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Festival Express
2003
In 1970 a train journeyed across Canada carrying some of the greatest rock bands of all time. Janis Joplin, The Band, The Grateful Dead, Ian & Sylvia, Buddy Guy, Delaney & Bonnie, and others lived (and partied) for five days, giving concerts where and when they stopped. The train was called the Festival Express. Nicknamed the .. Read more
| Starring | Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, The Band |
|---|---|
| Director | Bob Smeaton |
| Genres | Documentary |
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Festival Express
In 1970 a train journeyed across Canada carrying some of the greatest rock bands of all time. Janis Joplin, The Band, The Grateful Dead, Ian & Sylvia, Buddy Guy, Delaney & Bonnie, and others lived (and partied) for five days, giving concerts where and when they stopped. The train was called the Festival Express. Nicknamed the million dollar bash by Rolling Stone Magazine Festival Express was designated to capitalize on then-burgeoning craze for multi-day, talent heavy music festivals. Festival Express was planned as a festival with a difference--it would be portable. This proved to be stamp of genius, indelibly stamping the event with an aura of magic, as a large number of the performers signed on despite being offer fees substantially below their going rate. The musicians thought the train ride sounded like the party to end parties.
| Starring | Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, The Band |
|---|---|
| Director | Bob Smeaton |
| Studio | OPTIMUM HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 21 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Documentary |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 28 Feb 2005 Production year: 2003 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (2)
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This fascinating rock documentary belatedly puts together footage of the 1970 trans-Canada train journey undertaken by some of the world's top rock musicians, including The Band, Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin. The ramshackle five-day tour, in which the musicians jammed en route — these stripped-down, thrown-together sessions are a genuine highlight — and alighted to play a series of gigs, was a financial disaster, owing to the refusal of some of the Woodstock-generation audiences to pay up. This had little effect on the morale of the performers, however, who treated the trip as a five-day party — an attitude that comes across in on- and off-stage footage that's surprisingly revealing, especially considering the on-the-hoof way in which it was filmed. Contemporary interviews with some of the surviving players give added insight, making this a must-see for fans of the people involved and connoisseurs of rock lore.
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Way back in 1970 before cloth-eared lawyers with eyes on the quick buck took control of the music industry a... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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7 out of 8 people found this review helpful
Curiosity value only
If you were in your late teen or early twenties in the late 60s/early 70s (I was) and you if you were into rock n roll, dope, revolution (I was), then this has some curiosity/nostalgia value. But, be warned, despite what some other reviews say, the performances are very average. Most of what you get is just the typical grunge that was being churned out day to day by live bands in clubs and outdoor venues everywhere at this time. Janice is Janice, always likely to send a shiver down your spine with her all-or-nothing performances, but bum notes and missed timings abound. There is nothing here that is even close to the quality of performance that you get in, for example, Woodstock. Its not surprising, all these guys were wasted on dope and booze and no sleep and it shows. If you have never seen the Dead, or want to know what all the fuss was about, their performances here will not enlighten you (clue: as a saying of the time points out - even a vacuum cleaner sounds good if you are stoned enough). If you want to see a bunch of twentysomethings do really bad blues jams when they are completely rat arsed on booze and acid this is the film for you. The modern day interviews with the survivors are mildly interesting, and its clear everybody enjoyed themselves at the time, but its no surprise that this movie was lost for over 30 years.
Having said all that I kinda enjoyed watching this - it evoked the same feelings of horrified fascination that rediscovering and listening to a tape of you and your mates rehearsing a few numbers in the basement of a squat thirty years ago.
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- Grimmy from Up North
- Posted 03 Aug 2005 13:22
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Most recent members' review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Groovy train
What an interesting concept; put a bunch of rock stars on a train across Canada, give them three concerts to do and see what happens! Footage of the concerts show how far these things have progressed, but the live action presented here is great. The main attractions here are the Band, Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin, and while the stage performances do not disappoint, the real interest is on the train. A particular highlight is a jam with Jerry Garcia, Janis and an inebriated Rick Danko of the Band howling along with Garcia. In this piece alone, it's easy to see why Robbie Robertson opted to fly! It's intercut with recent interviews with musicians and the concert promoter, but it would've been nice to see more of the key players taking part. All-in-all a great alternative to Woodstock.
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In 1970 a train journeyed across Canada carrying some of the greatest rock bands of all time. Janis Joplin, The Band, The Grateful Dead, Ian & Sylvia, Buddy Guy, Delaney & Bonnie, and others lived (... -