Woodstock - Drei Tage, die eine Generation prägten

I managed to catch this on PBS. A totally unique and absorbing presentation.

I was "of Woodstock age", but in 1969 I had just finished my Masters, was married with a child on the way, and was just starting my career with a job in S. Illinois. I knew about Woodstock but back then it was not my kind of thing, not a concert I would have ever gone to.

Now, 50 years later and my daughter about to turn 50, it is great to get a complete view of what it was all about. The organizers had no idea what they were getting into. They hoped for as many as 50,000, they got closer to a half million attendees. They lined up great musical performers, that part was done very well. But ...

Barely a month before the festival, with land leased and construction of the venue in progress, the local community hurriedly passed a law that essentially prohibited that type of festival. They scrambled and found a different, and much better, piece of land but really didn't have time to construct everything they needed, including fences, so ultimately it became a mostly free festival.

With roads clogged, military helicopters were put into service to bring in performers and certain supplies. Then there was the issue of toilets, water, and food, all deficient for the size of the crowd. Eventually the local residents and stores rustled up all the food they could and shared it all with the hippie crowd, reminiscent of the Biblical "loaves and fishes" story. With no other facilities available people slept on the ground or on a wall or in the rare car. At least one baby was born. No dead bodies were found when they cleaned up at the end.

In all a very peaceful three day music festival that went off mainly without a hitch, and that is truly a marvel. And a really good documentary, using original film and still photos, to tell the story.

Now I don't really know if I would have had fun in that environment but it sure is nice to see all those that did. Part of the people who went on to shape our world and today are in their 60s, 70s, and 80s.

What can i say? get your hankies out! this is my generation, and i am filled with pride and love! so glad this was made, so the enormity of what happened - what we were once capable of - can be shared with the world! and sly and wavy gravy and a bunch of these amazing souls are STILL out there, trying to create beauty, peace, and harmony in the world, though so many of us ignore or are not even aware of them...thank you for this gem - rock on.

But ive always wished i was there. therefore its good that there are people daring to make a good documentary about the august days of 1969 in bethel new york where love peace and music and hamp were joined together in a psychedelic climax of problem soluting, and where people were able to be human to other humans.

ive seen a lot of woodstock presentations earlier, have seen most of the concert film takes, and come to the conclusion that this was very well made.the grumpy old man is in the nostalgic corner so bare with me, the only thing missing is the lack of will to show the faces of the people narrating this film.

I wasn't sure if I would enjoy a documentary about the Woodstock Music Festival, that didn't actually focus on the music. But I enjoyed it a lot.

Though the focus of this documentary is on all that took place to bring the Festival into being, and the actual day to day crisises, and behind the scenes events, it is an indispensable watch for anyone interested in that momentous occasion.

It will assist you yo understand the magnitude and the sheer folly of it all. You will be amazed that they avoided a major disaster.

Once the concert stuff starts - WOW. The footage is great. There are a few major artists that didn't get any coverage in this documentary. I wonder if that was a rights issue. That aside, the insider footage of this concert and the concert dwellers and the social and cultural impact it had is fascinating.