Woodstock (1970)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Michael Wadleigh

Release Date:

26 March 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | History | Music

Tagline:

love, peace, music

Plot:

The film chronicle of the legendary 1969 music festival.

Plot Keywords:

Woodstock | Drug Use | Art | Performance | Mud

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Richie Havens	...	Himself
Joan Baez	...	Herself
The Who	...	Themselves
Sha-Na-Na	...	Themselves (as Sha Na Na)
Joe Cocker	...	Himself
Country Joe and the Fish	...	Themselves
Arlo Guthrie	...	Himself
Crosby Stills & Nash	...	Themselves (as Crosby Stills and Nash)
Ten Years After	...	Themselves
John Sebastian	...	Himself
Santana	...	Themselves
Sly and the Family Stone	...	Themselves (as Sly & the Family Stone)
Jimi Hendrix	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Canned Heat	...	Themselves
Jefferson Airplane	...	Themselves
Janis Joplin	...	Herself

Also Known As:

Woodstock 25th Anniversary Edition (USA) (director's cut)
Woodstock, 3 Days of Peace & Music (USA) (longer version)

Runtime:

184 min | Germany:169 min | Sweden:184 min (1970) | Sweden:224 min (1994) | USA:228 min (director's cut) | Germany:216 min (director's cut) | Spain:215 min (DVD edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (re-release) | Mono (RCA Sound System) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (1994) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (2009 re-rating) | New Zealand:M | Netherlands:12 | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:S | Norway:12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Bethel, New York, USA

Company:

Wadleigh-Maurice

Trivia:

The 2 and 3 panel screen presentation seen throughout much of the movie was an innovation born of necessity on the part of the film makers and a young film editor named Martin Scorsese. With so much footage shot, and the studio's unwillingness to expand the length of the released movies running time, it was decided that a way must be found to maximize the amount of footage that could be used. Because of the wide-screen aspect of the release, it was realized that the multi-panel format could be used most effectively to not only include as much film footage as possible, but to also have concert footage AND crowd reaction shots together on the same screen. It was important for the filmmakers to impart upon the viewing public just what a monumental event the Woodstock festival had unintentionally become. This method also allowed them to show many behind the scene activities that demonstrated all the hard work put in by the production staff and hired-hands...another important detail that the concerts producers thought was very important for the public to see as they had always contended that without the efforts of the entire production staff, this event could have easily degenerated into a disaster.

Quotes:

Arlo Guthrie: It's incredible. I heard the New York Thruway's closed.
News Reporter: Closed? This morning we heard that they were backed down Route 17 with an eight hour delay.
Arlo Guthrie: Right. Well, the New York Thruway's closed. Isn't that far out?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2005)

Soundtrack:

With A Little Help From My Friends

Serves As Both A Documentary & Concert DVD

As I have seen this many times since it first came out on in the theater and then on VHS, I now just fast-forward chapters on the DVD to the music, enjoying my favorite performances in this epic documentary of the most famous rock concert of all time.

There is a lot to enjoy, including the stuff between the music if you have never seen this before. It certainly captures the wildness of the late 1960s, the good and the bad. It really brings you back to a unique time in American history. For someone who was part of that time, things that were "cool" back then now look and sound a little stupid and naive, but it's still fun to watch. Not only do you get a ton of music, but you see a half million people weathering storms, the mess, drugs, port-o-johns, drugs, dancing, skinny-dipping, drugs, eating. You get the idea.

Music-wise, everyone has their favorites so I'll put a plug or two in for the artists I've always enjoying watching-seeing the most in this movie: Ten Years After; Sly And The Family Stone; Canned Heat, The Who, Richie Havens, Santana, Sha Na Na, Country Joe And The Fish, The Jefferson Airplane and Crosby, Stills and Nash.

At almost four hours, you can choose from a variety of music acts, enough to give you at least an enjoyable couple of hours of that alone, if you wish. This is a must- have for music fans of that era.