“I don’t want to sound like a nerd”: Sean Ono Lennon names his four favourite movies of all time
Deciding to pursue a career in the arts while being the son of one of the most revered musicians in history is a tough task, but it can’t be denied that Sean Lennon has displayed an incredible amount of range and versatility during his own long-standing career across a number of mediums.
He’s released two solo studio albums, played in a number of bands including Cibo Matto, The Ghost of a Sabretooth Tiger, and The Claypool Lennon Delirium, composed the scores for a number of movies spanning such disparate genres as self-reflexive Shakespeare reinterpretation Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead, superhero comedy Alter Egos, and supernatural horror Ava’s Possessions, which is barely even scratching the surface.
Lennon has worked as a producer on a similarly eclectic range of records that covers heavy metal band Soulfly’s sophomore album Primitive, Lana Del Rey’s Lust for Life, and Black Lips’ Satan’s Graffiti or God’s Art?, and has even dabbled in acting after playing himself in Michael Jackson’s bizarre 1988 effort Moonwalker, guest starring in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as part of aforementioned act Cibo Matto, and providing the English-language dubbing vocals for the character of Francœur in French animated flick A Monster in Paris.
The most recent string added to his bow culminated in Academy Awards glory with the 11-minute animation War Is Over! winning the Oscar for ‘Best Animated Short Film’. Subtitled Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko, the story unfolds in an alternate version of World War I, where a carrier pigeon delivers messages between chess opponents, who remain blissfully unaware of which side they’re fighting for.
With animation and effects from Peter Jackson’s Wētā, a score composed by 15-time Oscar nominee Thomas Newman, and a story developed by Lennon alongside co-writer and director Dave Mullins, it’s quite the star-studded affair. It’s a decidedly unique production that’s rooted in his lineage, but it’s hardly reflective of the movies the second-generation multi-hyphenate deems to be his personal favourites.
When put on the spot by Letterboxd, Lennon displayed a soft spot for chilling dystopia by naming Stanley Kubrick’s seminal A Clockwork Orange right off the bat, before following it up with one of the greatest and most influential sequels ever made in Star Wars‘ second chapter The Empire Strikes Back.
Prefacing it by saying how “I don’t want to sound like a nerd,” Lennon would then echo the sentiments of film scholars and historians everywhere by admitting “Citizen Kane, I really love,” although his fourth and final contender is a touch more controversial than the other three.
For its depictions of graphic violence, sexuality, and religious commentary, Ken Russell’s 1971 heat magnet The Devils was slapped with the dreaded X-rating in the United Kingdom and United States, banned outright in several countries, and was heavily edited to secure a theatrical release in others.
With that in mind, it’s fair Lennon said, “I feel bad for the kids at home” before naming The Devils, presumably under the impression youngsters will be desperate to find out more about it. “It’s not family-friendly” is putting it lightly, considering it was 30 years before it was deemed palatable to be screened to the Finnish population, but with Russell enduring as “one of my heroes,” he couldn’t realistically leave it out.
Sean Ono Lennon’s favourite movies:
- A Clockwork Orange – Stanley Kubrick
- The Empire Strikes Back – George Lucas
- Citizen Kane – Orson Welles
- The Devils – Ken Russell
