One of my all time favorites.

Excellent but underrated film

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

As I had just turned 10 the summer of Woodstock and lived on the West Coast, I was not able to go.... but have a fascination with the festival even now. I love the documentary "Woodstock", made in 1970, which is full of musical performances, interviews with attendees and with organizers. Some reviews of this movie complain that "Taking Woodstock" does not include enough music, however if the music is what you yearn to see/hear, do enjoy the documentary. Of the 30 or so bands who performed at Woodstock, fifteen or so are included in the documentary. If you want to learn the history of the event, this movie is ideal. I especially enjoyed seeing the clever ideas and ability to create a phenomenon. To think they were not sure if many wold attend... had some horrid weather... financial difficulties (these are alluded to in the documentary as well)... experienced nay- sayers and bad press... and yet, it truly ended as three days of Peace, Love, and Music.

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child. First impressions, on my second hand blu-ray cover the title grabbed my attention but did not make me want to buy. The picture reminded me of the Australian satire Strictly Ballroom (1992) and that did make me want to buy. In the UK, the 1960's was a time when satire became a major 'modern' comedy form. Strictly Ballroom as a more recent Australian example that I could rate as warm fun. If one did not experience the 1960's personally then a lot of what I understand to be the power of Taking Woodstock might be lost, not that it will be empty, just the richness of the detail would not be noticed so much. The portrayal of the lookalike to Abbie Hoffman as just one of the scrumptious cultural elements that might pass over those who never browsed Oz or it or the Rolling Stone of that time. That portrayal is mostly right but sometimes iffy, not warm, and re-watching Woodstock proper shows me that the actual guy who organised the event also looked like that. I was seeing parallels that maybe do not exist. When the music documentary feature Woodstock (1970) appeared locally, it did not click too much with me, I was walking dead, but watching it on DVD some of the interviews did seem worthwhile. Re-watching it, some of the music as well. Satire. This particular adaptation of the Woodstock legend does not take things seriously, everything is up for grabs by the satire machine, but I would guess that many from that time might accept it as fun humour. Much UK 1960's satire was really biting the ankles of the old world and some seem to experience this particular story as biting the ankles of Woodstock Nation, which is now old world. I personally consider that this is an example of such satire being capable of having gentleness and taste. Some consider it as an attack against sacred cows, I consider it to be in keeping with some relevant comedy of those times, comedy often centred on sacred cows. The ethics of comedy as a difficult area. iCarly, otherwise unusually excellent modern USA children's television, does occasionally include satire re tramps and other lost ones. To me that is psycho. A 1980's UK television sitcom included satire re the unemployed and to me that really totally felt sick. In both cases it is humour that laughs at those crippled by modern ideas of good, having a laugh at the expense of the victim classes. Very modern. Yet I can accept Taking Woodstock as an example of okay satire. Later episodes of iCarly are often okay as well. Taking Woodstock gently does a take on a legend of gentle sacred cows who do not believe in the sacrifice of cows. A field full of us. * So that felt true after watching it a couple of times. Re-watch it a third time after drafting the above and I am maybe overdoing the praise a lot, but for me the first impression was good. I just need to not re-watch this all that often. The satire in the characterisation of the parents. I would have put it slightly differently, old time religion linking to the politics, except that is there too. For me, the late sixties was a spiritual effect rather than spiritual. The early sixties as spiritual, if one could but comprehend as it seemed more a reaction against spiritual. The mid sixties as old world values waving a flag. Sometimes I feel like a motherless child.

It's lovely to see a movie on a pop culture theme where the scenes and actors can just... breathe. The direction is excellent, and the actors are up to it. It's particularly wonderful to watch Martin at work; he's a fine actor, and able to create a believable and lovable character.People complain about the lack of period verisimilitude.... Heck, I guess I should just say it, that the flick doesn't make any bogus feints toward reproducing the stage action. But I like that. Yeah, it happened; there was a stage scene, and it was happening and wonderful and all that... but the moral of the movie is that life is a stage that, really, is every bit as happening and wonderful and all that. And that's how it should be.Note that, thus far, I'm talking content. It's a sure sign of how I feel; that the movie mainlines content, with ease and cleverly deployed and understated artifice. But, of course, the artifice is there. All the technical work is great. You'll find the usual elements, and a panoply of special stuff, like split screen and extended tracking shots.One thing that feels really good is the sense that an important element of the Woodstock experience is being promoted through this flick, that one rarely got from the traditional media of the time; the idea that a lot of these massive be-in affaires were simply agglomerations of people who really just wanted to enjoy something together. I like the way the flick delivers this message.

I saw "Taking Woodstock' @ the wonderful River Oaks Theater in Houston, Tx. a while back & really anticipated watching it! They were My Generation... that helped Our World make some Course Corrections... though not enough, yet!! I recently bought a used DVD of it from Blockbuster & just finished re-watching it! Overall, it was a very good film & brought back so many Great Memories & filled in some valuable & entertaining history!! Though I didn't go to Woodstock, I was definitely a Psychedelic Hippie, & loved some of the Psychedelic Scenes of the movie... very well done, as it even evoked the 'feeling experience' along w/ some of the visuals!! However, after watching it again, as in my 1st viewing, I was upset & disappointed @ the Underlying Gay Theme of the movie... which Definitely was not nearly as prevalent then as today!! That's not what Woodstock was anywhere near about... yeah for sure Peace & Love, but just like the part in the *Woodstock Record* when one of the Organizers said to everyone over the loudspeakers, "This is now a Free Concert but, That doesn't mean That Anything Goes!!" There are Rules to Life... *Not Just Anything Goes*...i.e. the 'glbt' agenda is outside that Parameter of Right & Wrong; just as Adultery, Prostitution, Pedophilia, Lying, Cheating, Killing, etc.!! This was just Ang Lee's, who I've heard is gay, twisted misconception & distortion, & his way supporting the 'glbt' way!! Long Live Woodstock, an Event like None Other***