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:

love, peace, music

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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:

$126,562

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$306,213

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

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list.

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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

After the closing credits of the Director's Cut, Crosby, Stills and Nash are heard singing "Cost of Freedom". The visuals are of a still shot of the crowd of Woodstock, fading into a long list of names of various people, including performers who were at Woodstock, who have since died. The list of names ends with the following: Peace Music Ecology Liberty Community Democracy Alternatives Knowledge Altruism This is then followed by: Woodstock Generation 19**-20** R.I.P. it up Tear it up have a Ball

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Alternate Versions

The current (as of 3-2003) DVD version features some video from the director's cut, but not all of it:

• Won't You Try - Jefferson Airplane (included)
• Uncle Sam's Blues - Jefferson Airplane (included)
• Work Me Lord - Janis Joplin (included)
• Voodoo Chile - Jimi Hendrix (included)
• Cost Of Freedom - Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young (not included)
• Leavin' This Town - Canned Heat (not included)

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Connections

Featured in Ain't in It for My Health: A Film About Levon Helm (2010)

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Soundtracks

At the Hop
Written by John Madara, Artie Singer and Dave White
Performed by Sha-Na-Na

User Reviews

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.

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