|
|
1967 was the year many of us sort of metamorphosed from being "mod" to the initial stages of "hippiedom", whatever that encompasses. Anti-war protests, love-ins and "flower power" were becoming much more prominent in the American social fabric. As evidenced by this film, the hair wasn't all that long yet, faces were scrubbed clean and most of the people looked pretty much upper middle class in origin, especially evident from the hearty smiles that revealed attentive dental work that lower class kids could not afford! Either that, or the cameras merely focused on the attractive people and eschewed the more slovenly types. It is reminiscent of a loose congregation of 1967 northern California college kids and hip professor types intent on soaking up a vast variety of current musical trends, from the likes of the Mamas and the Papas, to Otis Redding, to Janis Joplin and others, and to the rousing finale by Ravi Shankar.
This film, more innocent, peaceful (except for guitar blazing on two separate acts) and soulful than most of its successors, captures the artists and the audiences in simultaneous enjoyment of their mutual celebration. This film is not for those who insist on digitally remastered and edited sound quality, but for those who feel the raw power of the music in its innocent purity and its true to form, unencumbered passion and fervor. The 20 minute or so musical excursion by the aforementioned Ravi Shankar stands to this day as one of the most compelling and spiritually uplifting musical pieces captured on film. Rarely do you see and feel a crowd become totally enraptured and united by an awesome piece of music.
In short, this film is a most enjoyable 79 minute trip down memory lane, to an era of unrelenting hope for a more peaceful world. So go ahead and soak in all the "flower power" you can on this film because some concerts in later years didn't pan out quite so peacefully as this one.
score 8/10
mdewey 27 November 2007
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1770913/ |
|
30-11-2019 20:15:05
