Festival Express (2003)

Directed by

Bob Smeaton

Genre

documentary film, musical film, rockumentary

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

1h 30m

Rated

R

Rating

7.2 of 10 from 26 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A documentary about a 1970 train tour across Canada carrying famous rock musicians like the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin. The film shows concert performances and behind-the-scenes moments on the train, mixing old footage with new interviews from the people who were there.

nostalgicupbeatfreewheelingintimatelivelyinformalcelebratoryearthy

What happens

Festival Express is a 2003 British documentary film about the 1970 train tour of the same name across Canada taken by some of North America's most popular rock bands, including Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Buddy Guy, Flying Burrito Bros, Ian & Sylvia's Great Speckled Bird, Mountain and Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. The film combines footage of the 1970 concerts and on the train, interspersed with contemporary recollections of the tour by its participants. The film, released by THINKFilm in the United States and Optimum Releasing in the United Kingdom, was produced by Gavin Poolman (son of the original 1970 film shoot's producer, Willem Poolman) together with John Trapman, and directed by double Grammy Award-winner Bob Smeaton, with music produced by Eddie Kramer and featuring original footage shot in 1970 by Academy Award–winning cinematographer Peter Biziou. The original 1970 footage was filmed by director Frank Cvitanovich. A DVD release followed the film's 2003 theatrical run. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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