Woodstock [Director's Cut] [40th Anniversary] [Ultimate Collector's Edition] [2 Discs] [Blu-ray]

Overview

This iconic musical documentary covers the three-day 1969 music festival on the property of Max Yasger's farm that symbolized the late 1960s in terms of musical, social and political ideology of the era. American audiences are introduced to Ten Years After, featuring guitar great Alvin Lee. Jimi Hendix, The Who and Joe Cocker give riveting performances. As naked flower children romp, the New York freeway is closed because of traffic congestion. Music lovers leave their cars and travel on foot only survive torrential downpours of rain, food shortages and non-stop music. Jefferson Airplane gives the wake up call with their song "Volunteers Of America." Crosby, Stills and Nash deliver a memorable performance. John Sebastian gives an impromptu set with a borrowed guitar from Tim Hardin. Santana, Sly and The Family Stone, Sha-Na-Na, Arlo Guthrie, Richie Havens and Joan Baez also appear. The movie did big box office business and a successful three record set sold millions of copies. The Grateful Dead, Credence Clearwater Revival and Janis Joplin performed but were not shown in the film. The Dead's Jerry Garcia recalled that it was the worst live show the band ever did, ironic for a band known for their spirited live performances.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/03/2010
UPC:	0883929075782
Original Release:	1970
Rating:	R
Source:	Warner Home Video
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	3:44:00
Sales rank:	27

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Joan Baez	Performer
Arlo Guthrie	Performer
Richie Havens	Performer
Jimi Hendrix	Performer
Joe Cocker	Performer,Actor
Crosby, Stills & Nash	Performer
Jefferson Airplane	Performer
Sha Na Na	Performer
Canned Heat	Performer
Country Joe & the Fish	Performer
Roger Daltrey	Performer
Keith Moon	Performer
Stephen Stills	Performer
Pete Townshend	Performer
John Sebastian	Performer
Janis Joplin	Performer
Country McDonald	Performer
Johnny Winter	Performer
Sly & the Family Stone	Performer
Larry Johnson	Composer
Joni Mitchell	Composer

Technical Credits

Michael Wadleigh	Director
Bob Maurice	Producer
L.A. Johnson	Sound/Sound Designer
Larry Johnson	Sound Editor,Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

It was 1969 -- the Summer of Love -- and some 400,000 people gathered on a farm in upstate New York to get down and naked to the music of Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, Jefferson Airplane, Arlo Guthrie, David Crosby, and many, many others. This was more than just a music festival featuring some of the most important rock and folk artists of the era. It was a three-day celebration of the counterculture and everything for which it stood. A youthful Martin Scorsese cut his teeth as an editor on Mike Wadleigh's Academy Award-winning film that documents the most famous rock concert of all time -- and one of the defining events of the 1960s. Monumental in its scope, this legendary documentary uses wide screen and split screen techniques and stereo sound to recreate the experience of the festival in all its peace-loving, mud-splattered glory. While some have criticized the length of the film, the performances -- particularly Hendrix's monumental rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner" -- make it all worthwhile.

Barnes & Noble - Kryssa Schemmerling

Woodstock set the standard for all rockumentaries to come. Sensing that the 1969 Woodstock concert would be something more than a mere "happening," director Michael Wadleigh brought along a battalion of cinematographers and assistants. As a result, what could have been an aloof, detached record of the landmark concert is as "up close and personal" as it was possible to get without actually being there. Utilizing widescreen, splitscreen, and stereo-sound technology to the utmost, Wadleigh puts us right in the middle of the 400,000 screaming, mud-caked spectators, then zooms in to loving closeups of the stars. Edited by Martin Scorsese (among many others), the finished product won the 1970 Oscar for Best Documentary -- and was also stamped with an "R" rating due to some innocuous (by modern standards) nudity and profanity. The talent lineup includes Canned Heat, Richie Havens, Country Joe and the Fish, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, David Crosby and Stephen Stills, Jefferson Airplane, Joe Cocker, Arlo Guthrie, John Sebastian, Sly and the Family Stone, Ten Years After and Sha Na Na. The original 184 minute running time was expanded to 224 minutes for the 1994 video version, featuring previously excised footage of Janis Joplin. One of the best shots in Woodstock has no music at all: the final image, as a group of dour policemen survey the garbage and debris left behind by the Woodstock Naton.

All Movie Guide - Hal Erickson