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:

$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

The reason the Jeff Beck Group pulled out of the festival was that the band had broken up a couple of weeks prior to it. Interestingly, the band's piano player Nicky Hopkins did perform at the festival with Jefferson Airplane.

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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

Featured in A Primeira Vez do Cinema Brasileiro (2013)

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Soundtracks

Long Time Gone
(Studio Recording)
Written by David Crosby
Performed by Crosby Stills & Nash

User Reviews

A spectacular look at the 1960's.

"Woodstock" was meant as a documentary about the famous 3-day 1969 New York rock festival of the same name, but it's really more valuable as a record of 1960's hippy culture. This is unquestionably the best film to capture the spirit of the 60's. Between musical acts, the camera meanders through the audience and the enormous outlying crowds to interview spectators, or just eves-drop on the scene. This is the most interesting, entertaining, and eye-opening aspect of the film.

Several of the musical performances are memorable and deserve mention: Richie Havens' awesome concert opener is a classic--you could watch it a hundred times and still get goose bumps--pure magic. Jimi Hendrix comes pretty close to magic also with the final musical number. His frenzied rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" is incredible, and a fitting closer. Country Joe and the Fish and Joe Cocker are also memorable. A few of the musical acts don't seem to fit: Sha-Na-Na comes across as a weird oddity--(a throwback to the fifties), and Alvin Lee's "Ten Years After" is just too long and boring. Most of the other performances are so-so, but worth watching.

Overall, the film captures the mood, spirit, and music of the times better than any other. I would also venture to say that this may be one of the very best documentaries ever filmed on any subject. The depth of coverage is spectacular -- fitting for such a historical event. A great movie!