The Complete Monterey Pop Festival - Criterion Collection
by D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus
List Price:
Our Price: $69.99
You Save: $9.96 (12%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $46.77 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Charles Shaar Murray, Jimi Hendrix, John Phillips (II), Mitch Mitchell (II), Noel ReddingDirector: Chris Hegedus, D.A. Pennebaker
Brand: Unknown
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, DTS Surround Sound
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 270 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-11-12
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of The Complete Monterey Pop Festival - Criterion Collection
Movie Review: Review of disc 3 outtakes
Summary: 5 Stars
Where to start, where to start....Well, I see on the main menu a 'Artist Index', so I decided to check out the Electric Flag first. And man they were in full flight on this day! Ripping through "Drinkin Wine". Everyone in the group is just smilin' ear to ear-thrilled to be up on this stage in front of the festivals second day Saturday afternoon crowd. I have a new idol. He's the bass playing big papa bear cool cat with the cheshire cat grin, the shades and the bushy goatee-one Harvey Brooks. Just watchin' this cat during this song always makes me smile :) This clip gives you a taste of the super smooth blues guitar of Mike Bloomfield and the fresh off the soul circuit Buddy Miles in white shirt, tie and suit thumping his drum kit like nobody's business. great footage. Actually all of the footage contained on this disc is great. The color on all of this, on everything on this entire disc is deep and rich. There are many many shots of the people in the audience to give you a feel for the time and place. The next clip I studied was of the Blues Project unveiling a lengthy jam on "Flute Thing". This is sooo good. How is it this was not included in the original movie? I read Al Kooper saying when he was in the band, flutist Andy Kulberg had to have an amp just for that one song , and an echoplex, a foot pedal and fuzztone. That may explain the swirling, soaring adventure this song takes-all captured perfectly on this film. Next I watched "Driftin Blues" by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. I now know just what a great singer and harp player Paul was. Quicksilver Messerger Service perform "Dino's Song" although it is listed on the disc as "All I Ever Wanted To Do (Was Love You). I thought this was a really catchy pop type song that in my opinion should have been a bigger hit for them and they really perform it well in this clip. Which leads me to a comment about the frustration I would get after watching one of these great clips by the bands doing one of their songs...they're all so good you immediately want to hear MORE by the band! But with a few exceptions you only get the one song.
Now the footage of Laura Nyro actually is more than one song but her "Wedding Bell Blues" is captured just at the tale end of the song and even just that small portion is excellent. Short though it is but her next song "Poverty Train" is the complete performance and we have to thank the film makers for getting this on film. I do not believe there is a ton of film footage of Laura out there and this clip really shows what she had. Her vocal and delivery are breathtaking. I really enjoyed Country Joe and the Fish's "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine". This was one of my favorite songs of theirs and they do a superb rendition here. Love Joe's vocal and his cool style and stage presence. Also, a favorite camera angle of mine is used with this clip as it is used with the Flag and some others and that is a camera was perched atop one of the stage left balcony's roofs providing an excellent view of the whole band from overhead. Love those shots!
Ah, did I forget to mention The Association? Their "Along Comes Mary" kicks off this disc and it's a real treat! They start off with a funny bit introducing each member of the band and then really impress with a tight rocking version of this song. Damn I wish I was there. And alas, another example of only one song from this band. But it's not all like that for The Who and The Byrds do 3 songs each while The Mama's and The Pappas do a whopping 6 songs which another reviewer pointed out was the complete Sunday evening festival closing set. The Mama's and Papa's set really puts you in the mood of being there, that night. On their last song that night Mama Cass says to the crowd "You're on your own now kids", you almost get an eerie feeling of time and a final conclusion to the fabled summer of love.
But you can slip this disc in and re-live, or, experience for the first time the vibe in the air. Watching Janis Joplin as happy as pie to be up there on stage that Sunday afternoon singing "Combination of the Two" with her band or watching The Byrds during the Saturday night show sweetly harmonizing to "He Was a Friend Of Mine" and "Chimes of Freedom" and David just tearing into the vocal for "Hey Joe".....and, The Buffalo Springfield with Crosby filling in for the departed Neil Young singing "For What It's Worth"...it all really just has you begging for more.
Special mention to the clip of Simon and Garfunkle and their 2 songs on here-Homeward Bound and Sounds of Silence. Hearing them sing together, so locked into place, so crisp. And Paul's guitar playing-sharp as a tac.
There is a special backstage mini-concert of Tiny Tim entertaining the staff, performers and friends with just his trusty ukelele, 3 octave voice, mannerisms and archival knowledge of the songs of the 20's and 30's that a lot of other reviewers feel very dismissive of but in my opinion they can't see the talent for the weirdness.
Nonetheless, this outtakes disc is a wonderful wonderful artifact preserving a time and place and people that are long gone but are as alive as when your finger presses play.
Summary of The Complete Monterey Pop Festival - Criterion Collection
The Monterey International Pop Festival, the three-day event staged in 1967 that has become one of rock music's most famous and in some ways greatest concerts, gets the royal treatment with this three-disc boxed set.Material on two of the three discs has already been widely available. Monterey Pop, D.A. Pennebaker's 79-minute, 1968 film, effectively sets the scene for the festival, which took place during the fabled "Summer of Love," when the hippie ethos was in its fullest flower, especially on the West Coast. And while not all the featured performances are thrilling, those that are--principally by the Who, Jimi Hendrix, and the amazing Ravi Shankar--are worth the price of admission, especially in the high-definition digital transfer and new 5.1 mix seen and heard here. The same can be said for Jimi Plays Monterey and Shake! Otis at Monterey, which appear in the boxed set on a separate disc and provide a much fuller look at Hendrix's and Otis Redding's incendiary sets (literally, in the former case).
Those two discs are also loaded with bonus features, including audio commentary by Pennebaker, festival producer Lou Adler (on Monterey Pop), and author Peter Guralnick (Shake!); audio-only remarks by some of the performers; photos; trailers; and other material. There's also a substantial booklet, filled with essays and photos. But it's the third disc, "The Outtake Performances," comprising some two hours of music that didn't make the final film edit, that will be of most interest to many viewers. The disc supplies a taste of some of the artists who didn't appear in Monterey Pop at all (the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Quicksilver Messenger Service), and a more complete look at some who did (the Who, Simon and Garfunkel, the Mamas and the Papas). A nice addition to an already very impressive DVD collection. --Sam Graham
Documentary about Monterey Pop Festival of 1967; includes festival footage and performances.
Genre: Music Video - Pop/Rock
Rating: NR
Release Date: 12-NOV-2002
Media Type: DVD
Music Video & Concerts DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in My Favorite Movies of the late 60's-early 70's
ChappaquaRelease date: 1999-06-15; DVD
Best price: $69.98
Taking of Pelham One Two ThreeTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2000-02-29; DVD
Best price: $6.18
Price in other shops:
Beyond the Valley of the DollsDVD
Best price: $22.98
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird The Movie / Tribute TourLION'S GATE ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2001-12-18; DVD
Best price: $10.30
Price in other shops:
The Dick Cavett Show - Rock IconsUNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP DISTRIBUTION; Release date: 2005-08-16; DVD
Best price: $22.78
Price in other shops:
T. Rex: Born To BoogieRelease date: 2005-06-07; DVD
Best price: $19.30
Price in other shops:
Doors - Soundstage PerformancesRelease date: 2002-10-22; DVD
Best price: $9.69
Price in other shops:
Elvis - That's the Way It Is (Special Edition)Release date: 2001-04-10; DVD
Best price: $5.15
Price in other shops:
John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band - Sweet TorontoRelease date: 2002-01-29; DVD
Best price: $16.68
Price in other shops:
The Dick Cavett Show - John Lennon & Yoko OnoRelease date: 2005-11-01; DVD
Best price: $7.91
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan Live at Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965Release date: 2007-10-30; DVD
Best price: $12.14
Price in other shops:
Jimi Hendrix - Live at WoodstockHendrix,Jimi; Release date: 2005-09-13; DVD
Best price: $11.49
Price in other shops:
A Night at the Family Dog 1970 (The Grateful Dead / Jefferson Airplane / Santana)Release date: 2007-08-07; DVD
Best price: $9.79
Price in other shops:
Bob Dylan - Don't Look Back (1965 Tour Deluxe Edition)NEW VIDEO GROUP INC; Release date: 2007-02-27; DVD
Best price: $24.24
Price in other shops:
Message to Love - The Isle of Wight FestivalRelease date: 1997-12-10; DVD
Best price: $5.71
Price in other shops:
The Last WaltzTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2002-05-07; DVD
Best price: $4.02
Price in other shops:
Monterey International Pop FestivalRelease date: 2007-06-05; Music CD
Best price: $12.53
Price in other shops:
Festival ExpressWarner Brothers; Release date: 2004-11-02; DVD
Best price: $11.10
Price in other shops:
The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter - Criterion CollectionRelease date: 2000-11-14; DVD
Best price: $26.11
Price in other shops:
Woodstock - 3 Days of Peace & Music (The Director's Cut)Release date: 1997-03-26; DVD
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops: