I was legitimately concerned that I wouldn't be able do make it through this one. I'd hardly call it a documentary, as it's mostly quick clips from assorted performances and a lot of chunks of interviews, mostly with randos who have little to say (and what they do say is occasionally incomprehensible). Putting aside the fact that I hated most of the music (especially Donovan), the movie making is just not good. This is a hodgepodge of random clips from performances and some dorks talking nonsense in between. The only time I was getting anything out of this was after one of the earlier performances when they cut to the crowd and most of them we're making a "Huh?" face. There is no context to anything and I have no idea if what I'm seeing is supposed to be important or just something that the director liked. I'm not sure what I was supposed to get out of this. It was released too soon after the festivals ended to be able to really be able to do any real evaluation or summation of Newport, so it feels like a bad clip show. It doesn't even give you an idea of what the festival was like; I learned nothing. Were these the only performances? Was there more than just music (and dancers)? What was the point of the festival? Were all of these bands/artists well known or where they up and comers? If you like the music, I'm sure it's bearable, but I swear I heard the same song fifteen times and I didn't know why I was shown square dancing and the chick playing a song by hitting her cheeks. I watched this because the Criterion lead me to believe this would be a valuable experience before watching Monetary Pop or Woodstock, but I disagree. This isn't about the history of the festival or even what the festival "was about", it's just little blips that don't add up to much. The perfect example is the clips they show of the "Dylan goes electric" controversy, which they play maybe two minutes of and then never discuss or address. It's like you are expected to provide your own meaning and context to everything, they don't even tell you when each performance took place; for all I know this was all one day. Festival is awkward and aggravating. There is no story and unless you love this brand of "folk music" there really isn't much here to get an experience out of.
I was legitimately concerned that I wouldn't be able do make it through this one. I'd hardly call it a documentary, as it's mostly quick clips from assorted performances and a lot of chunks of interviews, mostly with randos who have little to say (and what they do say is occasionally incomprehensible). Putting aside the fact that I hated most of the music (especially Donovan), the movie making is just not good. This is a hodgepodge of random clips from performances and some dorks talking nonsense in between. The only time I was getting anything out of this was after one of the earlier performances when they cut to the crowd and most of them we're making a "Huh?" face. There is no context to anything and I have no idea if what I'm seeing is supposed to be important or just something that the director liked. I'm not sure what I was supposed to get out of this. It was released too soon after the festivals ended to be able to really be able to do any real evaluation or summation of Newport, so it feels like a bad clip show. It doesn't even give you an idea of what the festival was like; I learned nothing. Were these the only performances? Was there more than just music (and dancers)? What was the point of the festival? Were all of these bands/artists well known or where they up and comers? If you like the music, I'm sure it's bearable, but I swear I heard the same song fifteen times and I didn't know why I was shown square dancing and the chick playing a song by hitting her cheeks. I watched this because the Criterion lead me to believe this would be a valuable experience before watching Monetary Pop or Woodstock, but I disagree. This isn't about the history of the festival or even what the festival "was about", it's just little blips that don't add up to much. The perfect example is the clips they show of the "Dylan goes electric" controversy, which they play maybe two minutes of and then never discuss or address. It's like you are expected to provide your own meaning and context to everything, they don't even tell you when each performance took place; for all I know this was all one day. Festival is awkward and aggravating. There is no story and unless you love this brand of "folk music" there really isn't much here to get an experience out of.
