John Lennon’s murder in December 1980 marked the end of an era. The motive, according to some sources, was outrage over Lennon’s lifestyle. The fatal shooting sadly seems to make more sense now, as polarization, violence, and technology increase emphasis on American individuality while deprioritizing the common good. As Erik Nelson’s new documentary Daytime Revolution points out, Lennon and Yoko Ono represented the opposite of these values. Comprised of archival footage and interviews, it surveys the significance of Lennon and…

A case of amazing material and fascinating history being squandered in the hands of an unfocused team. Lacks a coherent and clear vision, but is a serviceable time capsule of John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-hosting The Mike Douglas Show in 1972. Their agenda - to reach middle-class Americans (or housewives, as they say) and inspire more sociopolitical engagement/liberate marginalized folks - is sorely underdeveloped as a thematic thread, which continually baffled me as the film stretched on. 

Some really…

Daytime Revolution, directed by Erik Nelson, delves into a remarkable week in February 1972 when John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-hosted The Mike Douglas Show, a mainstream American daytime talk show with an audience of 40 million viewers. The documentary excels in presenting digitally restored clips from the original broadcasts, offering viewers a vivid glimpse into this unique cultural convergence. The juxtaposition of Lennon’s and Ono’s avant-garde perspectives with Douglas’s traditional hosting style creates a compelling dynamic, highlighting the era’s…

I cannot tell you how great this documentary is despite having Yoko Ono in it. While Mike Douglas hosted his daytime show, John and Yoko hijacked the show to bring in their type of guests, including George Carlin, Bobby Seale, Ralph Nader (the fucking guy who caused George W. Bush to win Florida) a macrobiotic chef, a biofeedback engineer and - god love him - Chuck Berry whom John idolized but never met but he got to perform with. In…

For one week in 1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-hosted the Mike Douglas Show–a popular daytime program with forty million weekly viewers. Forty million! They weren’t just guests, they produced it and invited controversial people in the eyes of mainstream America. It was a bonanza of countercultural viewpoints covering music, food, philosophy, comedy, and politics. Daytime Revolution is not in a hurry, it patiently shows long sequences, letting the people espouse their ideas that were radical at the time.…

Pleasant doc about John Lennon and Yoko Ono guest hosting The Mike Douglas Show for a week hampered by some questionable AI choices that made them look at times plastic (and I don't mean Plastic Ono Band). Really interesting selection of interview subjects and this doc wisely limited it to people who were directly involved with the show for that week. It could have used some tighter edits and more context. There were quick shots of Barbara Loden with zero…

took my dad to see this in the small art house theater a bit outside of my hometown that we used to go to when I was in high school. 

he’s the biggest Beatles fan I’ve ever met (specifically a John guy), and I’m a huge Beatles (and music) fan because of him. so it’s impossible for me not to be emotionally invested in and overly sentimental with anything Beatles-adjacent. 

regardless… I found this to be wonderful and informative. especially…