Festival Express | Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead

Festival Express | Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead | Rock Festival

DVDs:

Excited Delirium S... Big Kahuna Reef [G... Alan D. Martin Horse Crazy Festival Express

	Festival Express Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead New Line Home Video, 2004 average customer review:based on 110 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Festival Express is a rousing record of a little-known, but monumental, moment in rock n' roll history, starring such music legends as Janis Joplin, The Band, and the Grateful Dead. Set in 1970, Festival Express was a multi-band, multi-day extravaganza that captured the spirit and imagination of a generation and a nation. What made it unique was that it was portable; for five days, the bands and performers lived, slept, rehearsed and did countless unmentionable things aboard a customized train that traveled from Toronto, to Calgary, to Winnipeg, with each stop culminating in a mega-concert. The entire experience, both off-stage and on, was filmed but the extensive footage remained locked away -- until now. A momentous achievement in rock film archeology, Festival Express combines this long-lost material with contemporary interviews nearly 35 years after it was first filmed.

DVD Features:
DVD ROM Features
Theatrical Trailer

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Peace Train

This documentary is one of the best of its kind. It seemlessly works in great quality concert footage with an amazing story line of the Festival Express in the glory of 1970. This is really something you won't get in most music documentaries; actual close up footage of Jerry, Bob, Janis, and Rick Danko of the Band all jammin' together on a train through Canada. The train footage is what did it for me. It's priceless stuff, like Buddy Guy and his band playin' the blues( horns and all) on a train with the Dead, Janis, an the Band. The film itself couldn't have been done much better, except for the fact that it leaves you wanting more. This is a great buy and a must for any fan of any or all of the artists in the movie. Serious document of 1970 music history gold!

Great extra concert performances too!

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Rock Festival

This is a must if you own Woodstock and Monterey Pop. Superb DVD Grateful Dead, The Band, Janis Joplin plus plenty of others.

Best Concert film

Festival Express is a documentary film about three concerts that took place in 1970 during a one week period. The concerts were linked together because all the musicians travelled and lived together on a private Canadian Railroad train which was open only to the perfomers, roadies and a few groupies. No one left the train during that week except to perform in the concerts. The movie was not realeased until recently due to legal issues; but if it had been released when it was shot, it would have attracted more attention and would be more well known as well as easily rank as one of the greatest concert movies of all times. The movie shows "behind the scenes" as well as "on stage" for some of the most iconic bands and performers who ever lived; Janis Joplin, the Greatful Dead, The Band and more. The week long train trip is shown in context and the movie audience gets a unique look into the life style behind the concerts as well as the three incredible concerts. By the time the train arrived for the final show in Calgary, the personalities on the train had fused into a rock and roll family; and that is what makes these filmed concerts different than all other films. I was on that train and that trip was the greatest rock and roll experience I ever had but more importantly; the movie captures all the thrills, chills, and excitement of being on the train. If you were not on the train, you can still get on board.

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Festival Express

This is a very entertaining trip back in time to the Woodstock era. The shots of the musicians playing together on the train between shows are just as entertaining as the performances themselves.

Wonderful concert footage and music, though nothing special as a document of the times

FESTIVAL EXPRESS is a filmed document of the abortive 1970 trans-Canadian railroad tour featuring Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, Buddy Guy, The Band, Sha Na Na, etc. Obviously inspired by Woodstock, the idea was to travel to several major Canadian cities, play a big day-long show at each, and collect a tidy sum. As with Woodstock, though, the dark side of hippiedom surfaced and there was a big hue and cry about the "outrageous" ($16 I think?) sums charged for the shows; eventually, so many people got in free to most of the shows that the promoters nearly lost their shirts.

Contemporary interviews with survivors (Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Phil Lesh of the Dead; Buddy Guy and the principal promoter) are interspersed with archival (16 mm?) on-the-train footage and concert footage. The interviews are disappointingly pedestrian and similar, "oh it was so cool man we hung out and partied on the train and drank our asses off and took all these psyechedelics and then we got to play a lot and bummer that these kids were so ungrateful and bashed the police and bashed us because we didn't want to give it away free"...other than the promoter Ken Walker, they were all fairly dispensible. The train ride stuff was pretty cool, particularly a shot of Jerry Garcia doing a mostly-solo old gospel tune, and a nice vignette of The Band's Rick Danko, Joplin and Garcia doing a stoner improvisation...but there wasn't enough of this stuff overall, which is certainly rare and unique material.

The concert footage is for the most part pretty awesome, though, and is the reason to see the film. Buddy Guy is incandescent in the one song we get to see complete("Baby Here I Come), Janis amazing on "Cry Baby" and almost as great on "Tell Mama" (though obviously messed up, on this song and everywhere else in the film...on the road to an early death), The Band impressive on "The Weight" and even more powerfully emotive doing "I Shall Be Released". The Dead's three songs are fine, but nothing really special from them - much as with "Woodstock" they are going to be a big part of why a lot of people see this, but are not at their best; I wish they'd showcased Pigpen just a bit, as he was still singing in 1970...what, no "Hard to Handle"? Well worth seeing if you're a fan of any of the principle musicians...not much as a documentary. I'm a fan, so I liked it, but it's not for a general audience, really. Ya gots ta be a hippie, dude - or at least able to fly your freak flag while watching this.

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