For the first time, some never-before-published key festival performances will
be seen in their entirety!
Burbank, Calif. – On August 15, 2008, it will be thirty-nine years ago to the
day that some half-million people gathered in upstate New York for a three-day
festival featuring some of the greatest rock ´n´ roll performers of all time.
Warner Home Video has announced its plans to celebrate the 40th anniversary of
the music history milestone July 28, 2009 by releasing a spectacular Ultimate
Collectors Edition (UCE) of the Oscar®-winning Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace &
Music.
The restored and remastered release will include more than an hour of newly
discovered Festival performances, some never-before-published in their
entirety, from a number of artists, including The Who, Joe Cocker, Canned Heat,
Joan Baez, Country Joe McDonald and Country Joe And The Fish (with more to be
announced). The release will incorporate reflections and perspectives from
musicians, celebrities, influencers and other giants in the entertainment
industry on the cultural significance of Woodstock 40 years later.
The Ultimate Collector´s Edition (Blu-ray™ Hi-Def & DVD) will include the
four-hour Director´s Cut, remastered from original elements and scanned at 2K
with audio 5.1 mix supervised by director Michael Wadleigh. Eddie Kramer, the
concert's original chief engineer - who was on-site for the festival (and the
engineer of several Jimi Hendrix albums) - is overseeing the new audio mix of
all of the recently found added footage.
Special features include a filmmaker's commentary, replicas of handwritten
notes from Festival attendees, The ´60s And The Woodstock Generation (a 40
minute documentary film by noted filmmaker Robert Kline adapted from his book
"Children of the '60s"), studio archive letters and other souvenir collectible
items. The film has been on moratorium since January of this year and will
continue to be unavailable to the public for more than a year and a half until
its DVD release next year. Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music will also be
available as a stand-alone DVD.
In making the announcement, Jeff Baker, WHV´s Executive VP and General Manager,
Theatrical Catalog, stated, "The music, artists and spirit of Woodstock
resonate as strongly today as in 1969. We´re certain the film will strike a
chord with those who remember, and may have even attended, Woodstock, but we
also believe the music - some in extended cuts - will appeal to today´s youth
generation who not only love rock music but are equally as committed now to the
values surrounding Woodstock, like spirit of community, caring for the
environment and idealistic change.
"Additionally, since we think of the Ultimate Collector´s Edition as our
´signature dish,´ if you will, we´re very excited that we´ll be giving the same
attention to this iconic film as we have to our other top-tier titles such as
Harry Potter, Blade Runner, JFK and upcoming, A Christmas Story and Casablanca.
Woodstock alumni David Crosby noted, "Woodstock was more than just a concert;
it was an event. It was a time for our generation to speak up and let everyone
know we had a voice. Whether you were there or are discovering the film for the
first time, it still holds up 40 years later and now will speak to a whole new
generation."
In June of this year, The Museum at Bethel Woods completed construction and
opened its facility, located near the historic site of the 1969 concert. The
museum features state-of-the-art multi-media exhibits, engaging programs and
educational events.
> About WOODSTOCK and the Film...
Woodstock was unique not only because of its legendary artists, from Jimi
Hendrix to Janis Joplin, or the subsequent timeless motion picture it produced,
but also because it was the pivotal event of the 1960s peace movement.
The Woodstock Music and Art Fair was held at Max Yasgur´s dairy farm in the
rural town of Bethel, New York on a sometimes rain-soaked weekend from August
15 to August 18, 1969. Created by promoter Michael Lang with Artie Kornfeld,
John Roberts and Joel Rosenman, the two put together 32 legendary musical acts
which included such artists as Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Who, Santana, Janis
Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, The Band, Joe Cocker, Country Joe McDonald and
The Fish, Richie Havens, Jefferson Airplane, John Sebastian, Ravi Shankar and
Sly & The Family Stone. Rolling Stone Magazine hailed the Festival as one of
the "50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock ´n´ Roll."
Winner of the Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature (and nominated for
Best Editing and Best Sound), Woodstock was produced by Bob Maurice and
directed by Michael Wadleigh, who assembled an outstanding crew that included
young editors and filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Thelma Schoonmaker, Joel Cox
and Tina Hirsch. Noted film critic Roger Ebert (of the Chicago Sun-Times) said,
"Few documentaries have captured a time and place more completely, poignantly
and, for that matter, entertainingly."
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