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Bookmark this pageFestival Express (2003)
Director: Bob Smeaton
Movie review
From Time Out London
Way back in 1970 – before cloth-eared lawyers with eyes on the quick buck took control of the music industry – a train traversed the Canadian wilderness with a group of laid-back musicians on board, stopping every so often for them to perform at the odd makeshift festival. It was a privately chartered train and the musos in question – The Band, The Grateful Dead and New Riders of the Purple Sage, raunchy rock chick Janis Joplin, gospel-blues partners Delaney & Bonnie and bluesman Buddy Guy – were among the greatest of their era. A rollicking time was had by all, as so admirably demonstrated by Smeaton’s lush, verité-style record of the event. Soused and stoned, they jammed seemingly non-stop for the entire journey. Many of these onboard musical soirées come over as gloriously ragged and deeply soulful; others, however, get bogged down in a cacophonous mire of licks and solos. On stage, though, they mostly perform impeccably, none more so than Joplin, who tops it all with another one of her barnstorming performances.Author: Derek Adam
Time Out London Issue 1776: September 1-8, 2004
User reviews of this film
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- Strat Franks said...
- Posted on Jan 01 2010 12:53 One of the best music films ever made - a superb rock doc, funny, moving, and great music. They don't play like this any more!
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Bob Smeaton
Cast: Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, Buddy Guy, The Band
Genre(s): Documentaries
Rated: PG
Duration: 90 mins
UK Release: Sep 3 2004
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