Woodstock

When an extended drum solo during "Soul Sacrifice" is the high point of a 3 hour-plus film, you've got problems. The good: Hendrix, The Who, Cocker, Sly Stone. The bad or fast-forward worthy? Nearly everything else. Hell, I'd put ShaNaNa's campy stylings way over Joplin or the CSN snoozefest. Best passages are the ones that focus on the lives of the attendees and the reactions of the locals to the onslaught of pot-smoking hippies. Hard to believe, but this would have been better w/out the music.

Superbly edited legendary musical performances and thorough event documentation make this hippie portrait time-capsule an important piece of music and pop culture history. However, an insignificant event in the history of civilization.

Despite heavy skepticism about the mythologizing of Woodstock and hippie culture at large, the documentary is surprisingly, refreshingly nuanced. There are nutty moments (the yoga session, "seeding the clouds") and more profound and interesting ones (the rainstorm, the farmer's speech, and many of the performances, which emphasize the unique personalities of the artists), resulting in a multifaceted portrait of the event, the movement, and American life on the outskirts of the '60s.

Glenn Beck said Woodstock was "sex in the mud, drugs, rock 'n' roll, no values, no morals, no rules. Maybe it's just me, but I don't know, I don't think orgies in the mud with people you met 15 minutes ago, you know, as country Joe is screaming the 'F' word on stage is the basis for anything that's lasting in the happiness department." Well I doubt Glenn Beck's even had sex so what does he know.

Interesting document of an important event, but as a concert film or documentary it leaves something to be desired. It's much better at capturing an atmosphere than actual events and 4 hours is a long time for that unless you really enjoy the atmosphere. The multishot editing is kind of cool though.

Lots of dull parts - a bit too many 15-minute guitar solos for my taste, and I actually really love this era of music. Plus some of the directing choices baffled me. When Jefferson Airplane were performing, they kept doing close-ups of all of the band members EXCEPT Grace Slick. Still, it's worth it to be able to witness a defining event in music history.

Long, not so intresting documentary. J.Cocker and Santana were great and fantastic. I've seen J.Cocker a few years ago as a old man on TV but here I was really surprised with his long, wild hair and his strange gestures of arms, marvellous.

Absolutely classic musical. Great music, and a portrait of a time and place that the world will never again see

[DC] The mirrored triptych visuals can be a little headache-inducing, and a few of the between-music fillers are really not needed. Still, those are minor complaints about an impressive collection of music and mission that all coalesced on a farm in 1969. Fav shot: Grace Slick really enjoying the Santana performance, right after we see a guy dancing with a sheep.

I hate hippies but I love this movie.

It's a truly interesting snapshot of the time, showcasing what a peaceful mess of a festival it was. I love all the music so there's no complaints from me. It's not something you have to actively watch to enjoy, you can put it on in the background and just vibe with the experience. My one criticism would be to have more, shorter interviews with people than some of the longer, rambling ones.

Saw it in 2019, 50th anniversary extended edition at the theatre with my hippie-loving mother (4+ hours with an "inter-fucking-mission"). Biggest complaint is that you are expected to recognize each act on site as almost no one is introduced, no band names are flashed on the screen. Even my mom didn't know who some of them were. "I think that's Sly and the Family Stone?" Wish I had brought a lineup printout with me. The cultural significance is off the charts though, so I'm glad I saw it.

While it certainly holds an appeal in itself to witness this legendary event with one's own eyes, the interviews aren't particularly fantastic. And the concerts aren't as great as, say, those in 'Monterey Pop' or 'The Last Waltz'.

Be prepared for the revolutionary split camera and be prepared for a lot of it. I can't say I ever found it enhanced the experience, actually at times it detracted, like wanting to see a guitarist, not two mirrored guitarists messily held in shot and too small to distinguish their playing, but it does add to the "feel". And I'd say this doco is all about establishing the "feel" of the moment. A few annoying omissions with the music (Grateful Dead, Creedence... etc.) but what can you do?

Overrated. I know someone who went to Day 2, which was the rainy miserable day, and all in all, the concert as an album is better than a 3-4hr film

If you love Richie Havens, this is your film. In all seriousness, a great period piece showing the 1960s, which in all likelihood did not exist in this unbridled state. The music in the film is generally top-notch, which keeps what would be an otherwise overly long movie from being bogged down. Also, a surprisingly large amount of nudity, which cannot be overlooked.

I saw this years ago when it played on VH1 or whatever channel boomers jacked off to back then. Thanks, dad.

The best part is the big media reporter questioning the financial purposes of the festival and getting a we-dont-give-a-fuck-anymore from the producers of the festival

The Port-o-San scene was brilliant

Woodstock, it might be fairly said, has been overidealized; many of the bands who played weren't too hot, the conditions were abysmal, and the world was not quite changed. But it's unlikely to lose its iconic status anytime soon, and this film captures it in all its rough glory. Even at 225 minutes, it moves by pretty well, while the photography and editing are perfectly adequate to the sizable task at hand. Fascinating vignettes throughout; Max Yasgur's address to the attendees is quite moving.

Yeah, but it should be better, some great passages, super-great material to work with, but only good in the end

Ok, cool. Now what

An amazing musical journey, to a special time and place.

An excellent lineup the documentary obviously fails to capture the magnitude of what was actually going on but it's still a great time capsule.

we're going down to Yasgur's farm........

My points are for Hendrix & The Who.

Interesting material, fascinating really. I'm not so into the music though, except for Santana and Janis.

I liked the document part very much, but I am not a big fun of hippie music, so the long "concert parts" were fast forwarded. That helped me a lot to enjoy the movie. But some of the music was also great (Joe Cocker, Santana, Jimmy Hendrix).

Historically relevant, but I don't see someone who doesn't give a damn about music and hippies spending three and a half hours watching it. As for me, I totally enjoyed it. Performances are simply great. Although interviews aren't very deep, they capture the feelings of those who experienced Woodstock pretty well.

Except for the excellent Hendrix and Santana bits, this is a crappy live album with video and most of the musicians were off their game.

Um mergulho na lama de Woodstock...

Good film, though on a personal level I LOATHE the 1960's, best thing about them was that they ended (oh and of course all the work the Andersons did then)

Never managed to watch the whole thing from beginning to end, but I think I'll never tire of watching Michael Shrieve's entrancing performance (drums) on Santana's "Soul Sacrifice". Pure brilliance, that.

The definitive music documentary, capturing the greatest music festival the world has ever seen in a revolutionary manner.

A time document and a concert film as no other. I was amazed how they mix a documentary and a concert film in one smooth element. And despite it's 220min long never make you feel bored. It's also supposed to be technically renewing. (Look out for the split screen scenes, they're sometimes just genius.) ... This is the film that captures the sixties as no other, GO WATCH IT

An interesting document that serves to humanize an event that's taken on an almost mythical status in our culture. And of course it's awesome to watch the bands and artists doing their stuff. There are some boring parts, though.

Rather boring hippy fest,but a nice capture of a historic event.