Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music, DVD Review

The 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition Doesn’t Disappoint

Jul 6, 2009

Few documentaries have succeeded in capturing a time, place, and feeling, as well as the documentary Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music.

It’s been forty years since that pivotal weekend in 1969, but the spirit of Woodstock is still alive and kicking, even if some of the major players aren’t.

Sensing that the now-legendary 1969 Woodstock concert would be something more than a simple rock concert, director Michael Wadleigh and producer Bob Maurice put together a production team, including editors Thelma Schoonmaker and Martin Scorsese, only days before the festival got underway. And thank God they did. The result was one of the most innovative documentaries (musical or otherwise) that had ever been put on screen. What’s most surprising about the film is that it’s not so much about the music as it is about the people. There were the musicians who performed, but also the organizers, the townsfolk, and the people who made the concert what it was: the naked, stoned hippies who didn’t have a care in the world.

Woodstock achieved two very important things: It recorded a musical event in a way that allowed unfortunate souls who couldn’t attend a chance to experience the event, and it provided a very important historical document about a unique time in American society. The original theatrical release (titled Woodstock) was 184 minutes long and went on to win the Academy Award for best documentary in 1970. In 1994 a director’s cut (titled Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music) was released that included 40 additional minutes.

In this new 3-disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition, the film that set the standard for rockumentaries has been restored, re-mastered and topped up with over 3 hours of bonus content, including more than a dozen rarely seen performances by artists such as Santana, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Joe Cocker. Bonus material includes interviews with those who were there that recount the trials and tribulations that went into making one of the most valuable historical documents of the time. And of course, there’s plenty of memorabilia including a 60-page commemorative Life Magazine reprint, a Lucite display with images from the festival, and an iron-on Woodstock patch. Groovy.

This new 40th anniversary box set, which relies on the newly re-mastered version of the director’s cut, will ignite a flame of nostalgia for those who are old enough to recall the time (hazy though those memories may be), but it’s more than just a sentimental trip for aging hippies. This collector’s edition DVD is a far out time capsule that will satisfy those who attended and those of us who wish we had. Woodstock was about peace, love, and music, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

The copyright of the article Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music, DVD Review in Documentary DVDs is owned by Lauren Flanagan. Permission to republish Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music, DVD Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.