Product Description
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LENNONYC is the story of one of the most famous and influential
artists of the Twentieth Century, and how he found redemption not
in the public adoration he craved as a youth, but in the quiet
and simple pleasures of herhood. And, though he wasn't a
typical immigrant, his story is certainly an immigrant's tale.
Lennon came to New York City in 1971, seeking what every other
immigrant who has washed up on its shores has sought: freedom-the
freedom to be himself and not 'Beatle John,' the freedom to love
without the overwhelming public scorn he and Yoko had suffered in
London, and, simply, the freedom to live a normal life.
LENNONYC tells this story with never before-released in-studio
s, concert film only recently transferred to HD, and a
trove of Lennon/Ono compositions-some in versions previously
unheard. It also contains interviews with those closest to Lennon
during this period in his life-friend and photographer, Bob
Gruen; musical collaborator and drummer, Jim Keltner; May Pang,
Lennon's companion during his 'lost weekend;'rock superstar,
Elton John; and Jack Douglas, the producer of Double Fantasy.
LENNONYC also contains one of the most powerful and emotionally
direct interviews Yoko Ono has ever given. No film about John
Lennon has ever covered this story with the same breadth and
depth as LENNONYC.
As the public turns its attention to what would have been
Lennon's 70th birthday and the 30th anniversary of his murder
LENNONYC uniquely commemorates the life of one of the most
important and influential artists of the Twentieth
Century-someone whose life and work is as powerful and relevant
today as it has ever been
.com
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John Lennon famously began his life in working-class Liverpool.
Just as famously, he lost it in every-class New York. This
edition of American Masters explores the nine years he spent in
the United States, counting the of 1973's Mind Games in
Los Angeles during his infamous lost weekend. Director Michael
Epstein compiles his words with new interviews, photographs, home
movies, and performances (including studio outtakes). In 1971,
Lennon and Yoko Ono sought to escape the hostility of the London
press and reinvent themselves, so they moved to the Big Apple,
where they hobnobbed with Andy Warhol and Abbie Hoffman. Former
senator Tom Hayden talks about their efforts on behalf of the
antiwar movement and how that caught the attention of the Feds
who tried to deport them, while musicians recall the making of
albums like 1974's Walls and Bridges. Ono remembers Lennon's
househusband days with fondness, even if she still seems hurt
when describing the night he slept with another woman (Lennon
nemesis Richard Nixon had just won the presidency). In the end,
he found the happiness he sought, even if it didn't last. Other
speakers include photographer Bob Gruen, talk show host Dick
Cavett, Double Fantasy producer Jack Douglas, and Elton John,
Lennon's duet partner on the chart-topper "Whatever Gets You
Through the Night." LennoNYC, which takes an even-handed look at
an enormously talented human being, duplicates events that appear
in other films, like Imagine, but there's enough vital material
here to please fans old and new alike. --Kathleen C. Fennessy