John Lennon is the latest focus of Wienerworld’s unique Rare and Unseen series that combines interviews with lost or forgotten footage to give a glimpse into the life of an artist or band.  Given his talent, razor-sharp wit, and activism, Lennon is an ideal subject and there are some fascinating moments in this uneven documentary.
 

Lennon’s career, from his time at the “top of the pecking order” of The Beatles through his collaborations with wife Yoko Ono is covered, though nothing after “Give Peace a Chance” is discussed.  Along with newsreel footage and private photographs, there is terrific and truly rare archive material.  Lennon was named “Man of the Decade” in a British special in December 1969 and the clips included here have not been seen since that show’s single airing.  The “Weekend World” excerpts included were thought to have been erased and the “Aquarius” footage hasn’t been seen anywhere since the 1970s.  Best of all, snippets of a truly rare and mostly unseen David Frost interview with both Lennon and Ono are scattered throughout.  It’s an impressive smorgasbord and while it is by no means a complete portrait, it is an absorbing and oddly intimate peek at Lennon the person.  The interview clips discussing the big “The Beatles are more popular than Jesus” hubbub are particularly noteworthy, as are the blurbs about Lennon’s life being in danger because of his views (and long before he was killed) and the footage depicting The Beatles’ breakup.  I’ve never found Yoko Ono to be at all interesting, though, and this documentary does nothing to change that.
 

The interview snippets tossed in are much less successful.  Len Goodman of Dancing with the Stars is prominently featured as a fan, but he adds little and Phil Collins adds even less.  Tony Barrow, who worked for The Beatles and thus actually knew Lennon, has some enlightening stories, but for the most part, the talking heads are irritating filler that detract from the valuable footage surrounding them.  I also wish there had been more rhyme or reason to showing the archive material.  Chronological order would have been best, but instead there is simply a mish-mash, giving the documentary a messy and occasionally disjointed feel.  The worst problem, though, is that producers were unable to procure license to use any of Lennon’s music and the absence is jarring, to say the least.  Stock music is used, and worse, occasionally labeled on screen as stock footage: laughable in a documentary about John Lennon.
 

Despite its flaws, John Lennon: Rare and Unseen contains noteworthy footage and gives you a fascinating peek at the man who left such a strong musical and political legacy.  If you already own The Beatles: Rare and Unseen, this makes a nice companion piece.  If you’re a big John Lennon fan, there is some not to be missed footage here and more casual fans will certainly learn a few things about the icon.  It’s definitely worth a rental.