The U.S. vs. John Lennon

Directed by David Leaf & John Scheinfeld

The U.S. vs. John Lennon documents the decade or so during which John and Yoko, in residence at The Dakota, lived under the constant keep-your-bags-packed threat of deportation by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for their active engagement in intensely effective and entirely legal efforts to end the war in Vietnam. Through songs, protest rally appearances, concerts, statements, love-ins and public art, we see the Lennons spearheading a peace movement that was gaining strength so quickly it was deemed a national threat by Nixon’s White House and Hoover’s FBI. They wanted John and Yoko banished from the local scene, and the INS was the weapon they found to try to execute their goal.

INS persecution of Lennon and his resistance are well chronicled in various sources, and this unabashedly pro-Lennon film presents no new revelations about the case and its outcome. Anyone too young to have witnessed the Lennon case should see this cautionary tale since it’s a compelling and timely reminder of a the government’s. propensity to use its power to abuse individual civil rights. 

Filmmakers David Leaf and John Scheinfeld use fascinating original footage of Lennon’s peace protests and personal life. Interviews with various lawyers and illustrious commentators, such as Walter Cronkite, are included along with that of contemporaries Angela Davis, Abby Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and Bobby Seale. These are interspersed with cuts of Nixon, Hoover, INS, FBI agents and others on the opposition side. Yoko’s running commentary is particularly moving as it reveals the depth of her love for John.

It’s always great to see, hear and think about Lennon, whose brilliant creativity, iconoclastic and acerbic wit and full-on social commitment are as inspiring as ever. Before doc-watching became fashionable, The U.S. vs. John Lennon might’ve been relegated to TV—but larger-than-life Lennon really belongs on the big screen.

Towards the end of the film, when asked if his INS battle made him bitter, John says no, then quips, “Time wounds all heels”—which turned out to be an accurate prediction regarding the Nixon administration.