Isle Of Wight Festival 1970

Customer Reviews:

SERENA.......2007-07-23

I just received the dvd and though i agree that some of the clips were way too short, donavan's catch the wind amounted to about 10 seconds worth, the performances that were shown were amazing. the only bad thing about the whole dvd was the people outside the fence and the promoters who were yelling at them and sicking dogs on them, i have the woodstock and monterey pop videos and they were built on happiness and a peaceful environment for the most part except for a few disgruntled townspeople/these people were shameful and were a disgrace to those performers/i disagree with the comment that the doors and jimi were "on their way out", their voices were great, the songs were great, and jimi's guitar was amazing as usual. all in all if you pass over the dialoge from the promoters and the menacing crowd, and the cardboard portable toilets, was a great concert. free and 10 years after and joni and of course the who were all great!

Producers think our brains are damaged.......2006-01-13

I bought this DVD 'cause I'm a huge devotee of late 60's / early 70's era.

I'm highly disappointed. This DVD is good only for someone who wants to know a little more about that field; like it's good for TV broadcast... and nothing more.

Most of the songs are just chunks of originals, and sometimes not even that (Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row", for instance, and Donovan's "Catch the wind"). Miles Davis' incredible "Call it anything" is a matter of seconds (!), not even minutes... Free's "All Right Now" is butchered in the middle of the guitar solo (trust me, I know it - I'm a guitarist), they put together 2 similiar parts (and most people probably won't notice)!

Hendrix, Who, DOORS!!!... all butchered. Doors are the worst. "The end" and "When the music's over" are a shame; these "clips" are for insanes... which work at Sanctuary records.

There is actually no song that hasn't been butchered.

They loaded the DVD limit to the full (7,23 Gb), but on it there are 2 exactly the same movies, only one without comments from the hippies - i.e. straight tracks in order.

Picture is perfect, by the way, but it doesn't count when material is poor.

I'll give this DVD 2 only because my HOPE that soon something better will be out, with great picture and FULL performances! Director Murray Lerner recorded tons of material (check out an excellent Hendrix' performance at Isle of Wight, that is full!), so I just can't accept that all of it will be wasted (ok, Who and one another band are also released).

This is a pure shame.

Fascinating portrait of a legendary festival.......2005-06-20

I bought this DVD after attending the revived Isle of Wight Festivals (most recently 2005 headlined by REM), curious to know what made the 1970 festival so legendary, and the last of its kind (more than 30 years passed before the Isle of Wight dared stage another). The sight of more than half a million people crammed onto Afton Down, refusing to pay the £3 to get into the official arena, is amazing. The ever-more-desperate compere, Rikki Farr, trying to explain to the masses that if no-one pays, the bands can't play sums up the conflicting priorities of the time (Business versus Peace & love). This is a very well-made film that gives a real insight into the chaos behind the scenes. In some ways the real surprise is that the show DID go on and so many rock legends of the time shared the same stage. The performance footage is great, and so is the sound-quality. But what delighted me most about this film is that it's a real social documentary of a past era. It makes the slick commercialism of modern-day festivals look very tame indeed.

A compelling document of a fascinating era!.......2005-03-18

I have both this and the Woodstock DVD, perhaps the two most legendary festivals of the hippy/rock era. I would say that this festival was ultimately better than Woodstock with a stronger line up of artists. Furthermore, this film is actually more dramatic with the violent confrontations between the security guards with their dogs and the people trying to break down the fences - so much for peace and love! The anger and frustration of the compere Rikki Farr, who tells the freeloaders some home truths about economic realities in no uncertain terms also makes for compulsive viewing. There is also a delightful gallery of elderly English eccentrics at the beginning of the film.
However, it is the bands and artists that really make or break a festival, and it's difficult to imagine a stronger line up of bands at the peak of their game. Hendrix topped the bill on the Sunday, but for me the Who (as always) were the real stars. They just played and played right through the early hours of Sunday morning. What a truly fabulous live band they always were!
The Doors are another of my favourite bands, but Morrison, like Hendrix, was on his way out here, and it shows. It still makes for dramatic viewing though.
I would like to have seen more of Jethro Tull, who were also quite fabulous here. What a perfomer Ian Anderson was! Whilst Family were also stunning. I also enjoyed Free and Ten Years After, but was a little disappointed in Taste. Rory Gallagher was a brilliant guitarist, but I always found his voice a little monotonous, and the material here is rather weak. I have never been a great fan of ELP, but this, only their second concert appearance, shows a band brimming with confidence, and Emerson like Anderson, Hendrix, Townshend and Roger Chapman of Family is a great stage performer.
As with all festivals you do get some boring moments and/or rubbish. Tiny Tim was not even funny as a novelty act and is simply irritating, whilst Kris Kristofferson is boring (he got booed). I have also never been a great fan of Joni Mitchell's voice (although she did write some good songs), but you have to feel sorry for her when her act gets interrupted by a stoned stage invader and her fear and distress are all too evident. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if this guy had dared to try to interrupt the Who in full flight as Abbie Hoffman did at Woodstock!
To conclude, for anyone who is interested in rock music/culture from a fascinating era when rock was still in its relative infancy this DVD is a must. Much better, rawer and far more interesting than the corporate boredom that was Live Aid. Together with Woodstock and the unavailable in region 2 Gimme Shelter, which is the Stones dramatic appearance at Altamont, this DVD defines a fascinating era.
Now when ARE they going to release Gimme Shelter on DVD in the UK?

Isle of Wight 70.......2005-01-03

Having seen the documentary on TV about a year or so ago I expected more music content in this extended version. Unfortunately I was slightly disappointed. There are contributions from around 15 artists but most only show one track and sometimes those are cut short. Five artists only provide sound backing during scenes of the crowd, etc (how much I would have liked to see Family!) Overall, an important piece of rock history for those not present at the last great event of its time, and a chance to see snippets of performers who were making final appearances - Hendrix, Doors, Taste, etc.

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