Watch Woodstock For Free

The Worst Film Ever

That was an excellent one.

Fantastic!

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Woodstock was likely the biggest cultural event of the counter-culture period. The thousands that packed the New York state farmland spread out like an ocean of youthful humanity. Viewers get a pretty good sense of what interested and animated the movement from the film. However, it should be noted that very little of counter-cultural politics comes through. That was mainly the purview of what's termed the New Left, and though the two overlapped in many respects— anti-Vietnam war, critical view of capitalism—they were by no means identical. Rather Woodstock appears a celebration of certain broad values the youths or "hippies" found in short supply in daily life. Those values centered around peace, love, and sharing, certainly positive values in the abstract. The gathering was thus a magnet not only for followers of the performing bands but for those wanting to affirm among themselves, at least, that another world is possible. And though the movement may have fizzled in many ways, reverberations are still with us, mainly in the form of loosened sexual and social norms. Now, I'm in no position to comment on the performing bands, but I was transfixed by an angelic Joan Baez's rendition of Joe Hill.Overall, the documentary amounts to a unique visual experience even for those uninterested in upheavals from the 1960's. What lingers in memory are the sea of smiling faces, the quagmire of sticky mud, the pockets of nudity, the inspired stage musicians, and finally, the littered vacant ground. All in all, it's quite a permanent record of a bygone period.

I watched the 224 minute version and that is the one one has to watch. Awesome and more. It was so amazing to see all of the different acts that played. You can't beat seeing Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin perform and get nostalgic on what more might have been with their careers. I always strictly had the stereotype of associating Woodstock with sex only. Of course it was about sex and drugs, but it was about a certain freedom that none of us really truly get to experience in our lives, ever. A certain peace. I learned so much more about what Woodstock really stood for, and it really opened my eyes. Each generation is different obviously. Each generation has their good, their bad and their ugly. But Woodstock demonstrated something so pure, something that can never be recreated again. Each generation has different beliefs and each generation fights for something different. These people at the 1969 Woodstock fought for something that ended up transcending to the world what they were fighting for, what they were all about, and it was absolutely beautiful. All walks of life too, all kinds of people their at Woodstock 1969. It's sad to say with this generation that if we ever had another Woodstock, it would be just like the one of 1999. Fake, phony, people wanting to push the envelope for their own personal gain and agenda, anger, rage, etc. It's sad to say this generation is one of laziness, impatience, anger, and getting fat(see how skinny those people were in 1969. Their bodies were shaped different too. It's got be the different food and medicine we take as the years go by that make our bodies different. Also plastic surgery). The Movie Wall-E has really predicted where our society is heading. It's sad in a way that we can't be more like these people of 1969 from this documentary. Of course, the ultimate sadness is most of the hardcore hippies that were there at Woodstock 1969 probably conformed to the society norms with jobs, health care, insurance, etc. You have too or you just end up dying or living your life as bum. You almost have to conform at some point. I'm sure there's some that never did though.

Although I am sure most of you don't use captions, you might want to use them here so that you can follow the lyrics as folks are performing their songs. Plus, if your kids are around, you can then sing along with the musicians--and really annoy the young ones in your house!This is a VERY lengthy documentary about the famous music festival held in 1969. It ranges from 184-228 minutes (depending on which of the MANY versions you see--I saw the 45th anniversary edition). This is important to note because depending on which one you see will depend on just how good the documentary is. I was annoyed when I read after I was finished watching the movie that in SOME versions (and NOT the one I saw), Creedence Clearwater Revival does not appear even though they DID appear at Woodstock*. Considering they were the top group (albeit briefly) in the country at the time, you'd THINK they'd include them on the DVD!!! Additionally, because there are so many acts, you only get a small bit of most of the performers you see. I really love The Who--but most of their songs, for example, you don't get to hear. Likewise, you don't get to see Pete Townsend attack the director or toss Abbie Hoffman off the stage during their performance! Now I am not saying you should get to hear and see every act, but a few simply are inexplicably absent...and a few times interviews and other non-instrumental bits are included instead of more music. So, understand that this is the director's idea of a greatest hits account of Woodstock and may or may not meet your expectations. As for me, I hated a few of the acts and would have loved if they'd chosen a bit differently. After all, Sha-Na- Na DID appear in the film (although they were quite atypical of the rest of the music and they really sucked) but other acts performing (CCR, The Band and a few others) were omitted.*By the way, apparently when the Grateful Dead performed on the very wet stage, the band kept getting electrocuted and their songs were not surprisingly bad. They sued to prevent their inclusion in the film, though you see a few clips of Jerry Garcia near the beginning.

I was born fifteen years after the iconic festival that brought together a half million people in Bethel, New York. As such, this is the closest I'll ever get to experiencing the magic that was three days of peace and music. In 1969, Michael Lang and his associates put together a music festival with some of the hottest acts the 60s had to offer, including the Who, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, and Santana. Director Michael Wadleigh did an amazing job capturing the vibe of the whole event. We're there as the stage is first erected and everything begins coming together, and then we watch as thousands of people begin swarming Max Yasgur's farm to attend.The film is loaded with interviews that cover gives us multiple perspectives of the festival. Multiple attendees fill us in on their experiences, what brought them to the festival, and what it means to them. Rather than just promoting the festival for all of its benefits, the filmmakers were sure to get opposing viewpoints as we see a local couple preach of the troubles having nearly a half million hippies swarm their small town. The interviews and candid footage of the attendees were probably the best part of the film for me. It's a chance to glance back in time to an counter-culture I will never get to experience.You can't comment on Woodstock without commenting about the music, and this movie has plenty. The live performances were amazing and I can't say how awesome it was to see some of my favorite artists performing in the flesh. Joe Cocker's rendition of the Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends" is probably my favorite performance of the whole film, but there's so much more. The Who's killer performance ending with Pete Townshend smashing his guitar, Country Joe's crowd-rearing cheer, and Ritchie Havens' improvised "Freedom" were just some of the highlights. And of course, Jimi Hendrix blew my mind with his awesome closing performance. With the director's cut coming in close to four hours, it can be rough to watch in one sitting but it's totally worth it. My only regret is that some performances weren't included in the film because the artists didn't believe their performance was strong enough to be used, including one of my all-time favorites: Creedence Clearwater Revival.