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If you remember Woodstock you probably weren’t there.
As the memory and time recede there’s a halo effect that
kicks in; your brain keeps telling you it was better than
it was simply because it’s better than what you’re experiencing
at the moment. Then again, sometimes things WERE better
in the past for some folks. I suspect that “Woodstock” for
those who were there probably falls into both categories
simultaneously. Either way, Woodstock became a cultural
milestone for an entire generation of Americans during a
pivotal time in history when the United States stretched
from being a “might makes right nation” to one that began
to question its role in international affairs and the way
it treated its own people. As a nation we’re still struggling
with that often contradictory dichotomy of bully and patron.
Although Woodstock wasn’t the turning point for that it
represented that turning out to a lot of people because
it seemed that youth and its culture as represented by media
and, yep, drugs had the opportunity to change the world
in a positive way. While those changes may not have been
permanent it did establish a beachhead for the assault on
what young Americans perceived to be the flaws in our nation.
***
So it’s only fitting that on the 40th anniversary of
Woodstock the event should be commemorated with deluxe boxed
set DVD, Blu-ray, CD and digital download releases that
allow us to look back and celebrate an event that captured
the spirit of the peace movement and youth culture during
the 1960’s. Let’s not forget that there’s also money to
be made here and that’s the chief reason this is getting
all of the deluxe releases. The boomers are getting older
and if they weren’t still alive as a viable customer base
I doubt we would be seeing all this effort in preparing
these fine releases. Warner Home Video steps onto the stage
with a deluxe DVD and Blu-ray release of “Woodstock” the
film that director Michael Wadleigh made of the event. I
should note that Warner who is usually quite generous in
providing us with Blu-ray releases so we can review them
for you dropped the ball here (hopefully this is an exception
and not a new rule)and provided us only with the regular
DVD release which doesn’t have all the bells and whistles
that retailers are getting for the deluxe edition. As a
result yours truly went out and purchased “Woodstock” even
though I probably won’t watch it more than a couple of times.
It’s a sacrifice I was more than willing to take for you,
my faithful readers. ***
First up the performances are still stunning after
all these years. Every band that took the stage gives their
all in powerful performances. Some are better remembered
than others and some had more lasting impact but all of
them didn’t think of the element of posterity—they lived
in the moment taking all their bottled up energy and releasing
it on stage to an enthralled audience. Wadleigh’s documentary
doesn’t make judgments or pronouncements it does what it
is supposed to do—DOCUMENT the event and let the audience
make up its own mind. We see people live up to our expectations
of doing the right thing to falling into the pit of borderline
depravity when a variety of substances. In that respect,
“Woodstock” remains a perfect snapshot of America’s youth
during the 1960’s. Vietnam still raged in the background
and the Cold War had a firm hand on everybody’s shoulder
just as Big Brother continued to peek through the curtains
of our windows. Those things remained in the background
though as the participants naively celebrated the potential
for change without recognizing the consequences it would
bring. In many respects, “Woodstock” is a potent counterpoint
to the self involvement of the 1970’s and the “Me” decade
that followed. ***
Musical Performances:
Crosby, Stills & Nash-Long Time Gone, Wooden Ships,
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, Find The Cost of Freedom
Canned Heat-Going Up the Country, A Change is Gonna
Come
Richie Havens-Handsome Johnny, Freedom
Joan Baez-Sing Low, Sweet Chariot; Joe Hill
Sha-Na-Na-At the Hop The Who-Summertime Blues, We’re
Not Gonna Take It
Joe Cocker & the Great Band-With a Little Help from
My Friends
Country Joe McDonald-Rock & Soul Music, I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To
Die Rag
Jefferson Airplane-Won’t You Try, Uncle Sam’s Blues
Arlo Guthrie-Coming into Los Angeles
John Sebastian-Younger Generation
Santana-Soul Sacrifice
Sly & The Family Stone-I Want to Take You Higher
Janis Joplin-Work Me, Lord
Jimi Hendrix-The Star-Spangled Banner, Voodoo Child,
Purple Haze ---
Image & Sound: “Woodstock” looks quite good in its
Blu-ray debut and the DVD looks quite good as well. Warner
has done a very nice job of cleaning up the film for home
video getting rid of a lot of dirt, grit and print damage.
The film has always looked grainy (keep in mind that it
was shot on a grainy film stock) and the lighting somewhat
problematic because it was shot at an outdoor music festival
with less than optimal control. Today, it would look just
about perfect but we are talking about a film that is 40
years old. The anamorphic transfer gets a nice 2.35:1 presentation
for home video. Aside from minor digital flaws, “Woodstock”
has probably never looked quite this vibrant before even
during its original run. ***
Colors are extremely good throughout all things considered.
Contrast is quite nice with nice detail and a sharp picture.
This isn’t a Blu-ray demo disc but it was never meant to
be. The film was shot with both 35 mm and 16mm cameras (the
35 were too bulky for some of the camera people to work
with). Presented in 35 (and blown up for a 70mm presentation),
the film which used split-screens of events so that we could
see what was happening from multiple angles or see other
events happening at the same time, we quite innovative at
the time. ***
Audio sounds extremely good with a nice 5.1 TrueHD Surround
mix. The Blu-ray format both highlights the strengths of
the original soundtrack and the weaknesses equally. The
performances often sound first rate although there are sections
where issues do occur such as muffled conversation, bits
of music, etc. but on the whole the soundtrack is first
rate. ---
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