On December 9, 1980 in the early evening I was driving my maroon 1977 Chevy pickup from Jamestown to Cassadaga, New York. There were snow flurries outside, it was perhaps 27 degrees or so. I was going home to a cold, dark and empty apartment where I lived by myself.

On the radio, on every station, they broadcast about the murder of John Lennon. All night, the radios played John Lennon songs. He was only 40 years old. Today, that seems a very young age to die.

In this documentary, we follow Lennon’s career as he picks up the anti-war movement and becomes a peace activist, getting the attention of an ever more jittery government, which acts increasingly more bold and finally illegally to try to silence him. Eventually, Nixon falls of his own doing and Lennon holds steadfast.

As you might guess, the soundtrack takes you back to the Sixties and Seventies, and you learn about events and happenings you only had superficial knowledge about. Lennon is an icon, and you feel like you are getting  to know him, his passions and his joys.

And then he dies.

Rating: ****