Woodstock
Short description
Woodstock is a documentary about the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Festival, held on a farm in Bethel, New York. What began as a planned commercial event was overwhelmed when far more people arrived than expected, and the organizers turned it into a free gathering. Over three days, a crowd estimated in the hundreds of thousands listened to music, dealt with rain and mud, and created an improvised city that required food and medical help delivered by National Guard helicopters. The film follows the festival from its preparation through the cleanup, showing both the high points and the problems, including drug use and the collapse of the fencing under the arriving crowds.
Michael Wadleigh directed and wrote the documentary, his first feature before Wolfen in 1981. The credited cast runs to 63 people, among them Richie Havens and Joan Baez performing as themselves, along with Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, Keith Moon and Pete Townshend of The Who.
Released in March 1970, the film grossed about 50 million dollars worldwide, a strong return for a documentary of its time. On IMDb it holds 8.1/10 from 19,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 7.6/10 from 303 votes. Its film critics' rating stands at 8.7/10 from 26 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- Performances by many interesting artists did not make it into the film. For example, Ravi Shankar's performance in the rain was not included, nor were The Grateful Dead, Incredible String Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Johnny Winter, and others.
- Fragments of the film were used in Boris Segal's 1971 science fiction film "The Omega Man" starring Charlton Heston. Heston's character walks into a cinema to see "Woodstock" in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. Fragments of performances by Arlo Guthrie, Country Joe & The Fish, and an unknown hippie are shown.
- The film received an R rating in American distribution due to its depiction of drugs, nudity, and profanity, despite the festival itself being open to all ages.
- Warner Brothers purchased the rights to the film for $600,000. The film's box office revenue in the United States alone exceeded $50 million.
- Approximately 120 miles of film stock were shot during the three days of filming.
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