This may be the least ambitious of Lee's films, but his directorial chops still guarantee a worthwhile experience.
Comment
09/20/09
Taking Woodstock (2009)
49
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:165
Fresh:81
Rotten:84
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: Featuring numerous 60s-era clichés, but little of the musical magic that highlighted the famous festival, Taking Woodstock is a breezy but underwhelming portrayal.
Theatrical Release:Aug 28, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $7,366,736
Synopsis: A generation began in his backyard. From Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), comes Taking Woodstock, a new comedy inspired by the true... [More]
Starring: Demetri Martin, Emile Hirsch, Liev Schreiber, Imelda Staunton
Director: Ang Lee
Get This Movie
Rent DVD
Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.
Buy DVD
Reviews for Taking Woodstock
saddled with side stories that are meant to put specific faces on the issues of the time, but feel meandering and unfocused
09/14/09
The most expertly crafted, yet mostly uninvolving, historical music movie.
09/09/09
...it's hard to get past the idea of Taking Woodstock as a missed opportunity. It's fine around the edges, but it never convinces you that the central event was the cataclysmic cultural convergence some claim.
09/09/09
On balance Taking Woodstock--like Teichberg--takes after its immigrant American father, evincing a quiet humility in offering its rambling 'little perspective' of an emblematic happening that was almost everything it was cracked up to be.
09/09/09
In a field crowded with sharp, aggressive, edgy comedies it's much more gentle, rounded and endearing. Yet it's not altogether warm and fuzzy - there's plenty of bite here and wry insight, too.
09/08/09
A gentle, slow-paced coming-of-age movie, 'Taking Woodstock' is not a movie about the historic concert that observes its 40th anniversary this year.
09/05/09
Lee's Taking Woodstock serves up so many clichés and stereotypes that it feels like a film made by someone who had never met a real Jew, Vietnam vet, homosexual, or hippie
09/05/09
Woodstock participants wallowed in Yasgar's muddy fields. [Director Ang]Lee wallows in Teichberg's muddy %u2014 and uninteresting %u2014 experience.
09/05/09
Uses the Peace & Love event as white-noise for another flaccid coming-of-age story about an unformed youth's Summer I Grew Up
09/04/09
Ang Lee's companionable 'Taking Woodstock' is thick with sun and good cheer.
09/03/09
I loved this sweet, gentle film, and prize its charms and heart far more than the debatable weightiness of Lee's Lust, Caution.
09/02/09
The first half of "Taking Woodstock" is wonderful. Unfortunately, the tone becomes more serious and the pacing meanders in the second half.
09/01/09
The more tightly Taking Woodstock focuses on history, the more satisfying the experience.
08/31/09
How's this for an idea - a movie about Woodstock that ignores the music of the Festival and concentrates on one boring guy's ability to set it all up.
08/31/09
Effectively employs iconic Woodstock imagery not to generate a numbing sense of mass nostalgia about the historic concert but rather as a minimalist backdrop against which to amplify the anguished, intimate ordeal of a frustrated individual who wasn't eve
08/30/09
Just rent ADVENTURELAND (a better coming-of-age movie) and the WOODSTOCK documentary (a better depiction of the festival) instead of wasting your time on this.
08/29/09
If you want to experience the concert you can watch the 1970 Woodstock movie. This one is about what it all meant.
08/29/09
It's a small story about Woodstock. I didn't think that was possible. Lee's got the look down, but the story doesn't totally captivate, and the music is almost not present.
08/29/09
Taking Woodstock is homogenized mud. Director Ang Lee slides all over the place. He takes away all the sharp edges; what is left is pretty much a mess.
08/29/09
Latest News for Taking Woodstock
November 13, 2009:
James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
James Schamus might be a workaholic. If it's not enough that he's the head of Focus Features -- the independent imprint of Universal -- he's also an established producer and... More...
November 12, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with Ang Lee
The rule that no two Ang Lee movies are ever the same is confidently kept intact with the release of his latest, Taking Woodstock, a comedy about the true story behind the... More...
August 27, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Guess Halloween 2's Tomatometer!
This week at the movies, we've got the return of Michael Myers (Halloween 2, starring Malcolm McDowell and Scout Taylor-Compton), three dimensional fatalities (The Final... More...
August 27, 2009:
Box Office Guru Preview: Fans Choose Sides in Horror Showdown
In a move that studios rarely make these days, two films from the exact same genre open opposite each other on the same day targeting much of the same audience. The Weinstein... More...
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
Wes Anderson on Fox 
The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Animated Oscar?
Hollywood.com ponders whether or not an animated film could win Best Picture.
TIME's Holiday Movie Preview
Richard Corliss previews the season's best offerings and hottest tickets.
Scenic Routes
The AV Club's Mike D'Angelo airs his beefs with Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
IGN RSS Feeds