Being a Glastonbury attender for many years. I thought Julian Temple captured the whole essence of Glastonbury (of old) and you just wish it could be sunny & beautiful every year watching great bands. It is quite an occasion ;o) But like all the news, features, pictures, etc in the media of Glastonbury. This documentary does tend to show more of the wacky, cosmic, religious, colourful, muddy, naked people than the usual normal festival goer who just gets p*ssed and stoned (Otherwise it would be boring documentary!)Glastonbury has now reached a crossroad and it's a double edged sword. Michael Eavis states that he had to get rid of the travellers because of trouble and he also built a huge fence to keep out the riff-raff. In a way we can totally applaud that because who wants our possessions stolen or 400,000 people at an event that's meant to hold 150,000? But in doing that Glastonbury has become a very corporate, yuppy and trendy event. What's happened to the HEART & SOUL of Glastonbury? I've also heard that the fabulous Los Vagueness is now no longer there ;o(So it's ironic that in this year (2008) Glastonbury has not sold out(yet).So please watch "Glastonbury" again to bring back long lost happy memories ;o)
... View MoreGlastonbury is special, a festival you can go to where the sum is greater than all the parts, where the lunacy of the some of the punters is as essential a part as the headline acts a festival you can lose yourself in.As a Glasto veteran from 1981 until the present I was fascinated by what this film would show, would it reflect the nature, feel and fun of Glasto, would it portray the worst with the best, most of all would you get a feel for the magic of it and would a veteran be transported back there for a couple of hours.This film succeeds on all counts. Beautifully edited with a soundtrack including as wide a range of the music as has been encountered in Michael Eavis' fields I did indeed feel transported.It manages to reflect all the essential elements, the people and the lunacy, the beauty, the sounds, the sights and even the smells of Glastonbury.It tells the history accurately with no punches pulled. It shows the terrible mud and floods as well as the beautiful in one scene of a trapeze artist suspended under a balloon.It captures the spirit of Glastonbury Festival.A magnificent achievement.
... View More35 years and still going strong this documentary from Julien temple tell the story of one of the worlds best festivals. From day one until the most recent the film is punctuated with memorable performances from acts like the prodigy, pulp, Joe Strummer, David Bowie, Bjork and Dr.John to name but a few. There are moments that gave me goose bumps, I suppose it helps that I was there, but none the less there are some amazing performances. As I started watching the film I began to feel it was very one-sided all great atmosphere and friendly smiles and I was pleasantly surprised when it told the side of Glastonbury we would all wish wasn't there, drugs, robberies (no mention of the shooting in 1996) and it even tells the story of the travellers that used to go to Stonehenge before they were stopped and it briefly touches on the battle of the bean field. Elsewhere it gives an overview of everything the festival has become apart from the music. Wild sculptures, musical jams, costumes and over the top performance art all is here along side the things you'd expect tie dye, silly hats and naked hippies. If you've ever been to Glastonbury then you will enjoy this loving take on all its mystical aspects, if you've never been you'll get to see just what you've missed. Music, mud and mayhem combine to make this an amazing inside glance at a world that only exists for five days once a year.
... View MoreAs the King of all music festivals takes a break in 2006, Temple's documentary is the closest thing you can get to the Glastonbury experience this year. It charts the history of the event, but is formed in a way that recreates the feeling of three days of fun rather than simply following chronology.Two hours and twenty minutes might seem a long time for a documentary, but as you're kept smiling most of the way through, it's not in the least overbearing. We are treated to a number of musical highlights, but just as entertaining is meeting some of the weird and wonderful people that make the festival so unique. Particularly memorable are the three-man family team who run the tanker that sucks the, aherm, human waste out of the portaloos such are the moronic faces of the two children, they really could be characters from Little Britain!
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