Festival Express
by Bob Smeaton, Frank Cvitanovich
(Click here)
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Janis Joplin, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, The Band, The Grateful DeadDirector: Bob Smeaton, Frank Cvitanovich
Brand: Warner Brothers
Producer: Ann Carli
Producer: Garth Douglas
Producer: Gavin Poolman
Producer: John D. Trapman
Producer: Nick Faulks
Producer: Nick O'Hagan
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Compilation, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-11-02
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: New Line Home Video
Product features:
- 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 p
DVD Reviews of Festival Express
DVD Review: THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST.
Summary: 5 Stars
WATCHING THIS DVD BROUGHT BACK MANY MEMORIES OF THE SIXTIES. THE MUSIC, THE ATTITUDE, ALONG WITH A GLIMPSE OF A THE LIVES OUT MUSICAL HEROES WERE LIVING. THE MUSIC IS INCREDIBLE. THE SCENES WHERE THEY ARE INTERACTING WITH EACH OTHER DURING THEIR TRAIN TRECK ACROSS CANADA IS A VIEW INTO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE TUNE IN, TURN ON GENERATION.DVD Review: A Chance For The Young!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a dinosaur. I have been a Deadhead since the year this movie was made, and seeing Jerry and the gang, especially Pigpen, so young again was a wonderful treat. Seeing Janice Joplin and the rest of the great artists in this film was also something very special. This is a wonderful chance for those who are too young to have seen these artists to experience them. I highly recommend this film!DVD Review: Expressive
Summary: 4 Stars
I'd been looking forward to this for a long time, having savoured the films of Woodstock, Monterey and the Isle of Wight for their evocation of a time which could just conceivably turn out to represent the greatest degree of mass enlightenment ever achieved by the human race. Why do I say this about a bunch of stoned hippies listening to music? Well, mainly because of the music. The best of Hendrix, the Doors, Janis and many others is positively otherworldly, and if anyone's made music like that since about 1973, I for one haven't heard it yet. Anyway,this time it is Janis's turn, and while she's not quite at her very best, she's still a mile more intense, interesting and, for want of a better word, devoted, than any other female rock vocalist of the last 50 years. Even putting Janis aside, this is a fine and rare piece of music-history film, and as with the best of this type of thing (viz Rock'n'Roll Circus) to watch is to feel like you're entering something like Pharoah's tomb: a different, wonderful, weird world. And although it's only 40 years ago, it feels as far away as ancient Egypt in many ways. Another interesting act is Buddy Guy. Eric Clapton called him without a doubt, and by far, the best rock guitarist ever. You get a rare taste of him here, and for that alone it's a disc well worth buying.DVD Review: One of a kind Live footage!
Summary: 5 Stars
Quite an amazing show, the quality of the video is great- it looks like it was shot last month. Live footage of Janis, Seatrain, The Band, Ian & Sylvia - Plus a band called "The Grateful Dead"! A real piece of history, and a lot of fun to watch.DVD Review: A must for Dead, Band, Janis freaks
Summary: 5 Stars
I watch the extra footage sometimes just for Hard to Handle and Easy Wind, both excellent performances featuring Pigpen. Deadheads, think of those as a "dicks picks" with video. In the movie portion, Janis has a couple of fine performances and The Band more than holds its own in the regular part of the movie.
I bought this the day the "extended two disc set" came out and should have written a review long ago. If you ever traveled long miles to see The Band, or The Grateful Dead then buy this dvd. Festival Express brings these bands right to you, young and vital and having fun.
It's funny, or fun to watch some of the other bands, and to see a glimpse of ourselves "as others see us" as concert goers.
This is a lot more natural and less showbiz than "The Last Waltz", more homey but not as epic as "Woodstock". It belongs in that tier of rock movies, though because how well it captures and presents performances of these bands, and because of the "backstage pass" onto the train.
The young and drunk Janis, Jerry and Rick on the train singing "No More Cane" is as bittersweet as several reviewers have mentioned. Jerry Garcia stepping forward to face the rioting freeloaders shows the real and wry and confident Jerry Garcia.
If you've got a spouse or friend who still buys "Dicks Picks" or "Road Trips" of the Dead or who still talks about how perfect "The Band" concerts were, they will love this. If you're the one who fits that description, either you have Festival Express, or you need it now.
Description of Festival Express
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
The vintage concert footage alone makes Festival Express a memorable and worthwhile endeavor, offering scintillating performances by Janis Joplin, the Band (their rollicking version of "Slippin' and Slidin'" is particularly mind-blowing), the Grateful Dead, Buddy Guy, and others (remember Mashmakhan?). In 1970, during the heyday of the rock festival, promoter Ken Walker decided to organize a traveling musical revue, bringing the mountain to Mohammed, as it were. In five days' time, the festival played in three Canadian cities with the entire conglomeration traveling, playing, and getting smashed together the whole way. Nearly as rewarding as the live performances are the candid scenes of the train ride itself, an endless jam session and party during which musicians of all shapes and sizes let their hair down--musically and otherwise. The contemporary interviews with Walker and some of the surviving musicians aren't particularly noteworthy, except as a way to prove that it all actually happened. Walker comes off as a hero in the film: he treated the musicians like royalty and insisted that the train roll on even though he was losing his shirt. (His financial failure is a large reason why this material stayed in the vaults for so long.) Perhaps the most remarkable scene is an off-the-cuff, LSD-fueled train jam featuring Joplin, the Band's Rick Danko, and the Dead's Jerry Garcia playing the old chestnut "Ain't No More Cane." Danko is so obliterated that even Janis has to ask him if he's OK--when Janis is worried about your state of mind, you must be pretty messed up. --Marc Greilsamer
Canada DVDs
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Bestsellers in Canada DVDs
Happy Feet (Full Screen Edition)WOOD,ELIJAH; Release date: 2007-03-27; DVD
Best price: $4.75
Price in other shops:
One Magic ChristmasBUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2004-09-07; DVD
Best price: $13.41
Price in other shops:
The Christmas ChoirGAIAM MEDIA; Release date: 2009-10-13; DVD
Best price: $7.61
Price in other shops:
![Eastern Promises [Blu-ray] Image](/images/Eastern-Promises-Blu-ray-B001EIOOWC-X.jpg)
Eastern Promises [Blu-ray]ALTIN,JOSEF; Release date: 2008-10-14; DVD
Best price: $11.24
Price in other shops:
![A History of Violence [Blu-ray] Image](/images/A-History-of-Violence-Blu-ray-B001JNNE1O-X.jpg)
A History of Violence [Blu-ray]Warner Brothers; Release date: 2009-02-10; DVD
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Anne of Green GablesANNE OF GREEN GABLES; Release date: 2001-11-13; DVD
Best price: $13.76
Price in other shops:
Christmas in WonderlandECHO BRIDGE HOME ENT.; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $6.99
The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus 16-Ton MegasetA&E HOME ENT.; Release date: 2005-09-27; DVD
Best price: $40.99
Price in other shops:
OrphanWarner Brothers; Release date: 2009-10-27; DVD
Best price: $15.95
Price in other shops:
![A Christmas Story [Blu-ray] Image](/images/A-Christmas-Story-Blu-ray-B001CW7ZZ8-X.jpg)
A Christmas Story [Blu-ray]Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-11-04; DVD
Best price: $13.85
Price in other shops:
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
JANIS JOPLIN THE BEST OFDVD
Best price: $11.89
The Grateful Dead MovieGRATEFUL DEAD; Release date: 2004-11-09; DVD
Best price: $60.95
Message to Love - The Isle of Wight FestivalISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL; Release date: 1997-12-10; DVD
Best price: $5.96
Price in other shops:
Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music Director's Cut (40th Anniversary Two-Disc Special Edition)WADLEIGH,MICHAEL; Release date: 2009-06-09; DVD
Best price: $9.68
Price in other shops:
Fly Jefferson AirplaneRelease date: 2004-09-21; DVD
Best price: $7.75
Price in other shops:
Last Days of the FillmoreDig; Release date: 2009-06-02; DVD
Best price: $12.05
Price in other shops:
The Complete Monterey Pop Festival - Criterion CollectionUnknown; Release date: 2002-11-12; DVD
Best price: $31.99
Price in other shops:
The Last Waltz (Special Edition)BAND; Release date: 2002-05-07; DVD
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops:
A Night at the Family Dog 1970 (The Grateful Dead / Jefferson Airplane / Santana)Release date: 2007-08-07; DVD
Best price: $8.42
Price in other shops:
Nine Hundred Nights - Big Brother and the Holding Co. with Janis JoplinRelease date: 2004-02-24; DVD
Best price: $4.68
Price in other shops: