Festival Express

R

Released Sep 9, 2003

1 hr. 30 min.

Documentary

Music

List

96%

80 Reviews

Tomatometer

85%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

This compilation of footage from the Grateful Dead's Canadian train tour depicts the height of the band's music and fame for five days in 1970, along with that of performances from Janis Joplin, Buddy Guy, The Band and The Flying Burrito Brothers. However, there's also a dark side shown alongside the seminal concerts, as when the train stops, the musicians are often confronted with worried promoters, inquisitive reporters and protesting students who can't afford ticket prices.

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Critics Consensus

Festival Express is a spellbinding documentary that nostalgically chronicles five days in the summer of 1970, when a train full of now- legendary rock perfomers jammed its way across Canada.

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Audience Member

Unbelievable raw time capsule of what happened to the rock n' roll party post-sixties. What happened traveling on the train to and from the shows was the show you wanted to get tickets to, not what happened in the stadiums. You also get a glimpse at the party starting to close out. You understand why Janis Joplin was losing her voice after you watch her and Rick Danko (The Band) drunkenly flirting through song, while Jerry Garcia tries to slip in there with his, I've always loved you, Janis! There's a little sadness in this one as it's a closing of an era, you see the stars haggling with their fans of 60s philosophy to pay to get into the stadiums, instead of embracing all that freedom and love. There's definitely a clashing here of what the dream was, and the pitfalls of the music industry.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

william s

I loved the music and the nostalgic aspect of this film.Tragic in as you can see how oh so tired Joplin seemed not long before her end,

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

one of the finest concert movies from the 70s great music and 70s vibe !

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Never a dull moment on two fun-packed discs. The only traveling festival ever was both a massive failure and a massive success. This, BTW started just 5 weeks after my first Dead show. Owned.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I had never heard of this festival tour until I saw the DVD for sale at my local DVD shop. I bought it on instinct, pessimistically expecting a low-budget, partly black-and-white montage with too many stills, but was fortunately captivated by this great, fly-on-the-wall look at what has to be one of the most exciting tours in history. It's all in colour, and there is also amazing sound; somewhat a necessity for capturing the on-stage performances of the great American bands of the time. Moreover, there's a large amount of bonus material, including concert footage of some of the lesser known artists who had the opportunity of a lifetime to play on the same bill as Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and the Band, as well as jam with them on this rail-trip of a lifetime.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

trip out and flashback, man. this movie is far out. i wish i was there.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

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Bob Smeaton

Director

Janis Joplin

Self

The Grateful Dead

Themselves

Gavin Poolman

Producer

John Trapman

Producer

Eddie Kramer

Music Mixer

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B-

Sep 7, 2011

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Peter Travers

Rolling Stone

Rated: 3.5/4

Aug 14, 2007

Full Review

Marjorie Baumgarten

Austin Chronicle

It captures a pure moment in time when musical hearts and minds beat as one, when musicians of all stripes came together to work and play hard and leave behind one damn fine-looking corpse.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 19, 2004

Full Review

Jason Gorber

Film Scouts

Man, what were they smoking? Oh, yeah, right. That.

Rated: A

Jun 21, 2007

Full Review

Ethan Alter

NYC Film Critic

Rated: 3.5/5

Mar 5, 2005

Full Review

Robert Roten

Laramie Movie Scope

A good snapshot of an earlier, simpler, more innocent time that seems now even longer ago than it was.

Rated: B

Feb 1, 2005

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

This compilation of footage from the Grateful Dead's Canadian train tour depicts the height of the band's music and fame for five days in 1970, along with that of performances from Janis Joplin, Buddy Guy, The Band and The Flying Burrito Brothers. However, there's also a dark side shown alongside the seminal concerts, as when the train stops, the musicians are often confronted with worried promoters, inquisitive reporters and protesting students who can't afford ticket prices.

Director: Bob Smeaton
Distributor: ThinkFilm
Production Co: Apollo Films Ltd.
Rating: R (Some Language)
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 9, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 11, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.2M
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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