This is a biographical documentary made with the help of family and friends but not the other members of the Beatles although George does show up post-Beatles. It still covers the Beatles and treats them with respect. There is a lot of Lennon's private video and recordings. It goes through the standard bio moves. There are great bits of music sessions and John talking about his life. There is one hippie who shows up at his door. The guy was tripping and the encounter is very compelling. It hella meta when John is arguing with Yoko about his love song to her. Al Capp's confrontation with John and Yoko during the Bed-in becomes quite intense. That's a great moment because it allowed humorist Capp to land quite a few hits. It's not soft-peddling anything. Also, one should check out Capp's casting couch stories. John comes off looking petty as he song-battles Paul. That's not to say that this has everything. There are some darker issues that are missing. In the end, it's their lives in their own words.

Andrew Solt's "Imagine: John Lennon" is a documentary about the singer. There's plenty of focus on his music and activism, but mostly it looks at him as a person. In addition to the ample footage of John making his inimitable music and expounding on philosophy, there are interviews with people who knew him (Yoko, Sean, Cynthia, Julian). And the scene of John and Yoko's bed-in for peace makes clear that Al Capp was a real creep.

Another documentary about Lennon that's worth seeing is "The US vs. John Lennon", about Nixon's efforts to keep him out of the country. Both documentaries note that, while Lennon got taken from us, his dream of world peace lives on. Indeed, political movements the world over take inspiration from him. May his memory live forever.

Great documentary.

"Imagine" is an excellent look at John Lennon, as a young boy, a rocker, a Beatle, an advocate, a husband, a father, and finally, as a legend.

For those (like my sister) who dislike Yoko Ono and blame her for breaking up the Beatles, Yoko is present, but there is plenty else here.

John Lennon isn't an easy man to figure out, and I don't think this documentary tried to. Rather, it attempted to show all sides of him - the Beatle, the drug side, the sketch artist, his attempt to distance himself from the Beatles, stating that he had grown up, his musical journey, his hard-headedness, demands as a musician - the whole thing. One of the nicest scenes is one in which he speaks with a vagrant about his music and then has him come in for a meal. So with all his preaching about peace and being one in the world, he walked the talk.

Lennon provides a lot of the narration, which is taken from hundreds of interviews. There are also interviews with Yoko, Sean, Julian, his ex-wife Cynthia, and others.

If you grew up with the Beatles as I did and mourn the death of John Lennon as I do, or even if you just like his contribution to music, this is a very good look at the Beatles' most off-beat and possibly most brilliant member - a man who continually searched for an identity that kept changing.