Like the countless documentaries dealing with subject ,this one is merely a repetition of facts that have already been digested by millions of fans : Beatlemania , the Christ incident and the fans' reactions, the meaning of " Lucy in the sky with diamonds" etc

But this one has something new to offer :Cynthia Lennon plays a prominent part and all her interventions are really absorbing : not only her view of her rival Ono (she's not my kind of person) but also her scenes with son Julian : one sees them flipping through a photo album and Julian remembers the car crash in Scotland (which happened in "Abbey road " recording time ) ; he remembers his sufferings after the divorce trauma and the death of a father he hardly knew ("you knew him better than I "). In all Lennon's biographies ,Cynthia was always praised ,and for all she had to cope with , she's not rancorous.

Feminist writer Camille Paglia blames Ono for Lennon's creativity decline ,which is questionable (his songs from the White Album were among the best he had ever released);and she contradicts herself when she considers "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band " a masterpiece ; much time is given over to Lennon and Ono talking about art ,then their crusade for peace ; hatred for Ono in England is not passed over in silence ( "Cynthia's better than her!");a short-haired Yoko also talks about her relationship with Lennon.

Journalist Paul Gambaccini talks about the musical side , and particularly about the shock "tomorrow never knows" was ;he insisted that when he died ,Lennon had still much to offer and he passes over in silence (like many people) the name of his murderer .George Martin also participates, but it's more interesting to watch him in his own doc ("produced by" ).

This doc does not feature a single note of Beatles (or Lennon solo) music : it's more about Lennon's persona ,his vision of art,and his involvement in politics .

After watching this film, one can only hope that someday Scorsese will decide to do a proper Lennon documentary with the music, and hopefully with the help and blessings of Paul McCartney. This film, with it's focus on the former wives, and poor choice of stock footage and Lennon interviews, does little more than present him as a total jerk. Although probably true on certain levels, that can't be the whole story. I learned more meaningful info about John Lennon in the few minutes McCartney discussed him during his 1997 David Frost interview. Surely an artist of his stature and influence deserves better than this. And forgive me if I'm wrong in saying this, because I'm not an expert on the subject.. but when has anyone EXCEPT John Lennon ever cared about what Yoko Ono thinks? Maybe a short interview is warranted given her involvement in his life, but this goes on and on- again, the man deserves better.