Bed-In and Apotheosis

“It's a bed-in, folks!” John Lennon announces as he and Yoko begin their week-long protest for peace. In Bed-In (1969, 61 mins, Color), John and Yoko, having been refused entry into the U.S., are bedded down for the week in a Toronto hotel, where they host a constant stream of visitors: Al Capp, cantankerous as ever; Tommy Smothers, who admits he is “not a hep cat”; Timothy Leary who surely wants to be; girls bearing gifts; a phone call from People's Park Berkeley; and a roomful of promo men and DJs. “Gimmicks and salesmanship,” Lennon says, “peace and war are two products.” This is “apparatus exposed” in more ways than one, showing the chaos surrounding Peace: The Advertisement, and the production surrounding The John and Yoko Show. A time-capsule that is very funny, more than a little silly, surprisingly candid, frequently tender. Apotheosis (1970, 18.5 mins, Color) begins where Bed-In ends-in a snowy village square, with John and Yoko, balaklava-clad and skyward bound. Or, at least, the camera is. The film is a gorgeous, extended shot from an air balloon, a sound film that, being afloat, is virtually silent. Flight-and the desire to fly (away)-is a running, punning theme in Ono and Lennon's films.

This page may by only partially complete.