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1974
Details
JOHN LENNON NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN 16 MILLIMETER FILM FOOTAGE
1974
Two reels of never-before-seen 16-millimeter film footage depicting John Lennon walking around New York City in November 1974. Lasting approximately 40 minutes and shot without sound, these are the original camera film reels and the only known prints to exist. This project was initiated by a young filmmaker who approached Lennon and asked to film him with a new camera; Lennon responded in the positive and the result is this footage which truly captures "a day in the life" of a post-Beatle John. One stipulation Lennon had was that he would "direct" the film and be able to edit and keep portions of it for his own use, which he later did. (The few scenes John selected have been seen before, but the remaining footage on these two film reels has never before been publicly seen in any form.) Because he knew this footage was being shot without sound, Lennon got creative; the result being this remarkably spontaneous, candid and intimate portrait of him intertwined with the city that he loved. The footage still intact on the two reels is briefly described in the following ten "scenes:"
1. Lennon attending the premiere of the Robert Stigwood play, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road" at the Beacon Theater; also evident are Lennon's close friends Peter Brown, Jack Douglas and girlfriend May Pang as well as Robert Stigwood himself
2. Lennon walking around midtown NYC and making a special stop at famed jewelry store, Tiffany's, on 5th Avenue
3. Lennon walking around Central Park and dancing on a bandstand for a number of minutes, then playing on an empty bench; John, May and friends take a short car ride
4. Lennon feeding animals at the zoo with several children and then imitating a baboon for them
5. Lennon in Central Park signing autographs for children and playing on park statues with them
6. Lennon walking alone in Central Park with some excellent close-ups of his face
7. Lennon playing an organ and dancing on a small stage in Central Park
8. Lennon taking over a vending cart in Central Park performing some magic tricks as a small crowd gathers; John shares some food with fans
9. Lennon riding in a hansom cab around the streets of NYC, making several stops along the way to admire the buildings and to talk with fans, police, cab drivers and others; many great close-up shots of John (and the white hansom cab horse)
10. Lennon in his office bending some paperclips and taking phone calls; many close-up shots of John here with his "I Love Elvis" and "Save Lennon" buttons evident
Technical Aspects of Film
This footage was shot directly onto Kodak color reversal stock, a process that produced a positive print only. No other print is known to have been struck from these reels. In 2001, the two reels were taken to a professional film laboratory to undergo a full restoration. Before any transfer was attempted, the film was fully prepared; the sprockets/splices were carefully inspected and corrected when necessary, a complete hand-cleaning removed all dirt and scratches and a chemical treatment reduced the chance of film breakage or rot. After the preparations were completed, a comprehensive telecine film-to-tape transfer was made. The color and contrast levels were carefully corrected to meet modern standards by using the latest equipment. This was done on a scene-by-scene basis, resulting in a fully restored and superior copy, which was then transferred into the digital domain. This re-mastering process created three restored copies which are included with the two reels of films; one Digital Betacam (Pal) cassette producing 625 lines of resolution, one Super VHS videocassette and one standard VHS videocassette.
1974
Two reels of never-before-seen 16-millimeter film footage depicting John Lennon walking around New York City in November 1974. Lasting approximately 40 minutes and shot without sound, these are the original camera film reels and the only known prints to exist. This project was initiated by a young filmmaker who approached Lennon and asked to film him with a new camera; Lennon responded in the positive and the result is this footage which truly captures "a day in the life" of a post-Beatle John. One stipulation Lennon had was that he would "direct" the film and be able to edit and keep portions of it for his own use, which he later did. (The few scenes John selected have been seen before, but the remaining footage on these two film reels has never before been publicly seen in any form.) Because he knew this footage was being shot without sound, Lennon got creative; the result being this remarkably spontaneous, candid and intimate portrait of him intertwined with the city that he loved. The footage still intact on the two reels is briefly described in the following ten "scenes:"
1. Lennon attending the premiere of the Robert Stigwood play, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road" at the Beacon Theater; also evident are Lennon's close friends Peter Brown, Jack Douglas and girlfriend May Pang as well as Robert Stigwood himself
2. Lennon walking around midtown NYC and making a special stop at famed jewelry store, Tiffany's, on 5th Avenue
3. Lennon walking around Central Park and dancing on a bandstand for a number of minutes, then playing on an empty bench; John, May and friends take a short car ride
4. Lennon feeding animals at the zoo with several children and then imitating a baboon for them
5. Lennon in Central Park signing autographs for children and playing on park statues with them
6. Lennon walking alone in Central Park with some excellent close-ups of his face
7. Lennon playing an organ and dancing on a small stage in Central Park
8. Lennon taking over a vending cart in Central Park performing some magic tricks as a small crowd gathers; John shares some food with fans
9. Lennon riding in a hansom cab around the streets of NYC, making several stops along the way to admire the buildings and to talk with fans, police, cab drivers and others; many great close-up shots of John (and the white hansom cab horse)
10. Lennon in his office bending some paperclips and taking phone calls; many close-up shots of John here with his "I Love Elvis" and "Save Lennon" buttons evident
Technical Aspects of Film
This footage was shot directly onto Kodak color reversal stock, a process that produced a positive print only. No other print is known to have been struck from these reels. In 2001, the two reels were taken to a professional film laboratory to undergo a full restoration. Before any transfer was attempted, the film was fully prepared; the sprockets/splices were carefully inspected and corrected when necessary, a complete hand-cleaning removed all dirt and scratches and a chemical treatment reduced the chance of film breakage or rot. After the preparations were completed, a comprehensive telecine film-to-tape transfer was made. The color and contrast levels were carefully corrected to meet modern standards by using the latest equipment. This was done on a scene-by-scene basis, resulting in a fully restored and superior copy, which was then transferred into the digital domain. This re-mastering process created three restored copies which are included with the two reels of films; one Digital Betacam (Pal) cassette producing 625 lines of resolution, one Super VHS videocassette and one standard VHS videocassette.
Further details
Please note this film is not being sold with copyrights, broadcast rights, performers consents, reproduction rights, licensing agreements or any other types of legal releases. The buyer must apply to the proper parties to obtain such clearances and consents if need be.