interview from 1971.
"Classic
Albums" was an engaging rock documentary series first seen on BBC Television
in 1997, intermittent episodes continued to be screened over the years
before the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band edition was initially released
on DVD by Eagle Rock Entertainment (PAL & NTSC versions, both
region free) on 28th April 2008. Among those interviewed for the 50 minute
programme were Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr, Klaus Voorman, Arthur Janov, Jan
Wenner and Mark Lewisohn plus Abbey Road studio engineers Phil McDonald
and Richard Lush*. The DVD boasted 37 minutes of additional material not
included on the TV broadcast**.
*The scene selection is divided
up as follows: 1. Introduction, 2. The Plastic Ono Band, 3. Give Peace
a Chance, 4. Cold Turkey, 5. Instant Karma, 6. Mother,
7. Hold On, 8. Isolation, 9. I Found Out, 10. Yoko
Ono/Plastic Ono Band, 11. Love, 12. Working Class Hero,
13. God.
**Bonus material - 1. Remember
Remember,
2. Working Klaus Hero (Mark Lewisohn's potted history of Klaus Voorman's
association with the Beatles/Lennon), 3. Well Well Well, 4. Well
Well Well Hidden Praise, 5. Class Divide, 6. Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono
Band, 7. God is Alive and Living in the Eiffel Tower, 8. Mother
(Live
at Madison Square Garden Aug/1972), 9. Instant Karma ('Top of the
Pops' Feb/1970 - Version one [with Yoko holding card instructions]).
An
unofficial region 2 DVD issued by Edgehill Publishing on 17th November
2008, the 70 minute feature was advertised as a "powerful independent retrospective"
which drew upon "rare footage of John in performance with the Beatles and
in his solo career". Interviewee's include Beatle aides Tony Barrow, Norman
Smith, Tony Bramwell and Bill Harry - The same personal also appear on
both The Beatles in Performance and Paul McCartney in Performance
which were released around the same time.
A
trawl through the ITV archives uncovered a handful of tapes which justified
a Lennon volume in a series of DVD's entitled "Rare and Unseen", the 75
minute feature included footage from a 1973 appearance on "Weekend World"
(which really hadn't been seen outside the UK and not in that territory
since its' original transmission), "Frost on Saturday" (1968), "Man of
the Decade" (1969) and "Aquarius" (1972), though sadly none in complete
unedited form. Among those offering contemporary thoughts and opinions
were Quarrymen member Colin Hanton, Phil Collins and former Beatles press
officer Tony Barrow. The region free disc was issued by Wienerworld
Ltd on 22nd February 2010.
This
99 minute dramatisation of Lennon's late-teenage years was screened in
UK cinemas from 29th December 2009, the US release was delayed until 8th
October 2010. It starred 19 year old English actor Aaron Johnson as Lennon,
Kristin Scott-Thomas as Aunt Mimi and Anne-Marie Duff as Julia. John's
Uncle George, best friend Pete Shotton, 'step father' Bobby Dykins and
Beatle colleagues Paul McCartney and George Harrison were also depicted
in the movie which was directed by Samantha Taylor-Wood with a screenplay
written by Matt Greenhalgh. Initially the film was going to be based on
Julia Baird's dubious book "Imagine This: Growing Up With My Brother" but
ultimately Baird received no credit.
Icon Home Entertainment issued
the Region 2 DVD and Blue Ray version on 10th May 2010, Sony/The Weinstein
Company eventually issued the region 1 disc with an alternate cover
design on 25th January 2011. A soundtrack album featuring a mixture of
1950's Rock and Roll classics and new recordings by "The Nowhere Boys"
also included John's track "Mother" after the film received an endorsement
from Yoko Ono.
Lennon Naked
Another
dramatisation, this time for BBC television in the UK. It starred 46 year
old former 'Doctor Who' actor Christopher Eccleston playing a man who was
some 20 years his junior during the period the film was set, 1967-1971.
The focus was largely on John's relationship with his father (played by
Christopher Fairbank) opening with a scene in which John was reunited with
his Dad having not seen him since the age of 5. The 82 minute film was
directed by Edmund Coulthard and written by Robert Jones, other characters
portrayed included Yoko Ono (Naoko Mori), Cynthia (Claudie Blakley), Paul
McCartney (Andrew Scott), Derek Taylor (Michael Colgan), Pete Shotton (Adrian
Bower), Julian (Charlie Coulthard) and Arthur Janov (Allan Corduner). It
received its' television premiere on BBC4 on 24th June 2010, a 2 Entertain/BBC
region 2 DVD followed four days later and a region 1 disc was issued by
BBC
Warner on 23rd November.
Love Is All You Need
Another
unofficial collection of archive material, this one directed by Alan Byron
and Ashley Hall making use of TV interviews with Yoko Ono as well as Cynthia
and Julian from the early 1980's to tell John's story, Julian talks about
the car crash in Scotland in 1969 and his father's death. Paul Gambaccini
was specially interviewed to provide a commentary. The 83 minute biography
was issued as a region free DVD by Odeon Entertainment Ltd on 19th
July 2010.
LENNONYC
2010
was a high profile year for John in which he would have celebrated his
70th birthday, official products included a new album of unreleased material
and a re-mastering of his regular albums as well as this 115 minute documentary
film which was first broadcast in the United States on the PBS station
on 22nd November. An A&E Home Video region 1 NTSC DVD release
followed a day later, it was issued on Blue-ray on 11th January 2011 and
a region 2 DVD was also made available around the same time. The film focussed
on the years John lived in the United States (1971-1980) pretty much covering
the same period as
The U.S. vs. John Lennon movie released four
years earlier, although this film concerned itself more with John's music
and personal life rather than the political/protest angle. Among those
interviewed were Yoko Ono, Jonas Mekas, members of Elephant's Memory, Bob
Gruen, Jon Wiener, Elton John, Jim Keltner, Earl Slick and Record producer
Jack Douglas.
Guest Contribution Video's & DVD's
Frost on Saturday
David Frost was a well known television interviewer on both sides of
the Atlantic who first rose to fame as host of the controversial BBC satire
programme "That Was The Week That Was" in 1963, Frost left the BBC in 1967
and in 1968 joined London Weekend Television (a new commercial service
for the capital city and surrounding area) where he hosted chat shows on
each of the three nights LWT was on the air (Friday, Saturday and Sunday),
John and Yoko gave their very first television interview together soon
after the station launched, the live appearance on the 24th August 1968
edition of "Frost on Saturday" being one of seven surviving complete programmes
that were included on this 2 disc region 2 DVD set issued by Network
on 4th October 2010 (There were also Friday and Sunday volumes). Although
the cover includes colour photographs from John and Yoko's appearance,
the actual programme was transmitted and recorded in black & white.
Full details of John and Yoko's appearance on "Frost on Saturday", including
a transcript, can be found here.
The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus
Filmed in December 1968, John performed Yer
Blues and Yoko did Her Blues*, John is also seen introducing
the Rolling Stones section, dancing with the crowd and chatting with Mick
Jagger. Due to a pay dispute involving the Rolling Stones and their dissatisfaction
with their own performace, the film was not made available to the public
until Universal released the home-video with an accompanying soundtrack
album in October 1996. A region free DVD was released on October 25th 2004
with an alternate take of Yer Blues included as one of the extras.
*John referred to Yoko's number
as "Her Blues" in an interview with John Peel at the time, but it
was retitled Whole Lotta Yoko for the official release - presumably
this title was a word play on Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love (which
was not recorded/released until a year after Rock and Roll Circus).
John and his backing band (Eric Clapton, Keith Richards & Mitch Mitchell)
are referred to on the official release as "The Dirty Mac".
Dynamite Chicken
John and Yoko filmed a contribution for this
film in December 1969, it was first shown in 1971. American Home Entertainment
released an NTSC Home video on 20th September 1994. A region free DVD was
released on 21st February 2005 by Quantum Leap.
Three Friends
Released in 1995 on VHS, this was a 52 minute Jonas Mekas film featuring
Happy
Birhday To John - the record of Lennon's birthday in 1971, along with
some footage of the Lennon/Ono concert in Madison Square Gardens in 1972,
the Vigil in Central Park in 1980 and other rare footage. It also features
Zefiro Torna, images from the life of George Maciunas with bits of Fluxus
events and performances and picnics with friends (Warhol, Lennon and Ono).
Oh Calcutta
John contrtibuted a sketch to the original 1969
stage version which was also used for the 1972 film version. The Uav
Corporation released an NTSC home video of the film on July 14th 1980.
Jef
Films Inc. re-released it in America on October 27th 2003 before their
DVD Region 1 version followed a year later on November 30th 2004.
Satan's Bed
An underground film completed in 1965 which included
an acting role for Yoko Ono. It was issued on NTSC VHS at some point by
Something
Weird Video, a region 1 NTSC DVD then included it as part of a double
feature (the other film being Scare their pants off) released on
8th January 2002. A region free PAL DVD was issued on 5th September 2005
(again as a double feature with Scare their pants off).
Withdrawn Home-Video
"John Lennon Live"
Described as "A 30 minute documentary of Yoko
Ono recording with Elephant's Memory, with John sitting in." Some copies
were apparently sold before it was withdrawn. Presumably it contained an
edition (or re-edit) of Flipside which had been originally broadcast
by American TV in 1973.
See also......
John &
Yoko Filmography
John Lennon
on Television
Off site links....
The Beatles
Laserdiscs
John
Lennon LaserDiscs & DVD's (for quality artwork scans)
