Renee731
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🎬 Daytime Revolution - John & Yoko on The Mike Douglas Show + Erik Nelson AMA
- Thread starter Good Dog Nigel
- Start date
BACK TO THE ’70S, SWEET AND SOUR
Posted on October 19, 2024 by zoglinreviewsHow much more appealing the ‘70s look in Daytime Revolution, a modest documentary directed by Erik Nelson, which had its world premiere at the Hamptons festival and is starting a limited run in a few theaters.
The film is a chronicle of the nearly forgotten week in February 1972 when John Lennon and Yoko Ono were co-hosts with Mike Douglas on his daytime talk show. Douglas was a bland, square talk-show host of the pre-Oprah era, who liked bringing on celebrities for weeklong co-hosting gigs, and his willingness to let two icons of the ‘60s revolution join him for five shows, pick their own guests, and expose his mainstream daytime audience to the counterculture was quite a gutsy one.
They bring on guests like Yippie co-founder Jerry Rubin, Black Panthers leader Bobby Seale, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Lennon joins rock legend Chuck Berry in rousing rendition of “Memphis, Tennessee.” Even the more typical daytime self-help guests had a counterculture tinge, like a macrobiotic chef and an expert on biofeedback. Interspersed between the five episodes, we get news clips to remind us of the tumultuous political climate at the time, as Vietnam continued to divide the nation and Richard Nixon was headed for a landslide reelection.
The real revelation of Daytime Revolution is how charming and companionable Lennon and Ono are. No hint of condescension or preachiness; they both seem genuinely eager to communicate their world view in a palatable way to a Middle American audience. John is cheerful and voluble, opening up to Douglas about subjects like his difficult relationship with his father. Ono, far from the Beatles-busting harridan of popular myth, genially adapts her avant-garde sensibility to the language of daytime TV. On the first show, she displays a shattered coffee cup; glues another piece of it back together every day; until by the end of the week the cup has been reassembled.
Douglas (despite his syrupy opening rendition of “Michelle” — a McCartney song!) deserves a lot of credit for orchestrating the whole thing with aplomb and sincere interest, turning radical guests like Rubin and Seale into surprisingly candid and amiable conversationalists. By the end of the week, when John performs his most famous post-Beatles number, the lyrics — “Imagine all the people/Living life in peace” — seem to carry fresh meaning.
To analogize to our current fraught political moment: Saturday Night is the Trumpian film, pushing a mean-spirited, us-versus-them mentality, mythologizing our heroes and demonizing all outsiders. Daytime Revolutionsincerely wants to bridge the divides, to look for connections. Call it the politics of joy.
Back to the ’70s, Sweet and Sour
Last week I finished up my most concentrated siege of moviegoing of the year: the Hamptons International Film Festival, an 11-day showcase for international festival winners, Hollywood Oscar hopefu…
richardzoglin.com
Beatlesblogger
Member
Thanks for posting this link to the WNYC audio. Great to hear Eric interviewed and all the grabs played from the film.Erik Nelson appeared on Brian Lehrer's WNYC radio show earlier today in an enjoyable 15 minute segment to promote the film. Brian took a couple of interesting callers. Take a listen:
Revisiting John & Yoko's Week with The Mike Douglas Show | The Brian Lehrer Show | WNYC
Director Erik Nelson on the the new documentary "Daytime Revolution" about the week John Lennon & Yoko Ono co-hosted a daytime talk show.www.wnyc.org
CynCP
Member
Sara - If anyone can locate that canvas from the shows, I believe you can do it!
By the way, it was a beautiful afternoon here in Philadelphia, so I walked over to 1619 Wlanut where The Mike Douglas Show was filmed. There are some great photos in the lobby - see below. The security guard told me that people come in to look at the Mike Douglas photos at least once a week.
Attachments
How cool!!! The next time I am in Philadelphia, I am going to have to check this out. Thanks for sharing your photos, Cynthia.
'Daytime Revolution' documentary essential viewing for John & Yoko faithful
New documentary chronicles John and Yoko’s groundbreaking week on daytime TV.By Bill Kopp, Goldmine.
In 1972, most Americans had limited set of choices when it came to television viewing. Most markets – even massive ones like New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles – had only three VHF stations, one each for the three major networks: ABC, CBS and NBC. In addition to programs created by and for those “big three,” outside production companies created TV shows that they sold (syndicated) to the networks’ local affiliates. Those syndicated programs filled much of the airtime on weekdays in the spaces between morning news, soap operas and evening news.
The Mike Douglas Show was among the most popular weekday programs of its type. By its very nature, Douglas’ talk and variety show was unabashedly mainstream; it was also that way because it had to be. A defining quality of syndicated programming was accessibility; wide appeal was necessary to ensure that the largest number of viewers – predominately housewives – would tune in on a daily basis. And they did: In 1972 The Mike Douglas Show was broadcast five days a week on more than 170 stations nationwide, and it drew a daily audience of over six million viewers.
Against that backdrop, the prospect of Mike Douglas inviting a guest who courted controversy was somewhat unlikely. With very few notable exceptions, Douglas’ guests and co-hosts tended toward the middle of the road both culturally and politically. So it was a shock of seismic proportions when Douglas invited John Lennon and Yoko Ono to co-host his show for an entire five-day run.
In 1972, Lennon and Ono were often in the news for their increasing association with counterculture, left-wing figures like Jerry Rubin of the Chicago 8, Black Panthers leader Bobby Seale, and the like. Their music had taken a gritty, politically oriented turn on the album Sometime in New York City, a record full of songs about women’s liberation (Ono’s “Sisters O Sisters”) and lethal quelling of prison riots (“Attica State”). And they were outspoken in their opposition to both the Vietnam War and then-president Richard Nixon.
But it happened: the couple co-hosted five consecutive hour-long episodes of the program. Moreover, Douglas gave free rein to his co-hosts; Lennon and Ono chose their guests. So it was that American housewives were treated to intelligent discussions featuring Rubin, Seale, consumer advocate Ralph Nader, George Carlin, folk-protest singers, a macrobiotic cook, a biofeedback authority… and Chuck Berry.
Lennon and Ono proved themselves remarkably good co-hosts. And Douglas deserves copious praise for bringing reasoned discussion of anti-war activism, racism, and corporate greed to daytime viewers on his show. It’s safe to say that precious few of those who tuned in to watch John, Yoko and Mike chat with Rubin, Seale and the others had ever seen those individuals presented in such an even-handed, forthright and (believe it or not) entertaining manner.
While the episodes featuring John and Yoko have long circulated among collectors – and now and then as high-priced official releases on DVD – it’s only now, more than half a century after the broadcasts – that a documentary filmmaker has tackled the subject. Drawing extensively upon the footage from those five episodes and adding current-day retrospective interviews with many of the surviving production staff and guests, director Erik Nelson has created a worthy documentary that underscores the cultural significance of the historic week.
Nelson is not at all heavy handed in his approach, eschewing a narrator and instead allowing the archival footage to make its own points. Contemporary commentary from the guests and staff adds weight, and makes clear that even in 1972, everyone involved appreciated that something important was happening.
Daytime Revolution looks to have been produced on a shoestring budget. But because of its nature, that does not detract from its impact. For anyone who hasn’t seen the original broadcasts – and in fact even for those who have – Daytime Revolution is essential viewing. It’s a reminder of a brief time in which the counterculture and the mainstream met and – if only for five days – peacefully coexisted.
Daytime Revolution premiered October 9 in select theaters nationwide.
beatlesaint
Member
@Good Dog Nigel any news on when the DVD/Blu-ray is out in the UK yet please ?
Georgescrackerbox
Active member
congratulations on the film!
Yes, they intend to do this worldwide. I'm from Brazil and I also wanted this information and Erik Nelson answered.
Still waiting to find out
Looks like the DVD and Blu-Ray have been pushed back to December 10 here in the States, per an update on Amazon US. The anticipation grows!!
I just saw it too! I’m thinking about importing it to Brazil but the taxes are almost twice the price of the Blu-ray itself, I’m honestly sad right now
I just saw it too! I’m thinking about importing it to Brazil but the taxes are almost twice the price of the Blu-ray itself, I’m honestly sad right now
Aw, that's a really difficult situation to be in...! I hope you find a way to get it that isn't so expensive to ship there! I'm sure with all the great minds on here, someone will be able to help!! I'll definitely keep an eye out.
Also, there's no sad 'reaction' on here, so giving a heart on your post was the closest choice so I could empathize with you!
Thank you so much, my friend! The situation here is always awful, to import anything. And that price doesn't have shipping costs included, which is the price of the Blu-ray once again. It's just soAw, that's a really difficult situation to be in...! I hope you find a way to get it that isn't so expensive to ship there! I'm sure with all the great minds on here, someone will be able to help!! I'll definitely keep an eye out.
Also, there's no sad 'reaction' on here, so giving a heart on your post was the closest choice so I could empathize with you!
We absolutely need a sad and a celebratory emoji here!
Almost everything for Brazil is either unavailable or very expensive to purchase. Being a Beatles fan here is difficult. 
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