at first just ghostly, turned a whiter shade of pale

In keeping with my secondary theme this week of the Beatles, I watched the U.S. vs. John Lennon documentary on DVD. My reaction to it reminds me of the one I had when I saw Imagine: John Lennon in the theater: It didn't tell me anything I didn't know, but it's nice to have the pictures.

I've never considered myself that well-read of a Lennon fan compared to some, but perhaps I am. I've certainly read enough to know they left out a few things in this film. Some, like the Lennons' separation during part of the time period covered by the film, are perhaps understandable.

But it's harder to understand why they left out one of my favorite pieces of trivia. One of the photos in the FBI John Lennon file was not in fact a picture of him, but a musician named David Peel, who appears briefly. John Lennon was one of the most famous faces of his time and the freaking FBI couldn't properly identify him.

And I didn't feel that enough was done to draw the connections between what was happening then and what is happening today. Still though, it's nice to have the pictures.

PS if you're wondering, yes I know the song quoted in the headline is not a Lennon song, it's just that it started running through my head at some point during the movie.