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 | Art | Helicopter | Mud | Drug

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)

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: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 filmmakers and distributor were sued by the man who was interviewed while cleaning the Port-O-San portable latrines, on the grounds of mental anguish, embarrassment, public ridicule, and invasion of privacy. An appellate court opinion in this lawsuit may be read at Taggart v. Wadleigh-Maurice, Ltd., 489 F.2d 434 (3d Cir. 1973).

Quotes:

Jimi Hendrix: [beginning his set] I see that we meet again, hmmm...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Purple Haze

Superb documentary

Oscar-winning documentary on the 3 day long concert back in 1969. Despite more people showing up than was expected and running out of food, water and medical supplies and dealing with a torrential downpour everything went fine. There was no rioting, no violence...just people helping each other out. The film beautifully captures all this. It contains interviews with the kids attending the concert (their views are absolutely incredible), people in the surrounding town, the police, media...all viewpoints are presented. Everything that comes through is tolerance, peace and love.

The musical acts are varied--you'll love some and hate others. For me the definite highlights were Joan Baez; the Who; Sha-Na-Na; Joe Cocker; Crosby Stills & Nash; John Sebastian; Country Joe McDonald; Sly and the Family Stone and Jimi Hendrix. Also the sound is great and there is superb editing during the sequences with excellent use of multiple screens.

I saw the directors cut with adds 40 minutes of music (bringing the running time up to 3 hours and 40 minutes). They add Canned Heat, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and another number by Hendrix. Except for the Joplin footage none of it is really good or needed. The original 3 hour cut is fine.

Warning--there's lots of swearing, nudity, sex and drug taking. It didn't bother me, but it might bother others--originally this got an X rating because of it!

A great one of a kind movie. Don't miss it!