A return to the townsfolk shows an old couple unhappy with the mess. Their fields have been walked through. Other people are seen arguing over the kids, pro and con.
On “Soul Sacrifice” Santana gets the audience feeling the groove and dancing. Drummer Mike Shrieve tears it up on his solo. Sly & the Family Stone deliver intensity on “I Want to Take You Higher” while Janis Joplin delivers emotion on “Work Me, Lord.”
A Port-O-San guy reveals the reality of having that many people together. He deserves a tip of the hat for his hard work. Yasgur says some kind words, and then Hendrix closes out the live musical performances. During “Purple Haze,” the aftermath is shown with garbage everywhere and a few kids cleaning up the mess.
Woodstock was shot on 16mm film and then blown up, so the great amount of grain is understandable, particularly in the low light scenes. Thankfully it wasn’t removed as is too often the custom because it would have been severe and marred the film greatly. The focus is soft at times, so the details aren’t always completely delineated. There is a lot of color, but it’s not consistently bright in every scene. For example, the tie-dye shirts don’t pop as expected. The video has dirt and defects throughout. The aspect ratio fluctuates throughout the film as the split-screen was used frequently to present three different camera views. Even though there are some issues, when taking the source and the shooting conditions into consideration, the video looks very good and adds to the authenticity.
Naturally, the music shines on the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track. Whether the power of The Who or the simplicity of Joan Baez, the nuances and strengths of all the artists can be heard. There’s not a great deal of ambiance, which is to be expected considering the event was recorded from the stage. Still, crowd noise and the thunderstorm can be heard throughout the system.
Disc 2 is filled with extras sure to drive wild any music fan of the era. “Woodstock: Untold Stories” presents over two hours of never-before-seen musical performances including those that have never appeared in the film, such as Paul Butterfield, Mountain, and Johnny Winter. Also in that select group are Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Grateful Dead, although Jerry Garcia can be seen backstage. John Fogerty didn’t allow any footage to appear because he didn’t like their performance and problems with the sound, which is evident, especially in surround. The Grateful Dead didn’t like their performance either, but now their 37-minute “ Turn on Your Lovelight” can be seen. Little bits about the opening and closing of the festival look like they were recently printed because the color looks much better than anything seen in the film.
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
Excellent review Bicho, and I 100% concur that people should experience this.
-Glen
2 - doug
Haven't seen this in ages. Extras sound interesting. Wish the kids had got me this for father's day