In His Life: The John Lennon Story

views updated

In His Life: The John Lennon Story ★★½ 200

Focuses on seven years in the life of John Lennon—from the purchase of his first guitar to the Beatles arrival in America. Flashbacks show a teenage John (McQuillian) in 1957 Liverpool teaming up with art school pal Stu Sutcliffe (Williams) and meeting Paul (McGowan) and George (Rice-Oxley). There's the trip to Hamburg, the group's meeting with eventual manager Brian Epstein (Glover), Ringo (Ealey) becoming the band's drummer, and the first recordings. Skims the surface but, of course, the music is excellent. 87m/C VHS, DVD . Phillip McQuillan, Daniel McGowan, Mark Rice-Oxley, Lee Williams, Jamie Glover, Scot Williams, Blair Brown, Kristian Ealey, Christine Kavanagh, Gillian Kearney, Palina Jonsdottir; D: David Carson; W: Michael O'Hara; C: Lawrence Jones; M: Dennis McCarthy. TV