Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation Directed by Barak Goodman and Jamila Ephron Written by Barak Goodman and Don Kleszy 2019/US IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Instant
Woodstock didn’t define a generation because everyone showed up or those who did were a perfectly representative sample. It defined a generation because, for a few days, it bottled its peculiar zeitgeist. — Alexandra Petri
Festival promoters, participants, and audience members talk about their experience over footage from back in the day.
I enjoyed this though I would have liked to see how these folks look now and learned more about what became of them 50 years on.
Woodstock Directed by Michael Wadleigh 1970/US IMDb page
Repeat viewing/YouTube rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
We are stardust We are golden We are billion year old carbon And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the Garden. (“Woodstock” by Joni Mitchell)
One part concert film, one part spectacle, and one part close looks at the hippies in the crowd — this documentary works on many levels.
I watched the almost four-hour director’s cut which includes about an additional hour, mostly of acts that did not appear in the documentary including Janis Joplin. I would have happily watched something double the length. These musicians (and others) were in their prime: Joplin, The Who, Santana, Crosby Stills & Nash, Sly & the Family Stone and Jimi Hendrix.
The film also captures the monumental feat the organizers carried out. This thing attracted half-a-million people that swamped all kind of planning and turned the event into a free concert. It became a small city, occupied solely by young people high on various substances, complete with soup kitchen and hospital. And all this without any major violence or police presence. Could we do this again? We couldn’t even do it again in 1969.
The filmmaking is incredible. There is liberal use of aerial shots, split screens, and all the bands have a different “feeling”. I don’t think anyone could have done any better with the material. Wadleigh was assisted by Martin Scorcese and his regular editor Thelma Schoonmker both in shooting and in the editing room Most highly recommended.
Woodstock won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, Feature.
George C. Scott won the Best Actor Oscar for his memorable performance as General George Patton in Fox’s classic war biopic Patton  but he declined to accept the nomination and the gold statuette award (and did not attend the awards ceremony in 1971), because he did not feel himself to be in any competition with other actors, calling it a “meat parade” or “meat market.” Earlier, he had declined his nomination for his role in The Hustler (1961), becoming the first actor to decline an Oscar nomination.
With Helen Hayes’ win as Best Supporting Actress for Airport, she became the first person to receive Academy Awards in the two categories honoring performers. She had previously won Best Actress 38 years earlier for The Sin of Madelon Claudet.
MPAA’s “M”(Mature) rating was changed to PG (Parental Guidance). Nevada millionaire Kirk Kerkorian bought MGM in 1970, and then promptly downsized the company. Â The sell-off financed an expansion of Kerkorian’s hotel-casino investments, and began a decline for the studio.
Plenty of actors made their film debuts including: Tommy Lee Jones; Diane Keaton; Susan Sarandon; Sissy Spacek; and Sylvester Stallone. Â The film world lost Cathy O’Donnell; Ed Begley; Billie Burke; Edward Everett Horton; and Charles Ruggles.
Richard Nixon ordered troops in Vietnam to cross the border into neutral Cambodia. Â The Ohio National Guard shot 13 students at Kent State, killing 4, at protest rally against the war. Â Eleven days later police shot 12 students, killing 2, during racial violence at Jackson State University in Mississippi. Â The voting age was lowered to 18.
An oxygen tank exploded and Apollo 13’s lunar landing was aborted. Â After much anxiety, the crew was brought safely home.
“Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel spent six weeks on the Billboard charts and was the No. 1 hit of the year. Â The music world lost Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.
Collected Stories by Jean Stafford won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; No Place to Be Somebody by Charles Gordone won for Drama; and Seymour Hirsch won the International Reporting Prize for his exclusive disclosure of the Mei Lai massacre in Viet Nam.  Time Magazine’s Man of the Year was West German Chancellor Willie Brandt “for his bold approach to the Soviet Union and the East Bloc”.
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The list of movies I will select from is here. Â I would be glad to get suggestions for anything good I may have left out.
Montage of photos from Oscar winners
Montage of photos from Oscar nominees in the major categories
I have now watched 48 films that were released in 1969. 1969 began March 14, a few days before California locked down, and ends as California has become a “hot spot” after doing so well.
A complete list of the films I saw can be found here. My favorites are listed in alphabetical order. I did not list Louis Malle’s excellent Phantom India series of documentaries, which was made for television. From the List, I could not find Lucia and I did not feel a need to re-watch Fellini’s Satyricon which I didn’t like much back in the day.
All My Good Countrymen (Vsichni dobrí rodáci) Directed by Vojtech Jasny Written by Vojtech Jasny 1969/Czechoslovakia IMDb page
First viewing/Criterion Channel
“The moon does not care if the dog barks at it.” — Czech proverb
This film, perhaps the last of the Czech New Wave, mixes savage political commentary, black comedy, and poetic imagery.
The story follows life in a rural Czech village from 1948-68. The villagers’ customs and manual farming methods could have been used in any of the last three hundred years. Their peace, so recently broken by the Nazis, is now blasted by a growing communist movement. Finally, most farmers and small entrepreneurs are collectivized out of existence. Thugs use threats to gain Party loyalty. Rebels disappear suddenly.
We get some black comedy in a plot thread that follows a young “Merry Widow” as each of her many boyfriends and husbands meet with sudden accidents and worse. We also get plenty of absolutely lyrical scenes in the fields and within the village.
This was a pleasure to watch and a nice way to end my viewing of 1969. Recommended.
The Milky Way (La voie lactee) Directed by Luis Buñuel Written by Luis Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carriere 1969/France IMDb page
First viewing/Criterion Channel
My theology, briefly, is that the universe was dictated but not signed. – Christopher Morley
There’s is something to offend everyone here, especially devout Catholics. I thought it was pretty hilarious.
Two penniless bums are on a pilgrimage from France to Santiago de Campostela in Spain. They meet many strange people along the way from various eras. All are talking and/or arguing about theology.
At the end of the film we learn that every bit of dialogue is taken from the Bible or old theological treatises. I recognized some Q & A’s from the Catechism too. Their application to the many absurd situations is pretty perfect.
I don’t know why I didn’t expect much from this film and was pleasantly surprised. I had a blast and would recommend it to those who are not easily offended.
Le Grande Amour Directed by Pierre Etaix Written by Pierre Etaix and Jean-Claude Carrier 1969/France IMDb page
First viewing/Criterion Channel
Pierre: Then one thing leads to another, like it or not. You never know how these things happen… but they happen.
Pierre Etaix delivers another wry French romantic farce.
The film covers the history of Pierre’s (Etaix) love life. He plays the field and cannot decide between the numerous girls he dates. He settles on Florence, who adores him and has a rich father ready to hire her new husband as a factory manager. They are about the same age, which Pierre’s friend tells him is not such a good idea. The couple settles into the routine of married life, marred slightly by the wife’s domineering mother.
After about 15 years of wedded bliss, Pierre’s secretary retires and is replaced by lovely 18-year-old Agnes. This coincides with Florence’s solo trip to the seashore. The rest of the film is devoted to Pierre’s dream life with Agnes.
This is sort of a very Gallic The Seven Year Itch(1955) told with a light-touch and little dialogue. I enjoyed it very much but would not suggest it as one’s first foray into Etaix’s work. I was most impressed by his Yoyo (1965). At any rate, those who love Jacques Tati should really give Etaix a try.
Katzelmacher Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder Written by Rainer Werner Fassbinder 1969/Germany IMDb page
First viewing/Criterion Channel
Everyone must decide for himself whether it is better to have a brief but more intensely felt existence or to live a long and ordinary life. — Rainer Werner Fassbinder
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a movie where less happens.
A group of twenty-something German slackers hang out, play musical beds and bicker. hey usually are found lounging in front of their apartment building. One day appears to be exactly the same as the next.
Into their midst comes Greek foreign worker Jorgos (Fassbinder) who begins boarding with one of the couples that comprise the group. Jorgos begins a relationship with one of the girls. This makes the German boys furious and they even work up enough energy to exact revenge.
Probably not the ideal place to start with Fassbinder. He would get much much better.
Mississippi Mermaid (La sirene du Mississippi) Directed by Francois Truffaut Written by Francois Truffaut based on a novel by Cornell Woolrich 1969/France IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Prime
Julie Roussel: I don’t see evil everywhere. It *is* everywhere.
Despite some gaping plot holes, I enjoyed Truffaut’s Hitchcock-influenced thriller.
Louis Mahe (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is a cigarette-factory owner on the remote tropical island of Reunion. Louis strikes up a correspondence with Julie Roussel through the classified ads. He decides to marry her sight-unseen. He does have her picture and she appears to be a reasonably attractive brunette. When he goes to pick up his intended from her ship, she turns out to be the blonde and exquisitely beautiful Catherine Deneuve. He is knocked off his feet and is easily convinced by her story of sending someone else’s picture. They soon marry and Louis becomes an adoring husband. He simply overlooks some of Julie’s odd behavior.
We spend most of the movie trying to work out what Julie’s game is. The story has numerous twists and turns and I will not spoil it.
This was absolutely beautiful to look at. I was engrossed in the mystery and suspense. I expected the film to end with a big payoff revelation. The ending let me down and I never did get some of my questions answered. I would still recommend the movie if the stars and director appeal.
The Joke (Zert) Directed by Jaromil Jires Written by Zdenik Blaha, Jaromil Jires and Milan Kundera from Kundera’s novel 1969/Czechoslovakia IMDb page
First viewing/Criterion Channel
There was a joke in Czechoslovakia: The Communist Party dance, it’s one step forward, two steps backward, and everyone is still clapping. — Martina Navratilova
The “last film of the Czech New Wave” leaves the political allegory behind in favor of a direct, savage indictment of life under Communism.
In the 1950’s, hapless college student Ludvik Jahn writes the following note to his girlfriend: “Optimism is the opium of mankind. A “healthy spirit” stinks of stupidity. Long live Trotsky! Yours, Ludvik”. This is enough to get him expelled from both the University and the Communist Party. He spends the following 15 years incarcerated – first in a penal military unit and then in a forced labor camp.
When Ludvik returns to society, he is bent on revenge against his “friend” Pavel who was his accuser. He successfully seduces Pavel’s wife but revenge is not as sweet as Ludvik may have imagined.
This never exactly grabbed me but is undoubtedly a well-made act of not so thinly veiled political protest. It was banned for 20 years after its successful initial release. An interesting look at a pivotal time in history.
I’ve been a classic movie fan for many years. My original mission was to see as many movies as I could get my hands on for every year from 1929 to 1970. I have completed that mission.
I then carried on with my chronological journey and and stopped midway through 1978. You can find my reviews of 1934-1978 films and “Top 10” lists for the 1929-1936 and 1944-77 films I saw here. For the past several months I have circled back to view the pre-Code films that were never reviewed here.
I’m a retired Foreign Service Officer living in Indio, California. When I’m not watching movies, I’m probably traveling, watching birds, knitting, or reading.
Photographs and videos found in this blog, unless indicated, are not owned by me and are here only for the purpose of education and discussion. Media found here are not intended for any commercial purpose. Copyright infringement is not intended.
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At the end of the film we learn that every bit of dialogue is taken from the Bible or old theological treatises. I recognized some Q & A’s from the Catechism too. Their application to the many absurd situations is pretty perfect.
