For three days in August 1969, nearly a half-million young people descended upon Max Yasgur’s farm in upstate New York for the rock ‘n’ roll event that defined a generation. Mythologized for 50 years, the filmmakers set the record straight with “Creating Woodstock,” the most comprehensive examination of how the festival came to be.
For those familiar with the timeless tale of “Woodstock,” now comes 2019’s retrospective behind-the-scenes look at the mammoth undertaking that remains an unparalleled, historically iconic event. For three days, nearly half a million young people gathered to celebrate rock ‘n’ roll in the eponymous venue now fully mythologized perhaps for all time.
The film opens with a series of interviews offering a window into the motivations and challenges facing the surprisingly competent team of organizers assembled somewhat on the fly. Except for Max Yasgur – the owner of the famed site on which the spectacle took place – Richie Havens and Arlo Guthrie, most of those interviewed will be unfamiliar to audiences. The movie contains extensive footage of promoters and operations crew, many now deceased that included John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Michael Lang, Artie Kornfeld, John Morris, Bill Belmont, Mel Lawrence, and Chip Monck. Essentially, this is a documentary about a documentary.
Each phase of planning arrives as sort of a vignette expertly sewn together into a larger whole. The enormous elevated stage, for example, necessary so that the entire audience could see the performers across dips and breadth of the landscape. A thousand other logistical details that held the potential to derail the production at any time.
Many people arrived without tickets and overran the fences. Although explored briefly in the original film, “Creating Woodstock” provides additional interesting material. As Woodstock evolved into an unplanned free concert, much of the three million dollars spent fell into jeopardy, leaving a million-and-a-half-dollar deficit. Happily, over time the royalty income from the movie enabled promoters to break even at last in 1980.
While the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 established the precedent for large-scale outdoor musical performances, Woodstock fulfilled not only the role of the east coast version but also the pinnacle of all such happenings. Unlike the San Francisco Festival, Woodstock struggled with significant weather-related challenges, well chronicled in the original film. Periodic rain, particularly on the third day nearly wreaked havoc. Fortunately – with the sort of luck required to pull something like this off – everyone muddled through in a fitting tribute to 1967’s Summer of Love.
Some bands, however, failed to share the spirit of the times. The Who, among other acts, refused to go onstage until and unless they were paid – in cash, in advance. It seems that not all the artists on display shared the communal values of the hippie generation.
After the last act played, things ended as perhaps expected when so many people gather in a small space for even a brief period. Cleanup was less than optimal – a messy affair, with many of the power cables buried rather than removed.
A retelling fifty years later is appropriate. Of particular note remains the high-minded ethos demonstrated by the promoters – their refusal to declare bankruptcy in order to discharge debts, and then stepping up to implied but not express financial obligations – all of which seem out of place in today’s world. “Creating Woodstock” reminds audiences of the truly revolutionary era that was the 1960s. As Arlo Gurthies says in the film, it was “a singular event in history.”
Written, directed, co-produced, and edited by Mick Richards, “Creating Woodstock” expertly blends actual footage from the show with commentary by the operations folks literally on the ground before, during and after production. For devotees of the Woodstock experience now fifty years on, this documentary offers a welcome and fresh perspective detailing the defining moment of a generation.
Available on DVD July 30th
