The name John Lennon is synonymous with 60s psychedelia and the anti-war movement which emerged from the counterculture - from his role in The Beatles, one of the greatest, most successful bands of all time, to his solo work and association with Yoko Ono, his place in music and cultural history has long since been secured. The documentary The U. S. vs John Lennon charts his transformation from musician to anti-war activist; a leading icon of the movement which emerged during America's long and bloody invasion of Vietnam. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the American government were not about to sit back and allow such an iconic public figure - with millions of fans across the world - go around putting the idea of peace in their minds, and the documentary also charts their efforts - largely coordinated by the FBI (who had a track record of undermining and attacking anti-war speakers in the 60s and 70s) - to silence him. Directors David Leaf and John Scheinfeld deftly edit together extensive archive footage which juxtaposes Lennon's efforts to spread his message of peace with the government's increasingly paranoid reaction to these ideas, culminating in their efforts to deport Lennon from the States. Interviews with prominent political commentators and peace campaigners including Noam Chomsky and Tariq Ali are interspersed throughout, providing much needed context to add intellectual weight to the archive footage. Ultimately, Lennon would lose his life to a "lone gunman" - he was shot dead by Mark David Chapman in 1980 as he entered his apartment. Not only did the world lose one of the greatest rock musicians of the 20th century, but also a man who's actions in many ways spoke louder than his words, for whom peace and love remained the ultimate ideals worth defending.
