For all of us who love John Lennon and his music, 2010 has been a year of special anniversaries. Earlier this year, we celebrated the 70th anniversary of his birth in Liverpool, and with it the memory of how the Beatles changed the world — and us — and how Lennon continued to make honest, brave and provocative music after the great band split apart. But we also must return to that terrible evening 30 years ago, on Dec. 8, 1980, when Lennon was slain outside his apartment building in New York City. “Lennon NYC,” a documentary about his solo career, his love of New York City and his life in the United States after the breakup of the Beatles, brings back a rush of these memories. This fine work, written and directed by Michael Epstein, aired on PBS stations last month and will be released on DVD this week.

Much of this story is familiar, of course, to the legions of Lennon fans. It’s a story that has been told well in previous documentaries. “Imagine: John Lennon,” from 1988, placed the emphasis on the personal side of his life, especially his sometimes-tumultuous relationship with his wife, Yoko Ono, and his adoration for his young son, Sean. “The U.S. vs. John Lennon,” from 2006, focused more on his activism against the Vietnam War and the difficult and long struggle he fought to avoid the deportation sought by the administration of Richard Nixon.