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Taking Woodstock

Release Date 13 Nov 2009 TBA

  • User rating
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
  • Critic rating

  90% of raters want to see this movie

Certificate: 15

Genre:

It's 1969, and Elliot Tiber, a down-on-his-luck interior designer in Greenwich Village, New York, has to move back upstate to help his parents run their dilapidated Catskills motel, The El Monaco. The bank's about to foreclose; his father wants to burn the place down, but hasn't paid the insurance; and Elliot is still figuring how to come out to his parents. When Elliot hears that a neighboring town has pulled the permit on a hippie music festival, he calls the producers, thinking he could drum up some much-needed business for the motel. Three weeks later, half a million people are on their way to his neighbor's farm in White Lake, N.Y., and Elliot finds himself swept up in a generation-defining experience that would change his life, and American culture, forever. The film features a standout ensemble cast and songs from a score of '60s musical icons, including The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane and Country Joe and the Fish -- plus a new recording of "Freedom" from Richie Havens.

Cast:
Demetri Martin | Imelda Staunton | Henry Goodman | Jonathan Groff | Emile Hirsch | Eugene Levy

Writers:
Elliot Tiber | Tom Monte

Producers:
Ang Lee

Directors:
Ang Lee

Movies.ie Critic Review

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  • Avg User rating
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.

User Reviews

    • Currently 2/5 Stars.

    mart

    Amazing that Ang Lee can make such a listless movie about arguably one of the most high energy times in recent history

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    ging-grr

    Enjoyable movie, with a fantastic ensemble cast, all of whom put in great performances. Some great comedic moments and a good script.

    • Currently 4/5 Stars.

    kal-el-returns

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    crazylegs

    • Currently 4/5 Stars.

    ssconnolly

    When Ang Lee was hired to direct period piece Sense and Sensibility in 1995 he had already made two Oscar nominated films, three films in total. Since then he has had a very interesting career. He made a martial arts film (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) a film about gay Cowboys (Brokeback Mountain), a film which was basically a porno with a better story (Lust,Caution) and then The Hulk. Now he gives us a wonderful film about how the legendary Woodstock festival came to be and the impact it had on the people of the town and the young man who brought it there. Now Ang Lee brings us Taking Woodstock, perhaps the most laid back and enjoyable film of the year. Lee has again made a visually magnificent, dramatic and tender film which is almost impossible not to fall in love with. He manages to make the film feel real. While most directors would show authenticity by throwing in some Jimi Hendrix look-a-like busting out the star-spangled banner Lee made the film authentic by simply telling the story. He has also for the first time made us laugh, a lot. The film is hilarious throughout and there's comedy here for everyone to enjoy. Nudity, amusing misunderstandings, angry old people getting in fights, stoners, if you have a sense of humour you'll think something is funny, and I defy anyone not to laugh at Liev Schreiber dressed as a woman. The film is a fantastic addition to Lee's already exceptional career and it in my opinion shows his versatility better than any other. It's not all positive though. The film does lose it's momentum towards the end and soon becomes quite tedious. As a result of this you find yourself waiting for the ending but it has that multiple ending thing that was so annoyingly evident in the last Lord of the Rings installment. The film at times also gets far too caught up in the family issues challenged in the film. Also Lee underused many of the films best performers. Emile Hirsch, along with Schreiber, was my favourite character in the film and despite being in a lot of the scenes he never got a lot to say. Eugene Levy and Dan Fogler were also brilliant and very funny but again they were rarely used, which was suprising in the case of Levy as in the film Woodstock was actually performed on his fields. This being said I have few complaints about the actual cast displays. It's rare that a cast of this size would all provide great performances but that was the case here. Demetri Martin was not the best leading man but he was by no means bad and seeing though this is his first film role he did do well. Martin shared almost all his screen time with Henry Goodman and Imelda Staunton who were excellent playing his eccentric parents. So all in all I thought this was a brilliant film. It was funny, charming and engaging without trying to hard and Lee's direction is superb. There are a few scenes of the film which are visually breathtaking and Lee manages to bring a delicacy to the chaotic world of the film. The cast are all outstanding and they'll make you laugh more than any film has since The Hangover (Doesn't seem that long ago but just check how many bad comedies there has been since). Now if you go into this expecting a documentary about Woodstock then you will leave very angry. This is not a story about Woodstock, there is so much more to this film than Woodstock and if you sit back and just watch then you will fall in love with this film like I have because it is quite simply a wonderfully laid back and entertaining film.

    • Currently 2/5 Stars.

    vu1999uk

    While this film has a good start, it quickly degenerates into a boring and meandering mess that literally goes nowhere. The cast do there best and are worth the second star, but this film is a huge let down.

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