The trailer for upcoming documentary, One to One: John and Yoko, has been released, giving fans a first look at some of the never-before-seen footage from the couple’s time in New York’s Greenwich Village in the early 1970s. Releasing on 9 April, the documentary will also include footage from their 1972 benefit concert for Willowbrook State School. The documentary will cover an 18-month period, centred around that concert.
According to Deadline, Sean Ono Lennon, the pair’s son, has overseen the audio remastering of the One to One concert, having fulfilled a similar role on various Lennon remasters in recent years. The benefit concert was played twice, with the afternoon show featuring more songs than the evening show. Among the songs played across both shows are ‘Power to the People’, ‘Instant Karma!’, and ‘Give Peace a Chance’. The remastering of the audio suggests that an accompanying album could be released alongside the documentary, possibly a remaster of ‘Live in New York City’, which was recorded at the concert.
Magnolia Pictures co-CEOs Eamonn Bowles and Dori Begley saw the film as “a revelation,” while director Kevin Macdonald described the documentary as “a movie about music and love and politics and about immersing yourself in the year of 1972—a period in time that feels uncannily like the world we are currently inhabiting.”
The documentary focuses on Lennon and Yoko’s time living in Greenwich Village, which was the happening place on the US’s East Coast. It had become the centre of countercultural movements in the late 60s, and was the birthplace of Beat poetry. The pair were a natural fit for the artist’s haven, and were both involved in protesting through their bed-ins and their own form of resistance, ‘bagism’.
Given the period that will be covered, fans should be expecting the documentary to explore Lennon’s relationship with the Nixon administration. His outspoken criticism of the US president and anti-war stance landed him in various deportation meetings, and it was revealed after his death that he had been closely monitored by the FBI, with the files eventually being released to the public.
Today in Rock History December 20, 2006 The FBI release documents related to their investigation of John Lennon in the early ‘70s. The Nixon administration thought Lennon, an anti-war (Vietnam) advocate, was aiding left wing causes and therefore an undesirable alien.… pic.twitter.com/XWfxqx3jWy — Rock History Live! (@KTrain939913) December 20, 2023
The trailer, along with the earlier teaser, suggests candid moments between the couple will play a big role. It was the intimate, behind-the-scenes moments that made ‘The Beatles: Get Back’ and ‘Beatles ‘64’ as insightful as they were, and early reviews from the documentary suggest that viewers won’t be let down.
The reception to the film from its limited film festival last year was overwhelmingly positive, earning the film a Metacritic score of 82. Reviewing the film for The Guardian, Xan Brooks gave it four out of five stars and said, “If only more nostalgic music documentaries could muster such a fun, fierce, and full-blooded take on old, familiar material. One to One, against the odds, makes Lennon feel somehow vital again.”
The documentary will receive a theatrical run in the UK. It will be released on IMAX on 9 April, before expanding to smaller theatres on 11 April. The full list is available here, along with dates.
With its mix of unseen footage, remastered concert audio, and political intrigue, One to One: John and Yoko will appeal to fans of the ex-Beatle as much as those interested in the social and political history of the early 70s.
