Filmic Context: Print -- Video -- OnlineCagin, Seth, and Phillip Dray. Sex, Drugs, Violence: Hollywood Films of the Seventies. Harper and Row: New York, 1984.
Talks of the movie as permanently placing Woodstock at an immediate time and place, and whether this is good or bad. Compares it to the Monterey Pop film, and how both films go about reliving the experience of the events that they put forth for the audience. Attempts to make a clean break between the “authenticity and the exploitativeness” (108) of the film itself, and what the true gain of the film turned out to be. Specifically deals with the overwhelming crowd present at the festival, and the way the movie portrays them.
Drowne, Tatiana Balkoff. “Film Reviews: Woodstock.” Films in Review May 1970: 304-5.
A review of the film that puts the movie in a good light though seems to look down upon the actual Woodstock. It goes on to explain some of the more interesting details within the movie. Comments on the states of the young audience members, and how they don’t seem to be affected by anything except for their drugs and their own hypnotic dances. This lends commentary to the theory of the apathy of the audience brought up by another reviewer. Comments on the overall mindset of the audience, and how they reacted throughout the event.
Pine, David. “Woodstock and Monterey Pop.” Sight and Sound Summer 1970: 159-60.
This is a mixed review by a British magazine of the two major music festivals taking place in the United States. Pine seems very impressed by the filmmaking but comments on how the effects are often overused, due to the lack of wide-angle footage captured at the event. Discusses how the movie really envelops the audience in the experience. Discusses the differences between what is said within the film and what is seen in the footage, specifically citing claims of “heaven” though footage clearly showed many people suffering and upset. Goes onto compare Woodstock to Monterey Pop and how each is treated within the respective films, and what each film conveys to their audiences.
Ponech, Trevor. What is Non Fiction Cinema? On the Very Idea of Motion Picture Communication. Boulder: Westview P, 1999.
This book deals with the many different ways in which non-fiction cinema deals with the subjects of its films. The book questions exactly why some films are considered non-fiction and what makes them such. It also examines the many ways in which these non-fictional accounts tend to distort and manipulate the material in order to make for a more interesting story line or to coincide with the personal agendas of the creators. A superb book to reference when attempting to discover the ways in which film deals with non-fiction and the ways in which the films’ developers use non-fiction to attempt to connect with a specific group of people.
Gimme Shelter. Albert and David Maysles, dirs. Perf. The Rolling Stones. Videocassette. 20th Century Fox, 1970.
This is a documentary concerning the Rolling Stones’ tour of 1969. In many ways this could be considered the antithesis of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, especially when considering the Altamont concert where the Stones’ hired the Hell’s Angels to act as security for the event. During the several-hour-long concert the “security” deemed it necessary to begin roughing up the overwhelmingly hippie crowd. Several deaths and dozens of injuries resulted in what has been seen as a black eye for the British Rock and Roll stars, as well as America in general. A great film for use in comparison to Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music, because it shows what can happen when peace isn’t the primary concern at an event.
Monterey Pop. D.A. Pennebaker, dir. Perf. Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin, The Mamas and the Papas. Videocassette. Leacock-Pennebaker, 1969.
This is the documentary of the prelude to The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, The Monterey Pop Festival. Unlike the Woodstock documentary, this film primarily deals with the performances of the artists, instead of incorporating the personal views and thoughts of the artists and audience members alike. This is an excellent video to compare with Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music in order to see how a festival with almost as many large-name performers can sell to not even ten percent of the size of Woodstock due to the underground nature of the festival and the locale in which it took place. Overall a fantastic piece for anyone who wants to get a feel for how other festivals and concerts took place around the time of Woodstock.
1969 Woodstock Festival
http://www.woodstock69.comThis is an official page founded by audience members of the original Woodstock festival. This is a great place to begin a web search on the topic of Woodstock. Contained within the page are several sub-pages dealing with topics such as the music of the festival, possible reunions of the audience members, and sound bites of the actual performances. There are also areas in which people have written their own interpretation and accounts of the festival, as well as an online shop for Woodstock related material.
The Woodstock ’69 Page
http://home.columbus.rr.com/woodstock1969/This page contains many pictures and articles about the original Woodstock Music and Art Fair of 1969. There are links to sub-pages showing an actual set-list and artist-list of the event, as well as pages concerning the music of the festival and a links page. Informative page, though lacking the depth of some “official” sites.
The Woodstock Festival
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/3869/woodstock.htmA page dealing specifically with Woodstock. There are several sub-pages ranging from an explanation of how Woodstock came to be, interviews with performers and audience members at the festival, pictures of the festival, and a performer set-list of the festival. Along with these informative pages, there is also a discussion board available to trade ideas and concepts with other people on the festival itself or some of it’s underlying philosophies.
The Woodstock Nation On-Line
http://www.woodstocknation.org/This is the official site of the Woodstock Nation, a group of people reliving Woodstock and keeping the history and mythology of the famed festival alive. Offers links to several essays on topics concerning both the festival itself, and the treatment of the original site in the future. This site is useful as an insider look into the continued support for both the original location of Woodstock, as well as the mindset of the founders of The Woodstock Nation.
Copyright (c) 1999 by James Anthony Clewley, Undergraduate at Lehigh University.
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