The best John Lennon’s documentary movies

John Lennon

John Lennon

09/10/1940- 08/12/1980
We present our ranking of the best John Lennon’s movies. Do you love cinema? Or are you looking for a movie of your favorite actor to watch tonight? Surely you have some to see or that you did not know yet about John Lennon.
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My Generation

My Generation
7.1/10
The vivid and inspiring story of British film icon Michael Caine's personal journey through 1960s swinging London.

Let It Be

Let It Be
7.7/10
  • Genre: DocumentaryMusic
  • Release: 20/07/1969
  • Character: Self (The Beatles) (uncredited)
Documentary film about The Beatles rehearsing and recording songs for the album Let It Be in January 1969. The film features an unannounced rooftop concert by the group, their last performance in public. Released just after the album, it was the final original Beatles release. This film has not been commercially available since the 1980s.

The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years

The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years
7.8/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 15/09/2016
  • Character: Self (archive footage)
The Beatles stormed through Europe's music scene in 1963, and, in 1964, they conquered America. Their groundbreaking world tours changed global youth culture forever and, arguably, invented mass entertainment as we know it today. All the while, the group were composing and recording a series of extraordinarily successful singles and albums. However the relentless pressure of such unprecedented fame, that in 1966 became uncontrollable turmoil, led to the decision to stop touring. In the ensuing years The Beatles were then free to focus on a series of albums that changed the face of recorded music.

Salinger

Salinger
6.7/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 06/09/2013
  • Character: Self - Musician (archive footage)
An in-depth investigation into the private world of the American writer J. D. Salinger (1919-2010), who lived most of his life behind the impenetrable wall of a self-imposed seclusion: how his dramatic experiences during World War II influenced his life and work, his relationships with very young women, his obsessive writing methods, his many literary secrets.

George Harrison: Living in the Material World

George Harrison: Living in the Material World
8.1/10
Director Martin Scorsese profiles former Beatle George Harrison in this reverent portrait that mixes interviews and archival footage, featuring commentary from the likes of Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr and Yoko Ono.

Naqoyqatsi

Naqoyqatsi
6.4/10
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.

Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon

Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon
7.2/10
A look at the history of the American comedy publication and production company, National Lampoon, from its beginning in the 1970s to 2010, featuring rare and never before seen footage, this is the mind boggling story of The National Lampoon from its subversive and electrifying beginnings, to rebirth as an unlikely Hollywood heavyweight, and beyond. A humour empire like no other, the impact of the magazines irreverent, often shocking, sensibility was nothing short of seismic: this is an institution whose (drunk stoned brilliant) alumni left their fingerprints all over popular culture. Both insanely great and breathtakingly innovative, The National Lampoon created the foundation of modern comic sensibility by setting the bar in comedy impossibly high.

How the Beatles Changed the World

How the Beatles Changed the World
6.8/10
  • Genre: DocumentaryMusic
  • Release: 23/10/2017
  • Character: Himself (archive footage)
The fascinating story of the cultural, social, spiritual, and musical revolution ignited by the coming of the Beatles. Tracing the impact that these four band members had, first in their native Britain and soon after worldwide, it reappraises the band and follows their path from young subversives to countercultural heroes. Featuring fresh, revealing interviews with key collaborators as well as a wealth of rarely-seen archival footage, this is a bold new take on the most significant band in the history of music and their enduring impact on popular culture.

It Was Fifty Years Ago Today! The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper & Beyond

It Was Fifty Years Ago Today! The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper & Beyond
5.5/10
  • Genre: DocumentaryMusic
  • Release: 26/05/2017
  • Character: Himself (archive footage)
Featuring interviews with former employees, fellow musicians, family members and journalists, and supported by original and exclusive never-seen-before footage, this star-studded rockumentary offers a fascinating insight into the creation and recording of one of the most ground-breaking and influential albums in pop history.

Imagine

Imagine
7.3/10
A surreal, half-fiction, half real life footage of a day in the life of John lennon and Yoko Ono, composed to music from John's historic 'Imagine' album and Yoko's 'Fly'.

The Beatles: Get Back - The Rooftop Concert

The Beatles: Get Back - The Rooftop Concert
9/10
On the 30th of January, 1969, the Beatles performed an unannounced concert from the rooftop of their Apple Corps headquarters at Savile Row, within central London's office and fashion district. Experience the final and unforgettable iconic performance of The Beatles in a special 60-minute presentation, digitally remastered into the image and sound quality of IMAX DMR technology.

Imagine: John Lennon

Imagine: John Lennon
7.8/10
The biography of former Beatle, John Lennon—narrated by Lennon himself—with extensive material from Yoko Ono's personal collection, previously unseen footage from Lennon's private archives, and interviews with David Bowie, his first wife Cynthia, second wife Yoko Ono and sons Julian and Sean.

John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band: Sweet Toronto

John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band: Sweet Toronto
Sweet Toronto is a documentary by D.A. Pennebaker of the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, a one day festival held September 13, 1969 at Varsity Stadium on the campus of the University of Toronto and attended by some 20,000 persons. John Lennon played as part of the Plastic Ono Band, whose members also included Yoko Ono, Klaus Voorman, Alan White, and Eric Clapton. The video also features a selection of other acts: Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Bo Diddley.

Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens

Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens
7.4/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 19/05/2007
  • Character: Himself - Musician (archive footage)
An account of the professional and personal life of renowned American photographer Annie Leibovitz, from her early artistic endeavors to her international success as a photojournalist, war reporter, and pop culture chronicler.

Jimi Plays Monterey

Jimi Plays Monterey
8.1/10
  • Genre: DocumentaryMusic
  • Release: 16/10/1987
  • Character: Himself (archive footage)
It's no exaggeration to say this might be the most intense and groundbreaking 45-minute performance in the history of rock. Jimi Hendrix's debut American set at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival is generally considered one of the most radical and legendary live shows ever. Virtually unknown to American audiences at the time, even though he was already an established entity in the UK, Hendrix and his two-piece Experience explode on stage, ripping through blues classics "Rock Me Baby" and Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor," interpreting and electrifying Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," debuting songs from his yet-to-be-released first album and closing with the now historic sacrificing/burning of his guitar during an unhinged version of "Wild Thing" that even its writer Chip Taylor would never have imagined. Hendrix uses feedback and distortion to enhance the songs in whisper-to-scream intensity, blazing territory that had not been previously explored with as much soul-frazzled power.

John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky

John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky
7.4/10
Film telling the untold story of John Lennon's 1971 album Imagine, exploring the creative collaboration between Lennon and Yoko Ono and featuring interviews and never-seen-before footage.

The Beatles: Help!

The Beatles: Help!
7.7/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 27/10/2007
  • Character: Self (archive footage)
30 minute documentary about the making of the film Help! with Richard Lester, the cast and crew. Includes exclusive behind the scenes footage of The Beatles on set.

Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?)

Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?)
7.6/10
  • Genre: DocumentaryMusic
  • Release: 26/10/2010
  • Character: Himself (archive footage)
The documentary explores the enigmatic life and music of Harry Nilsson in an attempt to answer the question, "Who is Harry Nilsson?" The film includes new and archive audio and film including interviews with Robin Williams, Yoko Ono, Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, Ray Cooper, the Smothers Brothers, and Micky Dolenz. "Who is Harry Nilsson?" uses promotional films, music videos, and home movies; segments from the unreleased documentary made during the recording of Son of Schmilsson (Did Somebody Drop His Mouse?); and excerpts from Nilsson's rare TV appearances in his BBC specials, the "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour", "Playboy After Dark", and in an episode of "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir".

Monument

Monument
In the fall of 1967, intermedia artists Ture Sjölander and Lars Weck collaborated with Bengt Modin, video engineer of the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation in Stockholm, to produce an experimental program called Monument. It was broadcast in January, 1968, and subsequently has been seen throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States. Apart from the technical aspect of the project, their intention was to develop a widened consciousness of the communi - cative process inherent in visual images. They selected as source material the "monuments" of world culture— images of famous persons and paintings.

The Beatles on the Rooftop

The Beatles on the Rooftop
The Beatles, along with keyboardist Billy Preston, gave their last live performance on January 30th, 1969, on the roof of the Apple building, at 3 Savile Row, London, concert that would become the climax of their documentary film “Let It Be” (1970). The show was recorded on two eight-track machines in the basement of Apple, by producer George Martin, engineer Glyn Johns and sound recordist Alan Parsons.

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