Woodstock (1970)

The film chronicle of the legendary 1969 music festival.

Director:

Michael Wadleigh

Stars:

Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Roger Daltrey

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited 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
Bob Davis	...	Himself

Storyline

An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | woodstock | music festival | 1960s | year 1969 | 

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Taglines:

Where It All Began.

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Genres:

Documentary | History | Music

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Barnes Ltd.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Woodstock: 25th Anniversary Edition

Filming Locations:

Bethel, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$600,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$50,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wadleigh-Maurice

Technical Specs

Runtime:

184 min 184 min (1970) 224 min (1994) 228 min (director's cut) 216 min (director's cut) 215 min (DVD) 356 min (Director's Cut w/ additional & exclusive footage)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (re-release) Mono (RCA Sound System) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) 4-Track Stereo (original release)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Abbie Hoffman wasn't the only one to feel Pete Townshend's wrath during The Who's performance. As they were walking onstage Townshend kicked one of the cameramen filming the documentary. The cameraman happened to be none other than the film's director Michael Wadleigh.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Interviewer: Okay. Go ahead.
Sidney Westerfield, Local merchant: My name is Sidney Westerfield. I'm the owner of this antique tavern, Mongaup Valley, New York State. I was here when this crowd really came. We expected 50,000 a day and there must have been a million. I, myself, was hungry for two days because I couldn't get any food! I couldn't go out to buy any food.
[laughs]
Sidney Westerfield, Local merchant: I was eatin' cornflakes for two days. And the kids were wonderful. I had no kick. It was, "Sir, this" and "Sir, that" and "Thank you, this" and "Thank you, ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

THANKS TO AT WOODSTOCK: Vinnie of the Silverspur, The Hog Farm, The Merry Pranksters AT HOME: Pete, Gloria and Herman; Norbert and Vic; Dulcinda

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Alternate Versions

NBC edited 88 minutes from this film for its 1981 network television premiere.

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Connections

Spoofed in Microsoft Windows 95 Video Guide (1995)

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Soundtracks

Won't You Try
Written by Paul Kantner
Performed by Jefferson Airplane
(Director's Cut only)

User Reviews

"We must be in Heaven, man!"

Wavy Gravy said it best. Three days of peace, love and music, captured onto film. Everybody has their own opinions about which groups are better than others, but the overall effect is a dizzying one. 500,000 people (with an additional 1 million on the roads who couldn't get any closer) gathered in one spot, for a festival that named a generation. It's hard to believe that the concert was supposed to be a nothing more than a publicity event for a proposed recording studio, financed by a pair of venture capitalists. But the sun, moon and the stars were all in the proper alignment to create an event that we can only stand back and admire. I praise the organizers for having the foresight to document this event on film, for future generations to enjoy and behold. And perhaps, one day, repeat in some form.