Festival (1967)

Black and white footage of performances, interviews, and conversations at the Newport Folk Festival, from 1963 to 1966. The headliners are Peter, Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and ... See full summary »

Director:

Murray Lerner

Writer:

Murray Lerner

Stars:

Joan Baez, Horton Barker, Fiddler Beers

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joan Baez	...	Herself
Horton Barker	...	Himself
Fiddler Beers	...	Himself
Theodore Bikel	...	Himself
Mike Bloomfield	...	Himself
Paul Butterfield	...	Himself
Johnny Cash	...	Himself
Judy Collins	...	Herself
Cousin Emmy	...	Herself
Donovan	...	Himself
Bob Dylan	...	Himself
Mimi Fariña	...	Herself
Richard Farina	...	Himself (as Dick Farina)
Ronnie Gilbert	...	Herself
Mrs. Ollie Gilbert	...	Herself

Storyline

Black and white footage of performances, interviews, and conversations at the Newport Folk Festival, from 1963 to 1966. The headliners are Peter, Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan, who's acoustic and electric. Son House and Mike Bloomfield talk about the blues; John Hurt, Howlin' Wolf, and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee show its range. The Osborne Brothers perform bluegrass. Donovan, Johnny Cash, Judy Collins, Mimi and Dick Farina, and others less well known also perform. Several talk musical philosophy, and there's a running commentary about the nature and appeal of folk music. The crowd looks clean cut.

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Plot Keywords:

folk music | interview | performance | bob dylan | bluegrass | 

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Taglines:

Newport is an oasis of beautiful music - and beautiful people ... who take the high road to "Festival!"

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 1967 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Newport, Rhode Island, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Patchke Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First of the theatrical documentaries on counter-culture music festivals, preceding Monterey Pop and Woodstock.

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Connections

Featured in American Masters: No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)

User Reviews

Great Doc

Festival (1967)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Documentary covering the 1963-66 Newport Music Festival with such acts as Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Donovan, Johnny Cash and of course Peter, Paul and Mary. I had seen several of these artists performances earlier but the real treat here was all the non unknown acts. There was a lot of great music from all (except PP&M and their countless Dylan covers). Another interesting aspect is the crowd stuff and what they all felt folk music was.

Certainly the best of the documentaries looking at this historic event.