Bed-In, January 30

Allan deSouza and Yong Soon Min in Person

"It's a bed-in, folks!" John Lennon announces as he and Yoko Ono begin their weeklong protest for peace. In Bed-In, John and Yoko, having been refused entry into the U.S., are bedded down for the week in a Toronto hotel, where they host a constant stream of visitors: Al Capp, cantankerous as ever; Tommy Smothers, who admits he is "not a hep cat"; Timothy Leary, who surely wants to be; a roomful of promo men and DJs, plus a phone call from Berkeley's People's Park. "Gimmicks and salesmanship," Lennon says, "peace and war are two products." This is "apparatus exposed" in more ways than one, showing the chaos surrounding "Peace: The Advertisement," and the production surrounding "The John and Yoko Show." A time capsule that is very funny, more than a little silly, surprisingly candid, frequently tender.

—Judy Bloch

• (61 mins, Color, 16mm)

Followed by shorts:
Lennon, Sontag, Beuys (Kota Ezawa, U.S., 2004). In this animation, Lennon (at a 1969 Amsterdam bed-in with Ono), Susan Sontag, and Joseph Beuys comment on art and social change. (3 mins, Video, From the artist)
Two Gurus in Drag (excerpts) (Yong Soon Min, Allan deSouza, U.S., 2003). A three-day restaging of the original bed-in, in the context of the Iraq war. (c. 20 mins excerpts, Color, Video, From the artists)

• (Total running time: c. 84 mins)