Taking Woodstock
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Demetri Martin, Emile Hirsch, Imelda Staunton, Liev Schreiber, Pippa PearthreeBrand: NBC Universal
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 120 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-12-15
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of Taking Woodstock
Movie Review: Easily a repeat viewer
Summary: 5 Stars
First of all a "slow" film is not a bad thing. I tire of fast paced films that are like the empty calories you get from another over-sweet but useless soda drink.
There's clearly a lot more to this story than is presented but despite that I love the peaceful chaos leading to the event and the growth of the poor nebbish who triggered this social landslide. It was part protest of the war, a gathering of like-minded but diverse people and a musical event that changed music entertainment forever.
What really struck me was how even the smallest part played gave the sense that even this person, in this pivotal event, has an experience that could be successfully explored. Some complaints about wooden acting eludes me. The acting is sometimes stilted, stressed, but that's a wonderful reflection of how out of control this music fest became. After all, how would any small town and its residents react to half a million people showing up with only a week or so notice?
Demetri Martin was surprisingly well cast for this role. This poor guy has no idea what he's done and struggles appropriately with the newfound dissent of a lot of the townsfolk who hate what he's caused. His character Jacob also has to deal with the added stress the influx of thousands of happy freaks and music fans have on his town, his parents' business and the fallout triggered by the concert.
I particularly enjoyed the fact that being right there where it was all happening our hapless Jacob never manages to get close enough to see the actual concert. Like most of those in attendance all he can do is look into the distance at the pretty stage lights and listen to the music as it inundates like a wavering sea of sound (a great scene enhanced by way of some potent chemicals).
This is a brave film commemorating an incredible moment in American history and how one person brought it about as well as how it changed him. There's no deep meaning, not major issues resolved. There's change and there's acceptance, two fundamental aspects of personal revelation.
The cast was so well immersed in the period that while they all stand out, they are also contributing to the whole. Liev Schreiber as the cross dressing "Velma", Vilma (?) hotel security for Jacob and his parents is a treat. He's very effective as a sage and worldly man, like a social mentor to our sink or swim Jacob.
This is a film that's easy to view repeatedly.
I confess, being a young man when this occurred there's an easy affinity to these events especially since some great hippy/freak neighbors went to Woodstock. Even though they invited us along our father put his foot down. He was probably right, but still... based on what I've learned, I wish he'd relented.
Summary of Taking Woodstock
A generation began in his backyard?From Academy AwardŽ-winning director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) comes Taking Woodstock, the comedy inspired by the true story of Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin) and his family, who inadvertently played a pivotal role in making the famed Woodstock Music and Arts Festival into the happening that it was. When Elliot hears that a neighboring town has pulled the permit on a hippie music festival, he calls the producers thinking he could drum up some much-needed business for his parents' run-down motel. Three weeks later, half a million people are on their way to his neighbor?s farm in White Lake, New York, and Elliot finds himself swept up in a generation-defining experience that would change his life?and American culture?forever.Similar DVD Movies
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