A new documentary titled “One to One: John & Yoko” showcases rare footage of legendary musician John Lennon and artist Yoko Ono, spotlighting their life together in the early 1970s. Premiering on November 14, 2023, on HBO, the film features intimate glimpses of the couple’s life, including their activism during the Vietnam War and restored footage from Lennon’s only full-length concert after leaving The Beatles.
Among the highlights is a segment focusing on the couple’s visit to the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York. This visit marked the opening of Ono’s first solo museum exhibition, titled “This is Not Here…An Exhibit of Conceptual Works of Art,” which debuted on October 8, 1971. In the film, Ono explains the essence of the exhibition, stating, “It will be unfinished always because every piece in this exhibition is also growing because people add things to it.”
The documentary captures a crowd of over 6,000 fans who gathered to see the couple at the Everson. Notably, scenes depict Lennon and Ono sharing a private meal while fans observe from an upper balcony. The footage includes various pieces from Ono’s exhibit, such as a partially eaten apple, a boy hammering a piece of metal, and a girl navigating a glass maze.
Directed by Kevin Macdonald, an Oscar-winning filmmaker, the documentary employs a unique storytelling method that intertwines Lennon and Ono’s experiences in America through a montage of television clips, car commercials, and news reports. This approach simulates how the couple engaged with the media landscape of the time. Macdonald remarked on the film’s appeal to younger audiences, noting, “It’s been very interesting – people in their teens and early 20s who’ve watched the film totally get it… they’re inspired by the ‘Let’s get out there and change the world’ sort of simplicity of John and Yoko’s message.”
The film features contributions from executive producers including Brad Pitt and Sean Ono Lennon, the couple’s son, who also remixed the music for the documentary. Sean Lennon expressed his hope that the concert footage will highlight his mother’s vocal talents, which he believes are often overlooked. “I think that kind of avant-garde… really overshadows the fact that she does have very beautiful conventional songs as well,” he stated in an interview with NPR.
Ono, who currently resides on a farm in Upstate New York that she purchased with Lennon, married the former Beatle in 1969. The 1971 exhibition in Syracuse attracted numerous visitors, including notable figures such as Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, and actor Dennis Hopper. Lennon, who was tragically killed in 1980, is celebrated as one of the greatest songwriters in music history, with solo hits like “Imagine,” “Woman,” and “Happy Xmas (War is Over).”
The Beatles, which included Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, achieved global fame with timeless songs such as “Let It Be” and “Come Together.” Despite their breakup in 1970, the band’s influence persists through various media, including documentaries like The Beatles Anthology and Peter Jackson’s Get Back, alongside multiple biopics in development.
As audiences revisit this captivating chapter of music history, “One to One: John & Yoko” serves as a poignant reminder of the couple’s enduring legacy and their commitment to art and social change.
