“One to One: John & Yoko” is one of the finest additions to The Beatles’ metaverse in years. Directed by Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards, the documentary traces the evolution of the Lennons’ August 1972 “One to One” benefit concerts at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. In so doing, Macdonald and Rice-Edwards explore the roots of John and Yoko’s 1970s-era activism in exquisite detail.
“One to One” begins some 18 months before the concerts as John and Yoko settle in New York City. For the Lennons, making a new life in the United States was rife with opportunity for continuing the social activism that they had begun with their notorious bed-ins and “Give Peace a Chance.” For John, establishing himself in New York City had been long overdue. “If I’d lived in Roman times, I’d have lived in Rome. Where else? Today, America is the Roman Empire, and New York is Rome itself.”
Not surprisingly, John and Yoko quickly ensconce themselves among the nation’s glitterati, making vital connections with the likes of “yippie” founder Jerry Rubin, Black Panther Bobby Seale and poet Allen Ginsberg. For the Lennons, the peace movement that flourished in the 1960s has all but evaporated in the new decade. Working with the Rock Liberation Front offers the only clear means for effecting change. “Flower power is over,” Yoko laments. To John’s mind, there is a new urgency in the air. “Young people are apathetic,” he cautions. “They think there is nothing worthwhile to do, and everything is finished. They want to take refuge in drugs to destroy themselves. Our work is to tell them that there is still hope and still a lot to do. The revolution has only just begun.”
For all of the Lennons’ optimism and encouragement, “One to One” makes it indubitably clear that dark clouds are on the couple’s horizon. For one thing, there is the lingering resentment towards Yoko among music lovers and the counterculture alike. “I was considered a b***h in this society,” she remarks. But “since I met John, I was upgraded into a witch.” Worse yet, President Richard M. Nixon included Lennon on his infamous enemies list. Recognizing that the federal government is actively surveilling his every move, John begins recording his telephone conversations.
Yoko Ono and John Lennon in “One to One” (Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)In an absolute masterstroke, Macdonald and Rice-Edwards take full advantage of these previously unheard recordings, deploying them as a narrative tool that not only advances “One to One”’s storyline, but also serves as a means for understanding the Lennons’ mindset in groundbreaking fashion. The documentary abounds with crisp period footage of John and Yoko in the early 1970s, culminating, of course, with the August 30, 1972, concerts, which were held on behalf of disabled students at Staten Island’s Willowbrook School.
As it happened, the “One to One” event marked the only full-length concerts that Lennon undertook after The Beatles’ final show at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park in August 1966. Visually, Macdonald and Rice-Edwards bring the Madison Square Garden concerts vividly to life, taking special pains to ensure that Phil Spector’s original recordings are reproduced with the highest possible fidelity. Produced by Sean Ono Lennon and mixed and re-engineered from the original multitrack tapes by Paul Hicks and Sam Gannon, the audio from the “One to One” concerts has simply never sounded better. Released as part of Record Store Day 2025, a special EP from the concerts will feature three unreleased performances in John’s “Well Well Well” and “Cold Turkey,” as well as Yoko’s “Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking for a Hand in the Snow.”
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But as breathtaking as “One to One” proves to be as a documentary experience—and there are few better when it comes to Lennon and The Beatles—the real message is unmistakable: in a world that challenges our values at every turn, that attempts to drain our efforts to be ineluctably human and serve our fellow citizens, apathy can never be allowed to win out. When it comes to fighting inertia and dreaming of a better life for everyone regardless of race or station, John and Yoko have very genuine peers.
“One to One: John & Yoko” will see an April 11 release date in IMAX theaters, as well as plans for streaming releases later in 2025.
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