|
|
John and Yoko's Year of Peace
|
List Price: $9.99
Special Price: $9.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
Starring: Yoko Ono, Laurie Brown, Chuck Chandler, Paul Levitan, Allan Rock
Directed By: Paul McGrath (VII)
|
Average Customer Rating: 
|
|
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0014381178524
Format: Color
Label: Image Entertainment
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Image Entertainment
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2002-09-17
Running Time: 52
Studio: Image Entertainment
Theatrical Release Date: 2002-09-17
|
|
|
|
|
|
Editorial Reviews:
|
Amazing that a nearly hour-long film about a Beatle that contains almost no music could still be worthwhile, but that's the case with John & Yoko's Year of Peace. The year in question is 1969, when the newly married couple staged the notorious "bed-in" at a Toronto hotel to promote their somewhat naive but sincere campaign for world peace; they then moved on to Montreal, where "Give Peace a Chance" was recorded in another hotel room, before returning to Toronto, where Lennon (accompanied by Eric Clapton and others) became the first Beatle to perform in concert without his mates. There's no film of that event here, but there is a great deal of other Lennon footage, revealing him to be utterly honest, unpretentious, gentle, and approachable. Ono and others who were there recall the events in interesting interviews conducted around the time of this 2000 documentary, but it's the scenes from '69 that make this an invaluable document. --Sam Graham
|
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating:
Summary: Rigorous Naivete, Fearless Pacifism
Comment: I ordered this DVD on a whim: I doubted I would be able to take it seriously, but I have. I've watched it several times and probably will be watching it again.
One of the things I find interesting and instructive is the good account John Lennon always gives for what he's doing and why he is doing it. He's fearlessly honest and to the point -- he doesn't lie or beat around the bush or be unable to give good reasons for why he has chosen one course of action over another. It's not the way I expected someone whose protests took the form of a "bed-in" to think. He's extremely sober and shrewd and with-it...There's no hazy hippy, here.
This really comes over in Lennon's encounter with Al Capp, documentary footage of which is included on the DVD. Capp wishes to think of himself as the hardheaded and clear-thinking pragmatist, and to regard Lennon as the freaked-out even if well-meaning flake. But as I view this footage, Capp comes off as a blustering,ill-spirited cupcake, while Lennon is tough and practical and even I would say, disciplined. Capp tries to accuse Lennon of being hypocritical in taking a position of condoning some kinds of violence on the part of protesters; Lennon had condoned no forms of violence-- he lets Capp know this. Capp tries to pooh-pooh Lennon's disclaimer, but the poop lands all over Capp's face.
At the very end of the film, someone asks Lennon if he thinks what he's doing can be effective, if he can make a difference. He says he doesn't know. He remarks that back at the Cavern if someone had asked him if he was going to make it, he wouldn't have known either. He didn't know if the Beatles were going to make it-- he only knew that the Beatles had something. Lennon's peace activities had something....It won't harm us at this time and in our current context to remember he did.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: I Miss Idealism
Comment: This documentary rates 4 stars instead of 5 only because it is less than an hour long. Much more could have been included, even restricting the story to 1969, the year John & Yoko staged their Bag-In, two Bed-Ins, got married and recorded "Give Peace A Chance." The story of how quite possibly the world's biggest star devoted his celebrity to fighting against a war halfway around the world -- a war he had no financial reasons to oppose -- is continued on the DVD of "The U.S. Vs. John Lennon." These two movies together make a nice overview of the idealism on the era, when two pop stars thought they could end the war by willing it.
Naive optimism, idealism, "you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one." One naive optimist is worth a thousand jaded cynics.
Customer Rating:
Summary: John and Yoko in Canada
Comment: "John & Yoko's Year of Peace" is a film that looks at the couple's peace activities with a strong emphasis on their time in Canada. "Year of Peace" first looks at the bed-ins. Those who've always wondered what they were about will finally get an explanation. Next, the audience sees the story behind Toronto's Rock 'N' Roll Revival Festival. Nowadays, this is considered the last nail in the Beatles' coffin. The film makers also tell the story of John Lennon's meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau. Perhaps the largest story told is that of the doomed Peace Festival. The hope was to have this event dwarf Woodstock. "Year of Peace" looks at the reasons for the project's failure. Showing images of Strawberry Fields, a balanced reflection looks back at the life of Lennon. At an hour long, "Year of Peace" is a very well done film. In addition to having excellent archival footage, the interviews are top-notch. In addition to Yoko Ono, the film is peppered with interviews of producers, journalists, DJs, promoters and other people who were active participants in the story told. While thinking of John Lennon, places like London and New York so easily come to mind. This film will help viewers appreciate John and Yoko's Canadian connection. Some consider the peace efforts of John and Yoko to be naïve and short-sighted. It's more likely that when looking at today's conflict ridden world, we need to re-discover their vision of world harmony.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Let Peace Rain, God Bless You
Comment: John & Yoko are great people they both are saints in heavan. God Loves you both. This dvd of John&Yoko's Song is an inspiration to everyone. God Bless you Both. Love You....xoxoxox Your Friend Gary
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great documentary
Comment: This documentary gives the viewer the chance to see firsthand what went on during John and Yoko's honeymoon bed-in for peace (the type of nontraditional honeymoon I'd love to have myself!) and their pro-peace activities during the rest of 1969. We see a lot of the people they met with (such as Canadian PM Pierre Trudeau and Rabbi Abraham Feinberg), people who became allies of theirs as well as people who deliberately tried to provoke them. I was also delighted to see the footage of Yoko's daughter Kyoko. Overall it really serves to recreate the hopeful mood of the late Sixties, when people believed anything was possible and believed their voices could make a difference. John and Yoko didn't care if people thought they were freaks or naïve, since they had a powerful message to get across, and the public exposure they were guaranteed as celebrities would make a much larger audience of people tune in to their message and get inspired to work for change themselves. And as we see, during that sadly brief time, it did seem as though the world were listening, people were actively campaigning for world peace and an end to the Vietnam War (and all other wars), and world peace really seemed like it would happen very soon. Till the very end of his life, John believed that love and peace were eternal instead of some cliché from the Sixties. As he says in footage near the end of the documentary, world peace isn't impossible or unobtainable. It's as simple as people the world over deciding they want peace. As soon as enough people want it, it can happen. The late Sixties might seem like a dated joke to some people today, but even though clothing styles and other fashions have changed, the basic premise has not. This is a powerful message that's chillingly just as relevant today as it was back in 1969.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
