Gimme Some Truth - The Making of John Lennon's "Imagine" (1986)

An instant classic when released in September 1971, John Lennon's Imagine was the ex-Beatle's solo masterpiece, and its musical legacy is matched here by priceless footage of Lennon's creative process, independently edited from original 16-millimeter footage by producer-director Andrew Solt with the hands-off approval of Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. Incorporating footage from John and Yoko's original film Imagine (clips of which were previously included in the 1988 documentary Imagine: John Lennon), Gimme Some Truth presents Lennon, Ono, coproducer Phil Spector, and a host of gifted musicians in a fluid context of conflict, community, and craftsmanship. Bearing witness to every stage of the recording process, this 63-minute documentary succeeds as a visual diary, a study of familiar music in its infancy, and a revealing portrait of the then-30-year-old Lennon--from witty clown to confrontational perfectionist--at the peak of his post-Fab Four inspiration.

The film's horizons expand with a casual montage of Lennon's celebrity lifestyle, including New York party footage (by film theorist Jonas Mekas) featuring such guests as Miles Davis, Andy Warhol, and Jack Nicholson. Excerpts of a 1971 BBC interview reveal John and Yoko at their most thoughtful, discussing socio-sexual issues that remain compellingly relevant (and the entire 35-minute interview is included on the DVD edition). But the true value of Gimme Some Truth remains in the creation of music at the Lennons' estate at Tittenhurst Park, Ascot, England. The ballad "Imagine" is followed from rawness to completion, and the track-by-track progress is highlighted by "Jealous Guy" (after which Lennon playfully compliments Spector's studio wizardry), and especially "Gimme Some Truth," which alternates between full mix and isolated vocal track. With George Harrison on guitar, Lennon freely admits that "How Do You Sleep?" is a deliberately "nasty" criticism of Paul McCartney, but this remarkable film never dwells on negatives. A precious record of John Lennon's time on earth, Gimme Some Truth is as honest as it is entertaining. And while purists may object to the DVD's remastered sound--which was carefully remixed for Dolby Digital 5.1-channel stereo at Abbey Road studios--few would deny that this film is an important and illuminating document that any John Lennon fan will cherish. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

Somewhat misleading

I really enjoyed this film, which provides a fascinating outlet into the private world of John and Yoko in 1971 during the making of one of his most famous solo albums (and which is probably tied with W&B as my second-favorite solo album of his, second only to POB). However, it is disappointing to find out that a lot of the footage actually came from other videos which have already been released. For people who don't know that or who haven't seen these other films yet, that's not going to be a really big or important concern, but for those who do know better, it is somewhat misleading and deceptive. What's the point in taking a bunch of recycled footage and padding it out with some new stuff while passing it off as an entirely new product?

The video as it stands, however, is a delight to behold. Even though I would have liked seeing a lot more footage of the making of 'Imagine,' the scenes that are there are fantastic, showing what went on behind the scenes. We see John doing rough takes, cursing out the other musicians because they're not doing things right, playing back what he just recorded, changing parts of the songs, all of the usual things that musicians do while making an album but which their fans usually don't get to be privy to. We also see footage of John and Yoko around their house, relaxing and having fun together, meeting with celebrity friends, and talking to fans. John explains to one of these fans that he's just a regular guy and isn't special or a demigod just because he's a musician, that most of the time he's singing about his own life, not anyone else. If a fan can relate his songs to one's own life, that's one thing, but it's not as though he deliberately wrote these songs because he felt the pain and life experiences of people he's never met. The John we see here is such a multifaceted human being, more proof of why he's the person I admire most. He could be funny, sweet, sarcastic, angry, brutally honest, gentle, tender, silly, and professional, and all of those sides of him just made him a flawed human being like any other person.

There's also an interview with John and Yoko included as a bonus feature. They're talking about love, sex, and relationships, in a very honest and realistic way. Although some people might not like some of their views, if one looks honestly at society and reality, there can be no denying that all of the things they say in this interview are true. For example, celebrities using sex appeal to sell their movies or music is nothing new and has been going on for ages. One can have love without sex and sex without love. How high one's hemline is or what age one became sexually active at isn't something that should assume great importance when one thinks about serious issues in the world, like hunger and war. Many times people throw up minor issues like that to deflect responsibility away from dealing with the harder things. People might strategically cover up a picture of naked people because they don't want kids to see that, but that just sends a message that the human body and sexuality are shameful, unnatural, and disgusting, and as John said, he and all of his friends had already seen dirty pictures and heard stories about sex by the time they were eight years old anyway. This was a really insightful interview, even though some people might be off-put by what they're saying.

All in all, I'd recommend this disc, but only if you haven't already seen the other videos that a lot of this footage was pulled from. I agree that this does kind of straddle the fence between the casual viewer, who might not be interested in it, and the hardcore fan, who will want it regardless but be disappointed because it contains so much footage from other films. March 31, 2006

Could have lived without seeing "How do you sleep?"

Footage was great and gave good insight for the above average fan. However I was pretty angry to see the footage showing John recording "how do you sleep?" I wish that had been completely left out. It totally ruined my view on John, and shows him as being a very ugly person.

John himself later regretted ever recording that song, and I'm sure would have protested it being on the DVD. November 7, 2005

Yoko looking fine!

For the first time I can see what John must have seen in her. Yoko's looking fabulous in this! January 14, 2005

An Artist at Work

This is an excepectional piece of Lennon memorabilia. I was very impressed by what I saw. See and hear John at work putting the finishing touches on some of the songs that would be on the "Imagine" album. A special treat is John and George at work on "How Do You Sleep" and "Oh My Love" The respect between them as well as chemistry is still evident. Yoko did a superb remastering of this 'piece of history' that she was a part of. The soundtrack remixed in Dolby 5.1 surround sound is music to the ears, especially John singing "Gimme Some Truth" and "Jealous Guy" Enjoy. Turn it up. January 10, 2004

Imagine is great!

I really loved this video. It has alot of extra rare footage that I have never seen before in other Lennon videos. I enjoyed seeing how he recorded each song. It's as if your right in the studio with him. I treasure any footage of John.I'm a huge Beatles/Lennon fan! August 12, 2003

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