Customer Reviews

Woodstock - 3 Days of Peace & Music (The Director's Cut) [VHS]

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I also have this movie in it's many various incarnations. The Blu Ray 40th Anniversary, the original VHS and DVD release, as well as the director's cut DVD. So I go and by this 40th Aniversary DVD for my office (which unfortunately does not have a Blu Ray player) specifically because I wanted the extra performances that are on the other 40th Anniversary discs. Creedance, Johnny Winter, The Who, Canned Heat, Airplane, etc. Wrong! Not here. Even the extra documentary footage that's on the other 40th Anniversary release of Wadleigh, Dale Bell, Scorsese and many others speaking on the events surrounding the filming of the movie is not here. Just some cheesy Story of the Sixties film. Totally dissapointed. What really made me angry is that there's no disclaimer stating that there's huge differences between this "40th Anniversary Edition" DVD and the others that are available. I just gave it away.

Having been born in 1980, I missed the original Woodstock concert by 11 years (plus about another 18 as that's probably how old I would have been to go to a concert like that). However, through my constant viewing of VH1's special, I have become a huge fan of the music of that era. While I love listening to the music of Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix and such, what I have always longed for is a chance to actually watch them perform. While seeing them perform live is highly unlikely (seeing as how Jimi and Janis have been dead for 30 years and JA did their big reunion a decade ago), watching this documentary is about the best chance I'm going to get. While I would have loved to have been there in person, one thing that I love about this movie is the view that you get. From seeing Ritchie Havens' foot tapping during "Freedom" to watching the expressions on the faces of JA's Grace Slick and Marty Balin as they traded leads on "Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon"), you definitely have the best seat in the house when you watch this movie. I watched the entire video in one sitting, glued to the t.v. the whole time (except when I got up to dance to Santana's "Soul Sacrifice"). From the interviews with the townspeople to the interviews with the hippies (my fav was the one with the stoned guy as he walked out of the Port-a-Sans) to the incredible music, I think this documentary captures the event very well. The only complaint that I have is not having more footage of the live performances. I would have loved to have seen Sweetwater at their best or Grace Slick belting out "Somebody to Love" or "White Rabbit". Maybe someday they'll release separate video versions of the individual sets played by the artists...that'd be awesome! In the meantime, buy and watch this video...you'll have a great time!!

In a time when music videos have reached epic high-tech proportions twenty-four hours a day with the flick of a switch it was a delightful afternoon for me as I sat back to re-visit a piece of high-life history with the jaundiced eye of the political cynic. I loved this video. I loved the music. Indeed, I studied the undercurrent, with the interest of political science as I've been studying it, in hopes of gaining more insight, and I did. I also had fun, and I'm sure I will have fun every time I watch it. Why is it that everyone looks so YOUNG? (sigh) From Arlo Guthrie to Richie Havens to Joan Baez to Carlos Santana to Janis Joplin to Sly and the Family Stone ah, youth is wasted on the young! And the side interviews and shots of young people wading their way through the crowds, and the over riding theme of peace, love and anti-war...anti-capitalism as well, which more recent Woodstocks have not been able to copy. Woodstock I still has much to teach us, it's not just a walk down memory lane. If you do decide to pick this up, I can only hope you have as much fun with it as I am!

Having been in Vietnam in1969 i did not have a chance to actually go to woodstock.I waited almost 30 years before i saw this documentary.This is the kind of experience that one has to open the mind and heart and close off all pre-concieved ideas,prejudices,religious and any and all other ideas and thoughts and just (to quote the hippies)go with your feelings.This was a once in a lifetime experience that will likely never be back again.360,000 young people(and some not quite so young)brought together for three days love,music,drugs and rock and roll.Even disallowing all the illecit drug use(the reference to the "bad acid"(not poisoned)just bad.One can watch this movie and maybe get just a small glimmer of what was occuring those three days.I finished movie and for a good week could not quit thinking about what i had seen and heard.Young girls and boys swimming in a lake naked,people getting rained on and instead of griping and complaining making a game of it! Feeding each other,both physically and spiritually and emotionally and no one getting hurt.My God! Where has this country gone wrong in the last 30 years?Maybe only people from my generation can truly understand what happened then.I am passing this movie around to friends and people at work ,some whom are my age and others much younger and they seem to really get into it(oops another hippie slang-sorry)Watch this movie-if only for your own peace of mind!(Yeah i borrowed part of that last sentence also) P E A C E

I've seen the Woodstock documentary innumerable times. It's a fantastic look at a once-in-an-eternity event. Two things about it frustrated me however: (1) the sound was awful, and (2) I longed to hear the REST of the music. My fantasy is that they will someday (maybe for the 40th anniversary?) release a marathon 20-tape package of the entire 3-days of music, beginning to end, good or bad! I'd love to hear the whole sets by Santana, Janis, CSN, etc. In the meantime, this greatly improved Director's Cut will do. The sound has been cleaned up, and lots of music (Hendrix's set is a highlight) has been added. A great documentary gets better. Thank you!

It's been a while since I've seen and heard Woodstock. The picture is much improved on blu-ray and the sound quality is excellent. I judge most sound by hearing the high frequency instruments: cymbals, snare, accoustic guitar. Much better than I what I remember. Favorite tune is "Freedom" by Ritchie Havens at the beginning of the music played live. Thrilling to hear it in the improved sound.

I was one of the "lucky" ones who attended Woodstock. I was only 16 and was somewhat of a nerd. The only illegal substance I ingested was pot, but my purpose here is to review the movie and not to write a narrative of my personal experience there. For those of you who weren't there, you'll be happy to know that this movie really does capture the true essence of Woodstock. Considering the weather conditions and how difficult it was to get remotely close to the stage area, I can safely say that I enjoyed watching the movie more than I did being there. I agree with many of the previous reviewers in that there were many glaring omissions of certain bands and there were simply too many great performances that didn't make the film. Santana, The Who, and Canned Heat performed sets that were worthy of being seen in their entirety, and many other bands deserved much more screen time. I think Michael Wadleigh did an excellent job of giving the viewer an idea of what it was like to be at Woodstock, but many of the comments of the people there were overly long and should have been pared down or deleted. Still in all, watching this movie gives you a good idea of what it was like to be at Woodstock, and you don't have to slip in the mud or shiver in the cold.

My rating is for the original version. I'd give the "director's cut" 3 stars. I invite all newcomers to the Woodstock experience to compare the original cut (if you can find it--it's not yet on DVD) to the "director's cut." I only ask that you see the original cut first (if possible, more than once). The two together may form a more complete picture of the whole festival, but in my opinion, the original cut is far artistically superior, in regard to its editing, to the "director's cut." One point of reference: note in the original cut how the crowd chanting "no rain" and beating on various objects segues so artfully into Santana's "Soul Sacrifice." (one of the high points of the film for me.) That and many other precious moments are lost in the director's cut. True, the original could have dumped Sha Na Na in favor of more Joplin and Jefferson Airplane, but overall, the cadence and pacing of the original are, in my opinion, far superior to the cut available on DVD. I only hope the original cut becomes available on DVD. In the meantime, I'm going to spring for the VHS version. For those who deplore the sound quality of the original, think of it as a piece of precious history that will never happen again. Consider the time and the available technology and just enjoy the experience.

No words can describe how wonderfully this film has captured the moment in the event which defined the Hippie Movement, which amazed the world by truley and fully living up to its catch phrase: "Three days of peace, love, and music", and which made those who did not attend wonder what they were thinking.
The music, first and foremost, is truley wonderful. Spectacular performances by CSN, Joe Cocker, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Ten Years After, Richie Havens and so many more. I most especially enjoy watching Joe Cocker's rendition of "With A Little Help From My Friends". His voice and the energy which radiates from him as he performs is truley mesmerizing. And of course who could forget Jimi Hendrix famous performance where he tore up his guitar with his captivating version of the National Anthem. I also love Country Joe's performance of "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die-Rag". A wonderful performance, it truley captivates the peace and love of the event as, toward the end of the song he encourages the audience to stand and sing to end the war...and the majority of the 500,000 or so audience members stand and sing along.
But it's not just the music that make's this film wonderful. The film show's the organization of the event, the building of the stage etc... We meet the people who made the event possible. And when the people begin to enter the site without paying for tickets....and the producers realize how much money they've lost...they shrug it off and say that they don't mind because the event and the people loving eachother and sharing everything is such a beautiful thing...and that the money doesn't matter. Do producers of rock concerts (or producers of anything for that matter) ever say that money doesn't matter these days? It truley shows what a wonderful generation it was. The audience is beautiful as well, everyone being themselves, everyone having a good time and sharing the experience that was the last bang (and what a bang it was) for the Hippie Movement.

It was a very good realization of Woodstock. It showed everything as it happened with nothing censored. The editing was done very well, in the sense that they added music and scenes together to get a better picture. I couldn't believe how real it seemed. It will always be a classic to watch the revolutionary society as it was back then.