Co-directed, produced by and starring John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the 1972 film “Imagine” has returned to movie theaters around the country.
Recently screening in Asbury Park at the Showroom Cinema, the film has been remastered with additional content restored from its original version.
The film, which is a collection of music videos created by Lennon and Ono, features songs from Lennon’s “Imagine” LP and Yoko Ono’s “Fly” album. The music videos are some of the first of their kind, predating MTV’s August 1981 debut.
Each song throughout the film has a unique twist of different archive footage Lennon and Ono took together. Most of the footage collected was shot at the home in Ascot, England, in 1971.
Each song follows Lennon and Ono as they make their way through their recording sessions for the “Imagine” LP throughout the United Kingdom and New York with the album’s co-producer, Phil Spector.
“The people who all worked on ‘Imagine’ were Peace People and it was so enlightening and exciting all the way through to be one of them,” said Ono. “Remember, each one of us has the power to change the world.”
Now with 15 additional minutes of footage, the remastered version of “Imagine” includes Lennon playing his songs, “How Do You Sleep?” and “Oh My Love.”
The footage of “Oh My Love” includes a performance with George Harrison, Rolling Stones pianist Nicky Hopkins, Yes’ Alan White and bassist Klaus Voormann. It was filmed in a specially created Dolby Atmos surround sound “raw studio” mix that puts the viewer in the recording studio, where the band was playing live.
Other guest stars included in the film include Fred Astaire, Andy Warhol, Dick Cavett, Jack Palance and Jonas Mekas.
The film has been restored from its original form with the audio remix by three-time Grammy Award-winning engineer Paul Hicks.
For more information on the film and details of cinemas participating in the special event screenings, visit www.imaginefilmtickets.com.
