By Gregg Shapiro

Contributing writer

“The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder: John, Paul, Tom & Ringo” (Shout Factory)—The night after musician John Lennon was murdered, gunned down outside of his home in New York City in December of 1980, the legendary late-night talk show host Tom Snyder re-aired what he described as one of the most requested interviews he ever did on his program. Snyder’s 1975 interview with Lennon, which originally aired at the time that he was in the midst of dealing with deportation and immigration issues with the U.S. government, is a reminder of what a charismatic and thoughtful man he was. Personable and witty, he spoke with refreshing candor about the Beatles’ early years, about being a working-class musician, groupies, drugs and the way that sex played a role as an incentive to be a performer.

He was also candid about some of the more controversial aspects of his solo career, including appearing naked on an album cover with wife Yoko Ono and the bed-in that he staged with Ono. His personal musical tastes at the time of the interview leaned towards, surprisingly, disco and reggae. He was happy for the success being enjoyed by the other former Beatles. After a few commercial breaks, Snyder and Lennon were joined by Lennon’s attorney Leon Wildes to further discuss the immigration issues facing Lennon, which involved his application for permanent resident status (which was later granted) and the obstacles he faced, including his political activism and drug possession charges. Back to 1980, Snyder concluded the program with interviews with rock journalist Lisa Robinson and record producer Jack Douglas. Rounding out the double-disc set is a second disc consisting of a 1979 interview with Paul McCartney and his late wife Linda (one of whom might have been under the influence of something or other), as well as members of his then-band, Wings, and a 1981 interview with Ringo Starr and his ex-wife Barbara Bach (prior to the release of their movie “Caveman”).

 

“Walk The Line: Special Edition” (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment)—Although it portrays a period of almost 25 years, from 1944 to 1968, the Johnny Cash biopic “Walk The Line” feels as though it covers several lifetimes. Another addition to the movie-going public’s fascination with big screen versions of the troubled lives of musicians (see also “Ray”), the film earned Reese Witherspoon (as Cash’s muse and eventual wife June Carter) an Oscar, while Joaquin Phoenix, as Cash, received an Academy Award nomination. Cash’s story takes us from Dyess, Arkansas in 1944, where his hard to please father (Robert Patrick) declares that the wrong son was taken when Johnny’s older brother Jack is killed in a woodcutting accident to his stint in the Air Force in the early 1950s. With the guitar he bought in Germany, Cash returns to the States, marries sweetheart Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin), starts a family and begins to write songs in Memphis, Tennessee in 1955. Soon after Cash meets recording studio head Sam Phillips, he cuts a record and begins to get airplay. Early on, Cash was aware of Carter and when they cross paths at a show in Texarkana, Texas, there is a hint of attraction.

Just as his musical career begins to take off, Cash’s marriage and home and personal lives start to disintegrate, including a serious addiction to drugs. Aside from music, the one bright spot in his life is Carter, and his determined pursuit of her results in her acceptance of his 1968 proposal of marriage in Ontario, Canada. Bursting with musical sequences in which both Phoenix and Witherspoon sing, as well as captivating performances by the lead actors, “Walk The Line” holds up on repeated viewing. The second of the two-disc set contains eight extended musical sequences, two deleted scenes and more than a half dozen featurettes.