The New York Times

Thursday, March 23, 2000

Reviews And News  

John Lennon, then 29, and Yoko Ono on a videotape shot in February 1970 by her former husband Tony Cox.

A Videotape of Lennon and Ono, And a Bid for a Documentary

By Allan Kozinn

More than nine hours of videotape of John Lennon and Yoko Ono shot in February 1970 by Tony Cox, Ms. Ono's former husband, has come to light. Its new owners, a New England consortium of Beatles collectors who bought the video from Mr. Cox, say that they would like the tape to be the basis of a documentary about this turbulent moment in Lennon's career.

Lennon was 29 at the time, and although the Beatles we're still nominally a going concern – the breakup would not be announced until April that year – he was more interested in pursuing his own projects, including Conceptual Art events with Ms. Ono, and various political activities that grew out of his campaign for world peace.

The black-and-white video was recorded by Mr. Cox over four days, from Feb. 8 to 11, 1970 , while he stayed with the Lennons in their home near London and followed them to interviews, editing sessions, and rehearsals. In a written description of the tape, Mr. Cox said that the Lennons had allowed him to videotape them for a proposed documentary. The project was shelved after the amicable relationship between Mr. Cox and the Lennons broke down during a custody battle for Kyoko Cox, the daughter of Ms. Ono and Mr. Cox.

The new owners – Ray Thomas, John Fallon and a third party who did not want to be identified – acquired the video in January. They would not say what they paid but Mr. Cox, but Mr. Thomas said that after legal costs and other expenses, they had spent about $1 million.

The videotape includes segments showing Lennon and Ms. Ono discussing everything from their plan to add a lake to their property to ideas for the promotion of Ms. Ono's book "Grapefruit" and Lennon's just-released single, "Instant Karma."

Lennon is seen playing several works in progress. One, called "make Love Not War" at the time, turned up four years later with new lyrics as "Mind Games." Lennon is clearly occupied with it here: he performs it at home and between takes during a rehearsal of "Instant Karma" for the BBC television show "Top of the Pops."

Lennon and Ms. Ono are also shown editing a documentary about their bed-in for peace in Montreal , the previous May and giving interviews to journalists. They pay several visits to Michael Abdul Malik, also known as Michael X, a Trinidadian Black Power advocate whose Black House cultural center Lennon was supporting at the time.

When Malik was later charged with murder, the Lennons continued their support, paying for his legal appeals. He was found guilty and executed in Britain in 1975.

Mr. Thomas said that he and his partners we're "in the process" of approaching Ms. Ono in the hope that she would agree to serve as executive producer of the documentary but that there had been no discussions yet. They would need at least her consent, if not her participation.

Although they say that they bought the copyright to the video from Mr. Cox, they could not turn the material into a commercial product without obtaining a release from Ms. Ono.

"Yoko has not seen this footage in 30 years," said Peter Shukat, Ms. Ono's lawyer, to whom she referred questions about the videotape.

"Therefore it's impossible for her to make any comments about it. As her lawyer, I would add that there are other delicate issues: whether the video includes copyright materials that require clearances from third parties and even whether Tony Cox had the right to sell it."

The owners say if they cannot produce a documentary, they could recoup their investment by selling the video to another collector. But that would not be their first choice.

"This material really should be shared with the public," said Mr. Fallon, "because it shows John in such a human light. He was someone that influenced all of us but at the same time he was influenced by what was going on in the world. This really shows that."