From my favorite movies..

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

I should mention up front that I am not particularly a John Lennon fan. I don't dislike him but am somewhat indifferent to his work...especially his work post-Beatles. However, I watched this film because I am a huge fan of PBS documentaries...and in "American Masters" is one of my favorites. The film is about John Lennon and his life when he moved from London to New York in the early 70s. Among the many topics covered in the film is his marriage to Yoko, his anti-war work, the Nixon administration's attempts to deport him, his separation from Yoko (with his subsequent spiral into drinking and being a jerk), his studio work as well as his later years and, once again, fatherhood. The way I see the film, it's a gradual evolution until he became a person most of us could really like...at which point he was murdered.The documentary is made up of the usual interviews and film clips but what makes this one really neat (and a tad spooky) is that so much audio of Lennon talking and recording and outtakes are spaced out throughout the film. It's interesting to hear alternate versions of his songs, his commentary or even his saying goodnight to his young son. All in all, a very compelling, well made and interesting portrait of the guy from about age 30-40. Well worth seeing.

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.

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!

LennonNYC (2010) *** 1/2 (out of 4) If you want to learn about the life and career of John Lennon then you've got countless ways of doing so. There are countless books, interviews, documentaries and just about everything else out there and easily available. This most recent documentary takes a look at him from the time he moved to New York City until his death, which this documentary was marking the 30th anniversary of. The first portion of the film deals with Lennon's politics as he was treated with deportation and from here we see his break-up with Yoko Ono, which eventually led to an alcohol rage in Los Angeles. Then, the final portion of the film looks at his life with his new son Sean and eventually the Double Fantasy album. Once again, there are countless documentaries out there but this one here at least gives us a lot of outtake footage from his albums as well as plenty of nice and touching interviews. I think fans of Lennon are going to enjoy this because there's so much behind-the-scenes footage from the making of Double Fantasy to some audio clips of various things he did from benefit concerts to his cameo with Elton John at Madison Square Garden. The documentary does a very good job at showing how much Lennon did in this ten-year period, although I do think the stuff with the politics wasn't nearly as interesting as everything else. We get to hear about Lennon's depression from some of his solo albums doing poorly with critics and fans plus his unhappiness over the controversy surround "Woman in the Ni**er of the World." The stuff with Lennon pretty much going into the dumps while in Los Angeles was highly entertaining as was the final bits with him making what was suppose to be comeback album. The death of Lennon has probably been documented more than any other event in rock and roll history but it is told in a rather unique way here. I think documentaries like IMAGINE and THE U.S. VS JOHN LENNON were more entertaining overall but this one here is still a must see for all the outtakes that are featured plus we get nice interviews with Ono, Elton John and countless people who played on Lennon's final few records.