12-09-06, 9:39 am

The US vs John Lennon Directed by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld

IN THE publicity material for this documentary about John Lennon, Yoko Ono is quoted as saying: 'Of all the documentaries that have been made about John, this is the one he would have loved.'

It deals with Lennon's life between 1966-76, the decade in which he became politicised and made his very vocal stand against the Vietnam war in 1972.

The title is inspired by the fact that president Richard Nixon and FBI chief J Edgar Hoover were determined to have him deported.

This has been documented by historian Jon Wiener, who filed a freedom of information request for the FBI files on Lennon after his death.

Most fans know that the US burnt and banned Beatles records in 1966 after Lennon had declared: 'We're more popular than Jesus now,' even though he later apologised.

However, it was following Lennon's relationship with Yoko in 1968 that his aesthetic and political journey took a surprising turn, not least their mutual antipathy to the Vietnam war which culminated with their marriage.

Personally, I considered their peace proclamations and celebrated bed-ins in Amsterdam and Montreal to be silly, especially when compared to the sacrifices of those who were being forced to fight for their lives.

Peaceniks at the time tended to ignore the fact that, sometimes, you have to fight to survive, especially when facing a rapacious enemy intent on genocide.

Still, as Angela Davis and Tariq Ali, along with some other notable talking heads, explain, the couple did raise the public profile of the war among a confused generation. Other contributors include former Black Panther leader Bobby Seale, writer Gore Vidal, journalist Walter Cronkite, anti-war activist Ron Kovic and former presidential candidate John McGovern.

There are also interviews with Yippie campaigners Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin and a couple representing the other side, including former Nixon aides G Gordon Liddy and John Dean.

The songs punctuate the politics throughout, with Lennon's distinctive nasal wail reminding us of Revolution, Imagine, Working Class Hero and what became a universal protest anthem - Give Peace a Chance.

Still, it wasn't the peacenik side that upset Nixon, it was Lennon's declaration of support for the 1972 anti-Nixon campaign, especially the aborted attempt to picket the Republican convention.

Sadly, despite everything, Nixon was re-elected with a landslide, leaving the way open for those inside the US establishment to blow Nixon's credibility after the Watergate affair.

It's difficult for anybody in this country who hasn't been to the US to appreciate the hostility that existed towards Lennon. I remember commenting on 'how long he'd survived' when I visited in November 1980.

A month later, he was shot dead by deranged fan Mark David Chapman, who stole from the world an artist, activist and working-class hero who wasn't afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve.

That's what gets up the nose of the cynical critics, who are too busy making apologies for the fact that they either didn't support the anti-war movement or didn't like Lennon.

The relationship between Nixon and Bush won't be lost on the audience. Those that dismiss this as simply a eulogy obviously have another agenda.

From Morning Star