Taking Woodstock

Audience Reviews

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Martin S. @mssmusix Apr 14 When life was grand. Good time to remember the joy. See more Mickey B. @Mickerdoo Feb 23 So nonchalantly funny. Really fun cast swirling around an iconic historic concert. Only wished Elliot saw some of it. Oh to be there. See more John B @JWBlakelock Feb 5 I love it. I watch it again and AGAIN. The previous movie I did this with was "ALIENS", so...go FIGURE. I'm sure it helps that I'm a Woodstock aficionado. It was the climax of the '60s. Some explication seems a little forced, but the cast is a smorgasbord of talent! MANY great performances and beautiful moments! The sound track is quite remarkable-- the tentative nature in the opening moments, w/ the purple (haze) flowers. Some reviews have complained that we don't get enough of the concert. Hmm. Most people who were THERE didn't get a lot of the concert. I have the records, and like the way the actual performances are woven into photo-montages, often in split screen (like the documentary). Eugene Levy IS Max Yasgur. Jonathon Groff nails Michael Lang (His eyes are hynoptic). Dimitri Martin is outstanding. Family dynamics of the Teichbergs are REAL. But hey, the guy cleaning the porta-potties actually said he was "Proud of BOTH [his] sons." Don't use him for propaganda! See more Bert C @RT17398991 05/13/2025 Most reviewers seem to miss the point of this film. The music festival is the backdrop, not the story. If you want the festival, watch "Woodstock". This story is the serendipitous opportunity of hosting the festival and its impact on Elliot: the naivety, the discovery, the thrill. And it accomplishes all this with warmth and empathy. See more dave s @RT68722908 07/18/2022 Taking Woodstock is a bit of a puzzling and disappointing entry in Ang Lee's impressive filmography. Set in upstate New York in 1969, Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin) returns home to help his parents manage their rundown rural motel. Before you can say ‘groovy', Elliot becomes instrumental in bringing the Woodstock music festival to Max Yasgur's (Eugene Levy) farm, saving the family business and alienating himself from the town-folk. Despite its lofty ambitions, the movie is plagued by scenes that run far too long (Elliot dropping acid), characters that exist only to be quirky (the trans security guard and the annoying, barn-dwelling Earthlight Players, etc.), and scenes that serve no purpose. Billed as a comedy, there are few, if any, laughs and none of the film feels like it's genuinely 1969. Martin is solid in the lead role and Jonathan Groff is convincing as the iconic organizer Michael Lang, but the rest of the movie is reminiscent of Woodstock's infamous brown acid – it's just a bad trip. See more 11/12/2020 To be honest I actually enjoyed this movie . I guess the hate is because it didn’t focus that much on the music itself but more the organization of the festival but it was still neat to see and sent me down a Woodstock wormhole 3.5 See more Read all reviews

Taking Woodstock

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