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Festival Express

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Festival Express (2004)

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Reviews Counted:74

Fresh:71

Rotten:3

Average Rating:7.6/10

Consensus: Festival Express is a spellbinding documentary that nostalgically chronicles five days in the summer of 1970, when a train full of now- legendary rock perfomers jammed its way across Canada.

Rated: R

Runtime: 90 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Theatrical Release:Jul 23, 2004 Limited

Box Office: $908,932

Synopsis: In 1970, a train journeyed across Canada carrying some of the greatest rock bands of the time. Janis Joplin, The Band, The Grateful Dead, Delaney & Bonnie, Buddy Guy, Ian & Sylvia and others lived... In 1970, a train journeyed across Canada carrying some of the greatest rock bands of the time. Janis Joplin, The Band, The Grateful Dead, Delaney & Bonnie, Buddy Guy, Ian & Sylvia and others lived (and partied) together for five days, giving concerts where and when they stopped. The train was called the Festival Express. Festival Express might just have been the greatest, and certainly the longest, non-stop rock n' roll party ever. Nicknamed "The Million Dollar Bash" by Rolling Stone magazine, Festival Express was designed to capitalise on the then-burgeoning craze for multi-day, talent-heavy music festivals. Following in the footsteps of Woodstock, by the summer of 1970 such festivals were a regular part of the rock n' roll landscape. Festival Express was planned as a festival with a difference -- it would be portable. The artists would be showcased at festival sites spanning the breadth of the Canadian heartland, from Toronto to Calgary -- and transportation was by chartered train. This proved to be a stroke of genius, indelibly stamping the event with an aura of magic, as a large number of the performers signed on despite being offered fees substantially below their going rate. The musicians thought the train ride sounded like the "party to end all parties". -- © Festival Express Productions [More]

Starring: Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Band, Ian & Sylvia

Starring: Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Band, Ian & Sylvia, Buddy Guy, Flying Burrito Brothers, Sha Na Na, Delaney & Bonnie

Director: Bob Smeaton

Director: Bob Smeaton
Producer: John Trapman
Studio: ThinkFilm

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 2, 2004

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • 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.
  • Source: Warner Home Video
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    Reviews for Festival Express

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    Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
    11/06/09
    Entertainment Weekly
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Urban Cinefile Critics
    Urban Cinefile Critics
    Urban Cinefile
    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    07/22/08
    Eddie Cockrell
    Eddie Cockrell
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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    Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
    08/14/07
    Peter Travers
    Peter Travers
    Rolling Stone
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    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    06/24/06
    Time Out
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    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
    05/26/06
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Combustible Celluloid

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: NYC Film Critic | comment Comment
    03/05/05
    Ethan Alter
    Ethan Alter
    NYC Film Critic

    A good snapshot of an earlier, simpler, more innocent time that seems now even longer ago than it was.

    Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
    02/01/05
    Robert Roten
    Robert Roten
    Laramie Movie Scope
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Zap2it.com | comment Comment
    12/19/04
    Michael Szymanski
    Michael Szymanski
    Zap2it.com
    N/R

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    Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
    11/19/04
    Todd R. Ramlow
    Todd R. Ramlow
    PopMatters

    The music was fabulous--a reason enough to cherish this first-rate documentary.

    Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    11/17/04
    Dennis Schwartz
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    ultimately feels a little like warm leftovers

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    11/07/04
    Christopher Null
    Christopher Null
    Filmcritic.com

    Both drive-thru snapshot travelogue of nomad alternative culture, and one-of-a-kind caught moments of intimate jam sessions.

    Full Review Source: Long Island Press | comment Comment
    11/04/04
    Prairie Miller
    Prairie Miller
    Long Island Press

    It captures a pure moment in time when musical hearts and minds beat as one, when musicians of all stripes came together to work and play hard and leave behind one damn fine-looking corpse.

    Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
    10/19/04
    Marjorie Baumgarten
    Marjorie Baumgarten
    Austin Chronicle

    Divided between time-capsule concert footage ... and backward-glancing interviews - alas, not enough of the former and too much of the latter.

    Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
    10/08/04
    Sean Means
    Sean Means
    Salt Lake Tribune

    A very well-assembled piece.

    Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
    10/08/04
    Jeff Vice
    Jeff Vice
    Deseret News, Salt Lake City

    A fascinating, tuneful excursion into the Woodstock Nation, circa 1970.

    Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
    09/24/04
    Jack Garner
    Jack Garner
    Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

    A rock 'n' roll time capsule that may be the final, great chronicle of the musical brilliance of the late 1960s.

    Full Review Source: Des Moines Register | comment Comment
    09/24/04
    Jeffrey Bruner
    Jeffrey Bruner
    Des Moines Register

    A remarkable cultural document that captures the circus-like atmosphere and the raw and immediate quality of the performances.

    Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
    09/23/04
    Duane Dudek
    Duane Dudek
    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

    From the moment Joplin announces her arrival in the film she holds you rapt under her spell.

    Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
    09/23/04
    Bret McCabe
    Bret McCabe
    Orlando Weekly
     
     
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