Dec. 8 was the 25th anniversary of the death of John Lennon, and the sad day is commemorated in at least one positive way: the DVD release of Imagine: Deluxe Edition, a remastered version of the 1988 documentary by director Andrew Solt.
Well-constructed and comprehensive, Imagine uses Lennon’s words, taken
from various interviews and private recordings, to narrate his life from his
Liverpool boyhood through the Beatles and his solo career to the five years
of comparative silence that preceded the release of the comeback Double Fantasy,
whose success he was appreciating when he was killed.
Yoko One supplied the filmmakers with hours of video and audio tape but did
not have final approval. While it remains a positive portrait, it’s anything
but a whitewash.
Extras include more footage from the rehearsals for the recording sessions for Imagine and of Lennon performing that song at a benefit at Harlem’s Apollo.
DVD Grade: A