A film detailing the early life of John Lennon has been condemned as "outrageous fiction" by Beatles experts.
Nowhere Boy, directed by artist Sam Taylor-Wood, and premiered at the London Film Festival, depicts Lennon's famous Auntie Mimi as a domineering harridan.
The screenplay by Matt Greenhalgh - who wrote the script for the 2007 Joy Division film 'Control' - is accused of distorting Lennon's childhood and adolescence.
In the film wild Julia and middle-class housewife Mimi Smith, who acted as his guardian, are shown as warring factions, battling for the affection of the young Lennon.
But experts on Beatles history say the suggestion that Lennon's mother and her elder sister were a "family at war" is nonsense.
Liverpool tour guide Phil Coppell condemned the film-makers and accused them of "sensationalising" the story in a bid to cash-in at the box office.
He said: "This film has taken its 'artistic licence' to the extreme and has fabricated a sensational story dressed-up as reality.
"It is outrageous since none of the people depicted in this film are here to defend themselves against this calumny.
"It is disappointing that an opportunity to set the record straight has been missed and there is a risk that terrible fiction will enter the public consciousness as the truth.
"There are differences of opinion regarding the relationship between Julia and Mimi.
"But there is plenty of evidence to show that they were certainly not a family at war as some bogus historians would have us believe.
"Julia played her part in John's upbringing.
"But equally he was happy with Mimi and her husband George who gave him a loving home and fostered his talents to help make him the free spirit that he was.
"It is outrageous that these film makers decided to twist the truth so ruthlesslesy for their own financial gain."
Sam Taylor-Wood confessed it was "difficult" to decided on the real truth in Nowhere Boy, the first ever feature length film about Lennon's early life.
She said: "Matt Greenhalgh wrote this story, he went through various biographies.
"The basis of his script was on a book by Julia Baird, John Lennon's half-sister. That was his starting point.
"Matt trawled through biography after biography and gathered as much information as he could.
"In the end he decided he had to sort of shut-off because there were so many conflicting stories.
"The rivalry over John Lennon between his mother and his aunt is a focal point.
"How much of it is true is difficult to answer, without being there in person. There are different versions of the truth.
"I'm sure if Mimi was here today she would have one version, and Julia would have another. As much as possible it's pretty close.
"The story is set in the time just before The Beatles go off to Hamburg. It's very much focused on John Lennon."
Nowhere Boy goes on general release in cinemas worldwide on 29th December, 2009.
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