Gimme Some Truth: The Making of John Lennon's Imagine Album (2000)
An instant classic when released in September 1971, John Lennon's Imagine was the ex-Beatle's solo masterpiece, and its musical legacy is matched here by priceless footage of Lennon's creative process, independently edited from original 16-millimeter footage by producer-director Andrew Solt with the hands-off approval of Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. Incorporating footage from John and Yoko's original film Imagine (clips of which were previously included in the 1988 documentary Imagine: John Lennon), Gimme Some Truth presents Lennon, Ono, coproducer Phil Spector, and a host of gifted musicians in a fluid context of conflict, community, and craftsmanship. Bearing witness to every stage of the recording process, this 63-minute documentary succeeds as a visual diary, a study of familiar music in its infancy, and a revealing portrait of the then-30-year-old Lennon--from witty clown to confrontational perfectionist--at the peak of his post-Fab Four inspiration.
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This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
Cards on the table, Lennon is my number 1 musical hero and "Imagine", the album only has The Beatles "Revolver" as competition in my favourite albums short-list. As we approach the 70th anniversary of his birth in October (and of course 30th anniversary of his murder in December), this fly-on-the wall documentary offers a fascinating and wonderful insight into his life and artistic processes just when he was at the top of his game or a "life in the day of John Lennon" as George Harrison pithily puts it at one point.Johnny boy was no saint however as he'd be the first to admit and so we get to see his different temperaments at different times from tetchiness at technical recording glitches to perhaps slightly overplayed devotion to Yoko and in the justifiably most famous scene, his down-to-earth humanity as he engages with a dishevelled fan on his grounds. I can't imagine a McCartney, Dylan or Jagger debunking his own mythology so humanely let alone inviting the poor guy into his home for breakfast.The music is marvellous, no filler as they say - I didn't appreciate it was George who played the beautifully sensitive guitar on the ethereal "Oh My Love" so I learned something too. His comment on the McCartney-attacking "How Do You Sleep" that "this is the nasty one" and an improvised chorus "How do you sleep ya c##t!" shows up the dynamic contrast with the more pastoral songs elsewhere.Biggest thrill for me the Beatlemaniac was his interplay with George Harrison and a reclusive, almost silent Phil Spector, probably the only two people here, outside of Yoko, who he treats as artistic equals. I did smile at non-musician Yoko giving Lennon (who was right on top of his music throughout on this album) some musical advice - but I also winced as he immediately passes it on unreservedly to his crack band of musicians.Anyway, it's very rare I believe to get the chance to witness a musical genius from that era up close and personal at work on his most enduring work and I was confirmed in my wish that JL is still the one person in history I would have liked to meet. And of course it's even more tragic to think that his accessibility to his fans (also demonstrated here by his attending a book launch on the high street for Yoko's "Graperuit" book) ultimately proved fatal to him less than a decade later.
It's hard to argue with the other reviewers who say that there is too much Yoko Ono; however, I think that it shows just how pervasive her influence was. Whether one sees her as a Machiavellian Lady Macbeth (to mix two classical examples), or a true artist with a powerful vision, or something in between, she certainly made sure her influence on a willing Lennon was felt. Lennon is clearly devoted to her, for good or bad, and if it was she who broke up the Beatles, it is not hard to see why.The two most interesting scenes are the one where the stranger claims all Lennon's songs are about him: Lennon says, 'How could they be'? The shot of the face of the disillusioned fan is worthwhile. The other interesting scene is that of Lennon showing George Harrison (perhaps I should have prefaced that with 'the late')'How do you sleep', which clearly shows it to be about McCartney. Harrison is a willing conspirator, which breaks the legend down a little.Long and rambling, yet gripping, it is no 'End of the Century: The Ramones, or even 'Some Kind of Monster', but it is certainly worth watching. I gave it 7/10
I was too young to experience The Beatles and too young for Lennon's solo career. All of my life I have heard what an incredible artist Lennon was. I never appreciated Lennon or his music until I saw this film. Bravo ! Lennon has been discovered by a new generation. This film has given me an appreciation of the man that millions worldwide knew so well.
This is far superior to IMAGINE:JOHN LENNON which also used footage from Yoko Ono's personal archives. It follows the making of Lennon's classic album, 'Imagine', and we are given insight both into his impatient but passionate recording processes, and also into the man himself and his relationship with Yoko. Seeing the succession of fantastic tracks being laid down with the likes of George Harrison and Klaus Voorman is engrossing, but the most presciently ghoulish episode concerns a bedraggled and disturbed fan turning up on Lennon's doorstep and insisting that all the Beatles songs were written specifically with him in mind (Lennon tries to reason with him then invites him in for a meal). An engaging delve into popular music's past and the work of a genius.