Festival Express (DVD, 2004)

This film about a concert that I attended in Calgary has finally arrived. I often wondered why there was never any footage of this spectacular concert and now I know why. Seeing a young Jerry Garcia and Robbie Robertson in their prime is worth it alone. I will always remember Janis Joplin's performance that I can not watch without it bringing chills to my body. It is without a doubt her finest, and how sad she was dead within 3 months. I highly recommend this to anyone that was in their 20's in the early 70's and wants to experience the peace and love that abounded during the Vietnam and Watergate era among the hippies.

I saw the original out takes in about 1970, with my boyfriend, Garth Hudson of "The Band". It was terrific! We attended the Festival Express together, flying from place to place, as Garth was hesitant about the train experience. We did not miss much! Every concert was terrific, in spite of disruption on one stop.
Calgary was outstanding. Everyone was in top form. That night I met Janis Joplin, who gave one of her all time top performances. Besides being an outstanding and unequaled talent, she was kind, cheerful and delightful to be around. Great Speckled Bird, Ian and Sylvia, all the performers are awesome talents and human beings. Garth, Bonnie, Delaney, Ed Anderson (sound engineer) and I all went to the Calgary Zoo together, I have some great photos. Everyone worked hard, and had a great time.
This is history, unparalleled talent, a do not miss if you love this music and have an interest in the people who created it. Although it is a shame that it took so long to be released, I hope someone who was involved in the process benefits from it.

I bought this for myself. It chronicles the Grateful Dead, the Band, Janis Joplin, Flying Burrito Brothers, Buddy Guy and various other bands of the 70's as they embark on a train ride across the U.S. through Canada and all the fun and stuff they get into. the director and people that were there during the festivals, police-fights etc...v.ery cool way of documenting the largest on-train festival -- would have loved to be there :) the extra dvd has outtakes and interviews not seen in the original production.

What a great piece of music history!! After all these years!!! The only complaint I have is that there isn't any more footage of it although I'm sure in another 10 years or so their will be a "director's cut" including previously unreleased footage. The Canadian band Mashmakkam is a must see. They are awesome in this footage!!! I'm so glad this came out finally!! Now, if they'd just release Celebration at Big Sur....

Festival Express is a 2003 rockumentary film about the 1970 chartered train tour across Canada taken by some of the world's biggest rock bands, including The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, and The Band. The documentary film combines footage shot during the 1970 concerts, as well as the train ride itself, interspersed with present-day interviews with tour participants sharing their often hilarious recollections of the time. The idea was that rather than flying to each city, the musicians would travel by chartered Canadian National Railways train, fostering an atmosphere of musical creativity and closeness between the performers. The trips between cities were a mix of jam sessions and partying, fueled by excess alcohol.

I liked the film for two reasons. I am a fan of the music and performers of the '60s and '70s and a fan of trains(especially chartered train tours). My husband had viewed the film and highly recommended it. When I found it listed on eBay I just couldn't resist purchasing it as a Buy It Now. I would recommend it to both music and train buffs.

i saw part of it on the documentary channel and was intrigued by the footage on the trains going accross Canada. some great dialogue and impromtu scenes. a must see for any fan of classic rock!

quality and price & fast great communicator tracking information would deal with again------great e seller

It's nice to ride back in time and witness the Band, the Dead and Buddy Guy in their early years. Definately was an experience amd the quality is very good.

I enjoyed the dvd and other musicians of that era. The price was right and the delivery time was ok. Will reccomend to others I know. Thsnk you.

My mom, as a musician, thought I would like this movie and I loved it! I watched it probably 100 times since I got it for my 17th Birthday. It gives you alot of behind-the-scenes insight into the adventures of those musicians and I even developed a little crush on Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead. He was so young and cute in that movie. There is a spectacular scene in the movie of Jerry, Janis and Bob singing a song on the train, apparently under the influence of many different substances that will blow your mind!

If you like MUSIC FROM THIS ERA YOU HAVE TO HAVE THIS DOCUMENTORY. NO DISSAPOINTMENTS WITH THIS FILM THE QUALITY WAS GOOD AND THE CONTENT WAS AWESOME WISH I WAS OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE BEEN ON THAT TRAIN, AND HAVING A PARTY WHITH ALL THE MUSICIANS JOPLIN WAS INSPIRATIONAL THE GREATFULL DEAD WOW GARCIA HAD THE SAME HAIR ALL HIS LIFE A MUST HAVE.

New Speedway Boogie,Dead wouldnt do it live after 1970 till2/19/1991.PIGPEN ON FILM! JERRY DRUNK! BOBBIE with ponytail.

I watched Festival Express as soon as I received it and I was so happy to finally get to see Janice Joplin in action. It's really fun to watch her having a good time on the train too. It's amazing that all this footage was stored away for so long. Good thing, someone finally found that treasure as explained in the "making of the movie". Do not forget the extra features on disc 1 as there are many songs not in the movie part. I really liked Buddy Guy too. Didn't really know him until now.

Too bad the "protesters" were allowed to do so much damage to the project. Unfortunately these issues are very tricky to deal with. The whole world will be watching and condemming if the measures taken against these "protesters" (who most of the time are in fact "troublemakers looking for some action") is too drastic. There is such of fine line between protecting "human rights" and protecting the security of the rest of the population.

This DVD will definitely be part of my DVD music collection! A++++++++++

This movie was some rare footage that I did not know existed. It was fun to watch and share with family.

I can't say enough about the concert footage. It is great to watch the performances of these artists. Some of my favorite music. The whole train thing seems unreal in today’s world, maybe it was unheard of also in '70 and that is what makes it so cool. Makes you appreciate the promoters of this extravaganza. Impressive how Ken Walker pulled it all together just to have it financially fail. It made me read up on him and learn how this turned out to be the start of a downhill slide. He sure didn't let it effect the show however.

Interesting stories about how some of the fans thought everything should be free. Not quite all peace and love in those days.

A friend recommended this to me. I thought it would be hard to locate but there it was on Half.com!!!

This is a great movie if you want to remember the late 1960s. It has a lot of good footage from the Festival Express concerts across Canada.

Being a long time Dead Head, I couldn't pass up an inside look into the early Grateful Dead. I also really dug the footage of Janis Joplin, it is a rare glimpse at her off stage.

SINCE MONTEREY POP FILM APPEAR AND AFTER WOODSTOCK, NEVER ROCK PUBLIC WAS MORE EXCITED BECAUSE HERE IN MY COUNTRY ARGENTINA THE BAFICI 2004 WAS THE PREMIER;FIRSTLY ALL THE PEOPLE EXPECTED REALLY HUNGRY FOR NEW JANIS JOPLIN FILM UNVALUABLE ALSO FOR ALL LEAGUE MUSICIANS FROM THE SPACE SURELLLY.
BUDDY GUY AND YOUR LOVELY VERSION FOR MONEY UFFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!FANTASTIC,ALL THIS STUFF IS REALLY ONLY DREAMED THE JAMMING TRAIN UNFORGETTABLE.
FOR BUY THIS DVD I HAVE INFINITY REASONS IS SUPERVALUABLE

I live in a rural area so I do not get to big stores to buy some of the music and DVD's I would like. I had heard of this video about 2 years ago but I had not seen it in stores. This is great footage of the Hippie children and their music. Because these bands are no longer together and many of the members are dead, it is a great way to see them in their prime. This was a unique project to invite bands to travel across Canada on a train to preform concerts along the way. On the train the bands jammed and had a great time. This film footage was filmed in 1970, sat in someone's garage for 20 plus years, was tied up in court battles for nearly 10 years and now we have the final project. If you like Janice Joplin, Greatful Dead, and the Band it's a great ride.