European Documentary Portal

New DVD releases (April, 2007)

March 30th, 2007 by Zsofia

The U.S. Vs John Lennon - Hubert Selby Jr: It’ll Be Better Tomorrow - This Film Is Not Yet Rated

The U.S. Vs John Lennon (2006) - This riveting documentary focuses on a part of the music icon’s life that is often overlooked: his politicisation both during and after the Vietnam War. Towards the end of the Beatles’ career, Lennon began taking the band in a new direction, using their popularity to circulate a message of peace in songs such as ‘Revolution’. He became even more involved after the band broke up, and the film traces his growing awareness and dissent through archival footage and interviews with those close to him. The film documents how the FBI was called in to look into the “threat” Lennon posed to the Nixon campaign, and how the US government attempted to deport him to save the nation.

Buy this film or other John Lennon films from Amazon.co.uk

Hubert Selby Jr: It’ll Be Better Tomorrow (2006) - Narrated by Robert Downey Jr, “It’ll Be Better Tomorrow” is an engaging exploration of the life and art of Hubert Selby Jr. - a self-described “scream looking for a mouth”. Selby overcame incredible odds to become one of the 20th century’s most celebrated and controversial authors by writing some of the most distinctly American books ever. The documentary features both archival and new material culled from interviews with Lou Reed, Ellen Burstyn, Anthony Kiedis, Uli Edel and Darren Aronosfsky. Also included with the documentary is Aronofsky’s award-winning Selby adaptation, “Requiem For A Dream”.