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"Woodstock" was meant as a documentary about the famous 3-day 1969 New York rock festival of the same name, but it's really more valuable as a record of 1960's hippy culture. This is unquestionably the best film to capture the spirit of the 60's. Between musical acts, the camera meanders through the audience and the enormous outlying crowds to interview spectators, or just eves-drop on the scene. This is the most interesting, entertaining, and eye-opening aspect of the film.

Several of the musical performances are memorable and deserve mention: Richie Havens' awesome concert opener is a classic--you could watch it a hundred times and still get goose bumps--pure magic. Jimi Hendrix comes pretty close to magic also with the final musical number. His frenzied rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" is incredible, and a fitting closer. Country Joe and the Fish and Joe Cocker are also memorable. A few of the musical acts don't seem to fit: Sha-Na-Na comes across as a weird oddity--(a throwback to the fifties), and Alvin Lee's "Ten Years After" is just too long and boring. Most of the other performances are so-so, but worth watching.

Overall, the film captures the mood, spirit, and music of the times better than any other. I would also venture to say that this may be one of the very best documentaries ever filmed on any subject. The depth of coverage is spectacular -- fitting for such a historical event. A great movie!

Lost Weekend was a daring film for its day, and won Best Picture for its gritty look at a typical alcoholic on a three-day drinking binge. Ray Milland gives a very memorable performance in the lead role and does an amazing job shifting between sobriety and drunkeness. This film is a great illustration of what can happen when drinking gets out of hand, and how it can ruin lives. Doesn't seem dated at all. Should be required viewing for high-school students.

This is hands-down the worst movie I have ever seen. I only sat all the way through it because I kept hoping that there would be something redeeming at the end. Something to justify the intense violence and sick "humor". There was nothing. The ending left me cold and feeling sick. Perhaps that's what Wes Craven wanted. To all the people that "loved" this movie: you really need to ask yourselves what you loved about it. You need to think about it very carefully and do some serious soul-searching. Personally, I actually felt violated after watching it. One of the few movies I've actually regretted watching. There was simply nothing positive to be gained from it. Moreover, I honestly believe that this is one of the most dangerous and irresponsible movies ever made. The studio never should have released it. How anyone could ever voluntarily sit through it more than once will be an eternal mystery to me. The most frightening thing about it was that it was a big hit.

I know people will accuse me of "misunderstanding it" or other such crap, but let's examine the facts: what this movie is really about is greed, abo ve all else. Wes Craven's sick and horrific fascination with intensely graphic images of human guttings and dismemberment is truly shocking. He tries to sugar-coat it's stench with a little humor mixed it. He knows that makes it more palatable. He markets this dangerous mixture to impressionable youth, not caring about the consequences. Not caring that the human mind (especially a young mind) becomes desensitized to violence the more it's exposed to it. He wants this movie to be "cool" and seen over an over. He know he can achieve this by making it extremely violent and horrific. Rebellious youth will flock to it. They do, and he succeeds, not caring who he's harming, as long as he's getting rich. That's practically the definition of evil, if you ask me. To Wes Craven: shame on you!

Maybe I'm just some old-fashioned, backwoods moron who's really uncool and beyond all hope... but will somebody please explain to me what's so entertaining about watching young people getting graphically hacked to pieces by a knife-wielding maniac? Why is this supposed to be funny? Why is this considered by so many people to be "cool"? This attitude embodies everything that is wrong with our society. I'm not a fascist, nor a religious right-wing republican in favor of censorship, but this type of garbage just should NOT be made. It's as simple as that. No good can possibly come from it.

I would never recommend this movie to anyone - even to a mature adult with a strong stomach. Truly horrible!