Pieced together from long-lost footage of an unfinished documentary on the 1970 Festival Express concert tour (sort of a traveling Woodstock that crossed Canada by train), Festival Express boasts astonishing concert footage of the Grateful Dead, The Band, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Mashmahkhan, Ian and Sylvia Tyson, and Janis Joplin two months before her death (Joplin's solo numbers "Cry Baby" and "Tell Mama" are volcanic explosions of blues-anguish, streetwise-sass, and wicked humor). Off the stage and on the train, Joplin and the Grateful Dead (all under the obvious influence of alcoholic and/or hallucinogenic goodies) offer up a campy rendition of "Ain't No More Cane" while Joplin engages in a good-natured self-parody of her concert persona and Jerry Garcia abruptly confesses his longstanding unrequited love for her. The film also covers the nastier side of the event: slacker protestors were incensed at $14 ticket prices and created mini-riots at each performance stop with their demands of free admission (in Toronto, altercations between would-be gatecrashers and police were so violent that the Grateful Dead hastily agreed to hold an impromptu free concert at a nearby park just to bring peace). Paying tribute to the best and the worst of that era, Festival Express is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. [Note: DVD extras on this double-disc set include a “Derailed” making-of featurette, 48 minutes of 10 additional “Off the Tracks” never-before-seen concert performances, “Train Hopping” selection of specific tracks, 19 minutes of “Chugging Along” additional interviews, a “Trainspotting” photo gallery, and a trailer. Bottom line: an excellent extras package for an excellent documentary.] (P. Hall)
Festival Express
New Line, 90 min., R, DVD: $24.98, Nov. 2 Volume 19, Issue 6
Festival Express
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