Director: D.A. Pennebaker
Year Released: 1968
Rating: 3.0
Laid-back documentary covering the Monterey Pop festival (put on by John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas) done in director Pennebaker's 'verite style' - all footage is good footage, regardless of angle or whether or not things are in focus (though the technique gets to be a bit much, he and his large team of photographers get some incredible shots). The film alone - without the supplemental footage - is a little too brief (it misses out on some of the other performers, including The Grateful Dead), but what is included is impressive: Janis Joplin sings her heart out, Ravi Shankar plays the sitar so hard I kept looking to see if his fingers were bleeding (he earned a standing ovation) and two guitars lose their lives at the hands of both Pete Townshend (smashing with demented glee) and Jimi Hendrix (who "mates" with the amp, then the guitar, then sets the bloody thing on fire). If it weren't for the zoned-out idiot hippies, I'd really have liked to have been there.
