Message to Love - The Isle of Wight Festival (1996)
In August 1970, 600,000 fans flocked to the Isle of Wight to witness the third and final festival to be held on the island. Besides the music, they also got a look at the greed, cynicism and corruption that would plague the music industry for years to come. They also witnessed the final, drugged out performance of Jimi Hendrix in England just two weeks before he would meet a tragic death. When it all was over, the fans view of rock and roll was never the same.
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Memorable, crazy movie
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
this is a great piece of the late 60's early 70's festival scene. It is a real moving tribute to a more free wheelin' lifestyle, being that it is one of the last major festivals.Although, a lot of the festival turned out badly (cops being uptight about drugs, violence in the audience, performers threatening not to play because of money, on-stage fires, etc.), an underlying message of hope and peace prevails. The film shows the dying nature of the ideal "hippy" spirit and marks a change in time from the revolutionary late 60's to the more straight laced 70's. Performances by Joni Mitchel, The Who, The Doors, Joan Baez, etc. make it a great concert to watch.
Rory Gallagher & Taste - raw energy and talent - stole the Isle of Wight festival. They had 3 or 4 encores. Fusion of jazz and blues. Rory mixed all genres of blues - from acoustic, Mississippi Delta, Chicago.He combined a guitar style with his singing - that made the guitar sound like an extension of his voice. Wailing away.Eric Clapton was like a sheep in comparison to this Celtic tiger.Some songs include: Bullfrog blues, Used to be, Cant believe its true. For the last time. Sinnerboy. Messin with the kid, What in the world.Hes played with the greats - including Jack Bruce in Rockpalast concerts. Playing with Muddy Waters in London was the highlight of his career.
It was great to watch this film and see live footage of the great Irish rock guitarist Rory Gallaher, performing with his band Taste. Sadly, Rory is no longer with us. Indeed, watching this film showed just how many of our famous and infamous rock stars have passed away since 1970. Hendrix, Morrison, Moon, Entwhistle, Gallagher - all gone to that great gig in the sky.
This film chronicles the 1970 Isle of Wight Rock Festival from behind and on front of the scenes. Incredible concert footage of Hendrix and Jim Morrison (both of whom died just after the festival) as well as numerous other pop, folk, and rock artists make this film wonderful just as a concert video. Even more revealing, though, is footage of the festival's production and management, including riots, rebellious patrons, break-ins, and mordant commentary on why rock festivals don't happen anymore. Beautifully paced and edited.