John Lennon – In His Life, The John Lennon Story (biopic)

FROM BACK COVER:
“In His Life: The John Lennon Story” is a 2000 American made-for-television biographical film about John Lennon’s teenage years, written by the film’s executive producer, Michael O’Hara, and directed by David Carson.  Beginning in Liverpool in the 1950’s, the film concentrates on the early life of John Lennon (played by Philip McQuillen) as he struggles to become a successful musician in the embryonic stages of British rock and roll.  Lennon goes on to form a number of bands, widening his local audience as he develops, before later joining with Stuart Sutcliffe (played by Lee Williams), George Harrison (played by Mark Rice-Oxley), Pete Best (played by Scot Williams) and Paul McCartney (played by Daniel McGowan) to form the Beatles.  The group attracts the attention of music promoter Brian Epstein (played by Jamie Glover) who engineers their success and fame.  However, Sutcliffe leaves the band to pursue a career in painting, and Best is dropped from the band to be replaced by Ringo Starr (played by Kristian Ealey).

The film focuses on eight years of Lennon’s youth, from age 16 to 23, from his teenage years living with his aunt Mimi Smith at 251 Menlove Avenue to the early successes of the Beatles.  It deals with Lennon’s abandonment by his father, the double loss of his mother (first to another family and then to an accident), his introduction to McCartney at St. Peter’s Church Hall, his courting and marriage to his first wife, Cynthia (played by Gillian Kearney), being disowned by his family after his aunt Mimi learned that he got Cynthia pregnant outside of marriage, the loss of his best friend Sutcliffe, the birth of his son Julian, and the early popularity of the Beatles in Germany.

Starring:
Philip McQuillan as John Lennon
Blair Brown as Mimi Smith
Christine Kavanagh as Julia Lennon
Gillian Kearney as Cynthia Lennon
Daniel McGowan as Paul McCartney
Mark Rice-Oxley as George Harrison
Lee Williams as Stuart Sutcliffe
Jamie Glover as Brian Epstein
Kristian Ealey as Ringo Starr
Scot Williams as Pete Best
Palina Jonsdottir as Astrid Kirchherr
Anthony Borrows as young John Lennon
Paul Usher as “Freddie” Lennon

Audio & Video Quality:  Very good quality, bordering on excellent, about a 9.5 using our website Quality Rating Table, located in our FAQ section.

Total Running Time:  84 minutes.

Disc Format: 1 DVD-R disc.

Special Price: $19.00, regularly $22.00.