Fantastic Voyage (1966) * * *

Set during the Cold War, CIA agent Charles Grant (Stephen Boyd) is called in to escort scientist Jan Benes (Jean Del Val), a man behind the Iron Curtain with information vital to the safety and security of the United States. When their motorcade is attacked, Benes is injured, causing a blood clot to form in his brain and he goes into a coma. Grant and Benes escape to the West. The United States and the former Soviet Union have both developed technology that allows matter to be miniaturized using a process that shrinks individual atoms, but its value is limited because objects shrunk return to normal size after a period of time--the smaller an object, the quicker it reverts.

Benes figured out how to make the shrinking process work indefinitely to keep soldiers shrunken for long periods. To save his life, agent Grant, pilot Captain Bill Owens (William Redfield), Dr. Michaels (Donald Pleasence), surgeon Dr. Peter Duval (Arthur Kennedy) and his assistant Cora Peterson (Raquel Welch) board a high-tech military submarine, the Proteus, which is then miniaturized in a lab and injected into Benes body. The ship is reduced to one micrometre in length, giving the team only one hour to repair the clot. After that time, the submarine will revert to its normal size and become large enough for Benes' immune system to detect and attack.

Grant: Wait a minute! They can't shrink me.
General Carter: Our miniaturizer can shrink anything.
Grant: But I don't want to be miniaturized!
General Carter: It's just for an hour.
Grant: Not even for a minute!
General Carter: (after the briefing before the mission) Any questions?
Grant: Yes. When can I catch the next train back to town?
Cora Peterson: We're going to see things no one has ever seen before. Just think about it.
Grant: That's the trouble. I am.

The crew of the Proteus faces many obstacles in a colorful and thrill-packed journey inside the human body. They encounter the body's natural defense systems, nearly get smashed by the force of the beating heart, and have to repair damaged blood vessels in the brain. "That's plasma," somebody mentions, and now we know what the blood in the human body looks like from the point of view of a germ. They are forced to detour through the heart where a temporary cardiac arrest is induced to avoid destructive turbulence, the inner ear (all in the lab must remain quiet to prevent turbulence) and the alveoli of the lungs where they replenish their supply of oxygen. When the surgical laser needed to destroy the clot is damaged, it becomes obvious there is a saboteur on the mission. They cannibalize their radio to repair the laser. When they finally reach the brain clot, there are only six minutes remaining to operate and then exit the body.

The traitor, Dr. Michaels, knocks Owens out and takes control of the Proteus while the rest of the crew is outside for the operation. Duval successfully removes the clot with the laser. Michaels tries to crash the sub into the clot area to kill Benes, but Grant fires the laser at the ship, causing it to veer away and crash. The climax comes when the good guys are out of the capsule, clearing the blood clot with a laser ray, and the evil saboteur tries to run them down. Just then a white corpuscle, a great cotton avalanche, looms to engulf the operation. Michaels is trapped in the wreckage and killed when a white blood cell attacks and destroys the Proteus. Grant saves Owens from the ship, and they all swim desperately to one of the eyes, where they escape via a teardrop.

Dr. Peter Duval: The medieval philosophers were right. Man is the center of the universe. We stand in the middle of infinity between outer and inner space, and there's no limit to either.

FANTASTIC VOYAGE is the original psychedelic inner-space adventure. Stephen Boyd stars as a colorless commander sent to keep an eye on things, while Donald Pleasance is suitably twitchy as the claustrophobic medical consultant. Raquel Welch performs well and is not especially sexy. The science is shaky at best, but the imaginative spectacle is marvelous: scuba-diving surgeons battle an attack by white corpuscles, get caught in a tornado-like storm in the lungs, travel the aorta like daredevil surfers, and struggle to survive sabotage from one of their own.

The cast also includes: Edmond O'Brien (General Carter), Arthur O'Connell (Col. Donald Reid), Barry Coe (Communications Aide), Ken Scott (Secret Service), Shelby Grant (Nurse), James Brolin (Technician), Brendan Fitzgerald (Wireless Operator), Brendon Boone (MP), and Christopher Riordan (Young Scientist). Leonard Rosenman composed the original music. Harry Kleiner wrote the screenplay from David Duncan's adaptation of a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby. Richard Fleischer directed.

Fans of 1960's science fiction will appreciation the deluxe DVD reissue of FANTASTIC VOYAGE put out by Fox. While very much a product of the mid 1960s, the movie holds up surprisingly well in just about every area. We get a good looking transfer for the film. It isn't perfect but it couldn't be because of the source material. Some shots appear soft and a bit blurry due to the process photography/visual effects added to shots. But it's unavoidable and typical of films from this time before digital video. Colors are bold and bright.

There are some good extras as well. Except for the theatrical trailer, all the extras were created especially for this release. The featurette on visual effects has special effects cinematographer Richard Edlund discussing the difficulty of shooting a film like FANTASTIC VOYAGE in 1965. Like FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956), it pushed the barrier of visual effects for its time. Edlund points out that building the Proetus both in full size and miniature allowed director Richard Flesicher opportunities that most directors wouldn't have in being flexible in his shooting. We also get an isolated music score with a commentary track as well featuring Nick Redman, Jon Burlingame and Jeff Bond discussing Leonard Rosenman's score. They are quiet about 40 minutes in when Rosenman's score kicks in but the first 40 minutes these music/film historians focus on everything from the casting, to bits of trivia about the shooting of the film. There is also a storyboard to film comparison of the whirlpool scene as well as a deleted scene from the script with storyboard illustrations. The electronic press booklet includes the original press booklet. Plus we get lobby cards, posters, radio and TV ads as well as the original theatrical trailer. The interactive portion of the gallery also allows us a 360 view of the 5 foot model of the Proetus as well as its slightly smaller version used for long shots and visual effects mattes. Fox has done a very nice job on this 40th Anniversary Edition of this classic Science Fiction film.

Bantam Books obtained the rights for a paperback novelization based on the screenplay and approached Isaac Asimov to write it. According to the introduction of the novel, Asimov was rather reluctant to write it because he believed that the miniaturization of matter is physically impossible. But he decided that it was still good fodder for story-telling and that it could still make for some intelligent reading. Asimov had the crew provoke the white cell into following them, so that it drags the submarine to the tearduct. The submarine then expands outside Benes' body. Because the novelization was released six months before the movie, many people believed Asimov's book had inspired the movie. "Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain", was written by Isaac Asimov as an attempt to develop and present his own story apart from the 1966 screenplay. This novel is not a sequel to the original, but instead is a separate story taking place in the Soviet Union with an entirely different set of characters.

A comic book adaptation of the film was released by Gold Key in 1967. Drawn by industry legend Wally Wood, the comic follows the plot of the movie with general accuracy, but many scenes are depicted differently and/or outright dropped, and the ending is given an epilogue similar as that seen in some of the early draft scripts for the film. Two years after the film was released, ABC aired an animated series on Saturday mornings. The series was produced by Filmation. In the series, a different team of scientists perform their missions in a craft known as Voyager, a submarine which features wedge-shaped wings and a large swept T-tail, and is capable of flight. A model kit of Voyager was offered by Aurora Model Company for several years, and has become a sought-after collectors' item since then. As of June, 2008, the Voyager kit has been re-released by the Moebius model company.

Salvador Dali did a painting inspired by FANTASTIC VOYAGE. The film took home Oscars for Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction (Jack Martin Smith, Dale Hennesy, Walter M. Scott, Stuart A. Reiss). One scientific contradiction is how do miniaturized humans breathe full-sized air molecules?

Woodstock (1970) * * *

WOODSTOCK is a documentary on the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, New York from August 15 - August 18, 1969. It was located on Max Yasgur's 600 acre dairy farm and gives an intimate look at the festival from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers. Negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes, to the arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of almost 500,000. It is widely considered the most famous rock festival ever held. For many, it exemplified the counterculture of the 1960s and the "hippie era". Many of the best-known musicians of the times appeared during the rainy weekend. So many people turned up that the festival had to be declared free.

Max Yasgur to crowd: This is the largest group of people ever assembled in one place, and I think you people have proven something to the world: that a half a million kids can get together and have three days of fun and music and have nothing but fun and music, and I God bless you for it!

The festival is named "Woodstock" because it was originally scheduled to take place in the town of Woodstock, in Ulster County. However, the town offered no appropriate site to host such a large event due to their belief that over a million people would attend. A site was found in the town of Wallkill. When local opposition arose, the event was almost canceled, but Sam Yasgur persuaded his father Max to allow the concert to be held on the family's alfalfa field, located in Sullivan County, about 40 miles southwest of Woodstock. Although the show had been planned for a maximum of 200,000 attendees, over 400,000 eventually attended, most of whom did not pay admission. The highways leading to the concert were jammed with traffic. People abandoned their cars and walked for miles to the concert area. Performers came and went via helicopter because it was the only way in or out. The weekend was rainy, facilities were overcrowded, and attendees shared food, alcoholic beverages, and drugs. Local residents of this modest tourist-oriented area gave blankets and food to some concertgoers.

Hugh Romney: Good morning! What we have in mind is breakfast in bed for four hundred thousand. We must be in heaven, man! There's always a little bit of heaven in a disaster area.

Woodstock's promoters were Michael Lang, Artie Kornfeld, John Roberts and Joel Rosenman. Lang was a hippie who had owned a head shop and hoped to build a recording studio in the Woodstock area to serve artists such as Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin, who had homes nearby. When Lang and Kornfeld presented the idea to Rosenman and Roberts, Rosenman hatched the idea of a rock concert. After toying with an Age of Aquarius theme, they settled on the slogan "Three Days of Peace and Music", partly as a way to placate suspicious local officials and partly to appeal to anti-war sentiment. They hired commercial artist Arnold Skolnick to design the artwork, which incorporated a catbird design.

This documentary covers the 3 day music festival that symbolized the late 1960s in terms of musical, social and political ideology of the era. American audiences are introduced to Ten Years After, featuring guitarist Alvin Lee. Jimi Hendix, The Who and Joe Cocker give riveting performances. As naked flower children romp, the New York freeway is closed because of traffic congestion. Music lovers leave their cars and travel on foot to experience torrential downpours of rain, food shortages and non-stop music. Jefferson Airplane gives the wake up call with their song "Volunteers Of America". Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young give an uneven live performance, their second ever. John Sebastian gives an impromptu set with a borrowed guitar from Tim Hardin. Santana, Sly and The Family Stone, Sha-Na-Na, Arlo Guthrie, Richie Havens and Joan Baez also appear. The Grateful Dead, The Everly Brothers, Credence Clearwater Revival and Janis Joplin performed but were not shown in the original film. The Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia recalled that it was the worse live show the band ever did, ironic for a band known for their spirited live performances. Because of problems with the sound, John Fogerty didn’t want Creedence Clearwater Revival’s performance included.

David Crosby: This is our second gig.
Stephen Stills: This is the second time we've ever played in front of people, man, we're scared shitless.

WOODSTOCK set the standard for all rockumentaries to come. Sensing that the now-legendary 1969 Woodstock concert would be something more than a mere "happening", director Michael Wadleigh brought along a battalion of cinematographers and assistants. He arrived with sixteen camera operators from Warner Bros. and thousands of reels of film. They reportedly shot 120 miles of footage, which was edited primarily by Thelma Schoonmaker, who would go on to cut most of Martin Scorsese’s movies--with help from Scorsese as an apprentice editor. Utilizing widescreen, splitscreen, and stereo-sound technology to the utmost, Wadleigh puts us right in the middle of the 400,000 screaming, mud-caked spectators, then zooms in to loving closeups of the stars.

As a result, what could have been an aloof, detached record of the landmark concert is as "up close and personal" as it was possible to get without actually being there. The finished product won the 1970 Oscar for Best Documentary--and was also stamped with an "R" rating due to some innocuous nudity and profanity. The original 184 minute running time was expanded to 224 minutes for the 1994 video version, featuring previously excised footage of Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane. Canned Heat’s "Going Up The Country" was heard in the 1970 version, but the band actually performs in the extended cut as well. One of the best shots in Woodstock has no music at all: the final image, as a group of dour policemen survey the garbage and debris left behind by the Woodstock Nation.

Richie Havens starts the show off fiercely on acoustic guitar with "Handsome Johnny", followed by an improvised "Freedom". Canned Heat does a rocking blues version of "A Change Is Gonna Come". The Who are shot in dazzling slow motion dissolves and split screens performing "See Me/Feel Me" and "Summertime Blues", though we don’t get to see Pete Townsend kick Abbie Hoffman off the stage. Country Joe McDonald sums up the anti-war message with his "Fixing to Die Rag" ("Give me an 'F'!"). Carlos Santana noodles, Janis Joplin screeches, but the highlight is probably Sly and the Family Stone blasting out "I Want To Take You Higher". Another showstopper is Ten Years After's rendition of "I'm Going Home".

Country Joe McDonald leads the crowd through "I Feel Like I’m Fixin To Die Rag". Lyrics appear on the bottom of the screen with bouncing ball for those like me who have not committed the anti-war anthem to memory. Joan Baez and Sha Na Na perform. In addition to Jefferson Airplane ("Saturday Afternoon", "Uncle Sam’s Blues") and Janis Joplin ("Work Me, Lord"), Jimi Hendrix had a big impact with his version of "The Star Spangled Banner". It was controversial, as the Vietnam War was underway and the sound effects that Hendrix generated with his guitar paralleled the sounds of the violence of the conflict. His performances is considered one of the greatest in rock history, though Hendrix regarded it as sub-par.

Jimi Hendrix: I see that we meet again, hmmm...

A warning goes out concerning bad brown acid, Joan Baez tells the crowd about her imprisoned husband, the weather gets worse and some are blaming it on government helicopters seeding the clouds, and the mud rises. Festival goers begin to starve because there's not enough food to go around, there are drug overdoses and not enough doctors are there to help, and all the while the Vietnam war colors the mood. However, the audience are determined to enjoy themselves despite the hardships, because there is the music to listen to. Arlo Guthrie is surprisingly good doing "Coming Into Los Angeles" and marveling that traffic has shut down the New York Thruway.

Arlo Guthrie: It's incredible. I heard the New York Thruway's closed.
News Reporter: Closed? This morning we heard that they were backed down Route 17 with an eight hour delay.
Arlo Guthrie: Right. Well, the New York Thruway's closed. Isn't that far out?

WOODSTOCK is probably sixty percent concert, forty percent concert-goers. An interesting scene is a camera crew filming the toilet facilities and telling a dude that they’re making a movie. "What’s it called?" Response: "Port-O-San." The townspeople, including the chief of police, weigh in and almost unanimously support the kids, remarking how well they’ve behaved. One of those kids, interviewed on the side of the road and who may have never even made it to the show, sums it up best: "People who are nowhere are coming here because there’s people they think are somewhere. Everybody is looking for some kind of answer. When there isn’t one."

There was some crime and other misbehavior at Woodstock, as well as a fatality from a drug overdose, an accidental death caused by an occupied sleeping bag being run over by a tractor, and one participant died from falling off a scaffold. There were also 3 miscarriages and 2 births recorded at the festival as well, and logistical headaches. Furthermore, because Woodstock was not intended for such a large crowd, there were not enough facilities such as toilets and first-aid tents. There was profiteering in the sale of "electric Kool-Aid" laced with random hallucinogens, which made many people ill. Drugs were commonly used and available at Woodstock. LSD and marijuana use were prominent throughout the festival.

The movie did big box office business and a successful three record set sold millions of copies. Two albums of the concert have been released. The first was officially titled "Woodstock: Music From the Original Soundtrack and More". It sold millions of copies and was based on the documentary film. Due to that album's success, a second album, "Woodstock 2", was released about a year later. The festival did not initially make money for the promoters, although record sales and proceeds from the film made it very profitable.

In 1994 a director's cut of WOODSTOCK, subtitled "3 Days of Peace & Music", was released that added over 40 minutes to the film and included performances by Canned Heat, Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin that were omitted from the original release. Jimi Hendrix's set at the end of the film was also extended with two additional numbers. Some of the crowd scenes in the original film were replaced by previously unseen footage. There is bonus footage of performers, and a post-credits tribute to activists, performers, and organizers who passed on since the original release. The list of prominent people from the "Woodstock Generation" who had died includes John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Che Guevara, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mama Cass Elliot, Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Max Yasgur, Abbie Hoffman, Paul Butterfield, Keith Moon, Bob Hite, Richard Manuel, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.

PERFORMERS

Friday, August 15

The first day officially began at 5:07 p.m. with Richie Havens and featured folk artists.

* Richie Havens
* Swami Satchidananda: invocation for the festival
* Sweetwater
* The Incredible String Band
* Bert Sommer
* Tim Hardin
* Ravi Shankar
* Melanie
* Arlo Guthrie
* Joan Baez

Saturday, August 16

The day opened at 12:15 pm, and featured some of the event's biggest psychedelic and guitar rock headliners.

* Quill
* Keef Hartley Band
* Country Joe McDonald
* John Sebastian
* Santana
* Canned Heat
* Mountain
* Janis Joplin and The Kozmic Blues Band
* Grateful Dead
* Creedence Clearwater Revival
* Sly & the Family Stone
* The Who
* Jefferson Airplane

Sunday, August 17 to Monday, August 18

Joe Cocker was the first act on the last officially booked day (Sunday). He opened up the day's events at 2 PM. His set was preceded by at least two instrumentals by The Grease Band.

* Joe Cocker
* After Joe Cocker's set, a thunderstorm disrupted the events for several hours.
* Country Joe and the Fish
* Ten Years After
* The Band
* Blood, Sweat & Tears
* Johnny Winter
* Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
* Paul Butterfield Blues Band
* Jimi Hendrix

New DVD and Blu-ray versions of WOODSTOCK: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT are scheduled for release by Warner Home Video on June 9, 2009. The "Ultimate Collector’s Edition" reportedly includes an hour of performances not seen in the film, or not seen in full. Director Michael Wadleigh is overseeing the release, Warner said. Robert Klein's documentary "The '60s and the Woodstock Generation" will be among the extra features. WOODSTOCK is being restored and remastered for the release. The previous DVD edition was released in 1997, with reviewers on Amazon complaining of its VHS-like quality. WOODSTOCK is a priceless document. In 1996, Woodstock was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival (1997) * * *

From August 26 to 31, 1970, rock music fans flocked to the English Isle of Wight to witness the third and final festival to be held on the island. It was held on Afton Down, an area on the western side of the island. The last of three consecutive music festivals to take place on the island between 1968 and 1970, it was the largest musical event of its time (until Summer Jam at Watkins Glen in 1973), greater than the attendance of Live Aid, Woodstock and Rock in Rio. The Guinness Book of Records has cited its attendance as 600,000, which is well above the organizers' estimate of 500,000.

For about a year after the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969, it seemed as though everyone wanted to stage a rock festival. However, The Rolling Stones' disastrous Altamont free concert, documented in the film GIMME SHELTER (1970), forever tarnished the image of the rock festival in the USA, while in Europe, the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival was fortunately less disastrous than Altamont, but nearly as controversial. Staged by two men with greater ambitions than practical experience, the festival was held on a small island off the British coast. But while at Woodstock no one had given much thought about keeping gatecrashers out, at the Isle of Wight those without tickets were greeted with corrugated steel fences that sealed off the festival grounds. Huge numbers of visitors simply camped on hills surrounding the grounds, while others broke down the fences by force after refusing to pay the 3 pounds admission. This led to heated conflicts between the promoters, who ranted bitterly to the audience from the stage, the festival's security staff, the concert-goers, and the performers. The documentary examines the concert both on-stage and behind-the-scenes, capturing performances from many of the artists who appeared.

The Isle of Wight Festivals already had massive reputations in 1968 and in 1969 by attracting acts such as Jefferson Airplane, T.Rex, The Move, Pretty Things, Joe Cocker, the Who and Bob Dylan--in his first performance since his 1966 motorcycle accident. The organizers Fiery Creations (alias brothers Ronald Foulk and Raymond Foulk) were determined to make the 1970 event a legendary event. In this aim they enlisted Jimi Hendrix. With Jimi confirmed, artists such as Chicago, The Doors, The Who, Joan Baez, and Free willingly took up the chance to play on the island. The event had a magnificent but impractical site, a strong but inconsistent line up and the logistical nightmare of transporting 600,000 on to the island with a population of less than 100,000. The aftermath and commercial failings of the festival ensured it would be the last event of its kind on the Isle of Wight for thirty-two years.

This is a complete rockumentary showing everything from the performances of several rock legends to the backstage squabbling that nearly destroyed the festival, but was a precursor of the greed and cynicism that would strike the rock music scene of the 1970's. The film depicts the many problems associated with the festival, including gate-crashing, numerous crowd incursions onto the stage, Kris Kristofferson being booed offstage, and head promoter Rikki Farr's whining and ranting to the audience, which only intensified as the situation deteriorated: "We put this festival on, you bastards...we worked for one year for you pigs!"

Unlike the films MONTERERY POP (1968) and WOODSTOCK (1970), with their cheerful sense of innocence, MESSAGE OF LOVE details a major cultural movement in fast decline. The big draws here are rough, spacey performances by rock's ragged aristocracy of the time: the Doors, the Who, Hendrix, Ten Years After, Jethro Tull, and the Moody Blues. Standout numbers include Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" and the Doors' apocalyptic songs "When the Music's Over" and "The End." Also documented are the endless posturing and infighting among the egotistical festival promoters, the bands' managers, and the artists. Only 50,000 of the 600,000 attendees were paying customers, and war between the capitalist interests and the hostile hippies outside the gates eventually overwhelms the good vibes. The film hits all the usual targets, but reaches the heights of counterculture craziness when an overwrought Marxist hippie storms the stage and screams, "This is a psychedelic concentration camp!"

Opposition to the proposed festival from the residents of the Isle of Wight was much better co-ordinated than it had been in previous years. The Isle of Wight was a favourite retirement destination of the British well-heeled, and a haven of the yachting set, and many of the traditional residents deplored the huge influx of hippies. Renting a few acres of suitable farmland to hold a music festival had in earlier years been a simple commercial matter between the promoters and one of the local farmers, but by 1970 this had become subject to approval decisions from several local council committees who were heavily lobbied by residents' associations opposing the festival. As a result of this public scrutiny, the preferred ideal location for the third Festival was blocked, and the promoters in the end had no choice but to accept the only venue on offer by the authorities, East Afton Farm, Afton Down, a site that was in many ways deliberately selected to be unsuitable for their purpose. One unintended result of the pick of location was that, since it was overlooked by a large hill, a significant number of people were able to camp out on the hill and watch the proceedings for free.

This documentary was shot in 1970, but for many reasons was not shown to the public until 1995 in Great Britain. Director Murray Lerner and his film crew were hired by the Isle of Wight Festival promoters to make a movie of the events and music. Due to financial problems and lack of interest from the film distributors, the film footage sat unreleased for 25 years, although bits of Hendrix, The Who, and Free's performances surfaced in other presentations.

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Wednesday, August 26

* Judas Jump: A heavy progressive rock band featuring Andy Bown and Henry Spinetti of The Herd and Allan Jones of Amen Corner
* Kathy Smith: A Californian folk singer, was well-received.
* Rosalie Sorrels: Another folk musician.
* David Bromberg: He was not on the bill, but performed a popular set.
* Redbone: A native American pop/rock outfit.
* Kris Kristofferson: He performed a controversial set. Due to poor sound, the audience was unable to hear his set, and it appeared that they were jeering him.
* Mighty Baby: A psychedelic rock band.

Thursday, August 27

* Gary Farr: The brother of Rikki Farr, Gary had been the front man of the T-Bones, an R&B combo that featured Keith Emerson on keyboards. By this time, he had become a solo artist, and his only album, "Strange Fruit", for CBS Records, had been released in 1970.
* Supertramp: Their debut album had just been released a month prior to the festival.
* Andy Roberts' Everyone
* Howl: A Scottish hard-rock band formerly known as "The Stoics", featuring Frankie Miller.
* Black Widow
* The Groundhogs: English blues rockers
* Terry Reid
* Gilberto Gil: Representing the Tropicalia movement, the Brazilian musician played to a frenzied audience.

Friday, August 28

* Fairfield Parlour: They had recorded a single called "Let The World Wash In", released under the name "I Luv Wight", which they hoped would become the festival's theme song. They had also previously recorded as The Kaleidoscope.
* Arrival: Their set, which included a Leonard Cohen cover was well received.
* Lighthouse: This popular orchestral Canadian act performed two sets at the festival.
* Taste: Legendary guitarist Rory Gallagher had a blues trio from 1968 to 1970. This was one of their final shows, which was filmed and recorded. An album was released of their set in 1971.
* Tony Joe White: He performed his hits including "Polk Salad Annie" The drummer was Cozy Powell.
* Chicago: Their set, including "25 or 6 to 4," "Beginnings" and "I'm a Man" was a highlight of the night.
* Family
* Procol Harum: Frontman Gary Brooker commented that it was a cold night.
* Voices Of East Harlem: Not actually a band, but a bunch of singing school children from Harlem. They had one studio album. Their set received several standing ovations.
* Cactus: A bluesy hard rock band. Two songs from their set were featured on the LP "The First Great Rock Festivals Of The Seventies".

Saturday, August 29

* John Sebastian: The showstopper of the Festival performed an 80-minute set, during which Zal Yanovsky, former Lovin' Spoonful guitarist, made a surprise guest appearance.
* Shawn Phillips: An American folk musician performed an impromptu solo set.
* Lighthouse (second set)
* Joni Mitchell: She played a controversial set. Following her rendition of "Woodstock", a hippie named Yogi Joe interrupted her set to make a speech about Desolation Row. When Joe was hauled off by Joni's manager, the audience began to boo until Mitchell made an emotional appeal to them for some respect for the performers. She called the audience "tourists". Contrary to popular belief, Joe was not the man who was ranting about a "psychedelic concentration camp". That was another incident that took place the previous day. After the crowd quieted down, Mitchell closed her set with "Big Yellow Taxi".
* Tiny Tim: His rendition of "There'll Always Be an England" can be seen in the film Message To Love.
* Miles Davis: The jazz superstar played a single, continuous version of "Call It Anything" lasting 38 minutes, which can be seen on the "Miles Electric--A Different Kind Of Blue" DVD released in 2004. The documentary shows an edited segment of that performance.
* Ten Years After: The British blues rockers basically reproduced their famous Woodstock set. Highlights included "I'm Going Home" and "I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes", which was featured in MESSAGE TO LOVE.
* Emerson Lake and Palmer: This was actually their second gig. "Pictures at an Exhibition", which featured the Moog synthesizer was the centerpiece of their historic set. Commercially released as "Emerson, Lake and Palmer Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970" in 1997.
* The Doors: Their set was shrouded in darkness due to Jim Morrison's unwillingness to have spotlights on the band. Their performances of "The End" and "When The Music's Over" are featured in MESSAGE TO LOVE.
* The Who: Their entire set, including the Tommy rock opera, was released in 1996 on CD as "Live at the Isle of Wight Festival" (1970). Three years later their set appeared on DVD with significant cuts from Tommy and a few other songs such as "Naked Eye" missing. In addition, the DVD song set order was radically altered to present Tommy as if having been performed at the second-half of the concert, when in fact, Tommy was performed in the middle of their lengthy set, and the closing title was "Magic Bus", which concluded some Who concerts at that time. Unfortunately, a 2006-reissued DVD of the concert was not corrected for these major deficiencies, despite having been personally supervised by Pete Townshend.
* Melanie: This Woodstock veteran played a well-received set. Prior to her set, Keith Moon of The Who offered her some moral support and encouragement. Not until afterwards did Melanie realize who he was.
* Sly & The Family Stone: The showstoppers of Woodstock performed to a tired audience on the early morning of Sunday. However, the audience woke up for spirited renditions of "I Want To Take You Higher," "Dance To The Music" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)", which featured Sly on guitar. Prior to their encore, another political militant decided it was time to make a speech, and the booing audience started to throw beer cans onto the stage. Freddie Stone was hit by a flying can and an angry Sly decided to skip the encore. He did promise a second appearance, but this never occurred.
* Mungo Jerry were there but decided not to play

Sunday, August 30

* Good News: An American acoustic duo.
* Kris Kristofferson (Second set)
* Ralph McTell: Despite an enthusiastic reception from the audience, he did not play an encore, and the stage was cleared for Donovan.
* Heaven: England's answer to Chicago and Blood Sweat & Tears
* Free: Their set list consisted of "Ride On A Pony", "Mr. Big", "Woman", "The Stealer", "Be My Friend", "Fire & Water", "I'm A Mover", "The Hunter", their classic hit "All Right Now", and concluded with a cover of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads".
* Donovan: He first performed an acoustic set, and then an electric set with his band Open Road.
* Pentangle: A British folk combo. A German woman interrupted their set to deliver a political message to the audience.
* The Moody Blues: A popular British act and veteran of the 1969 festival. Their rendition of "Nights in White Satin" can be seen in MESSAGE TO LOVE.
* Jethro Tull: Their set is featured on "Nothing Is Easy: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970".
* Jimi Hendrix: The star of the festival performed in the early hours of August 31st with Mitch Mitchell on drums and Billy Cox on bass. His set has been released on CD and video in various forms. In the beginning Hendrix had technical problems, which at one point during "Machine Gun" involved the security's radio signal interfering with his amp's output. He arrived at the festival very tired from lack of sleep. Most of the time he played a Gibson "Flying V" guitar, and he does not have the same inimitable tone he gets from his Fender Stratocaster.
* Joan Baez: Her version of "Let It Be" can be seen in the film MESSAGE TO LOVE.
* Leonard Cohen: Backed by his band The Army, his tune "Suzanne" can be seen in the film.
* Richie Havens: The musician who opened Woodstock closed this festival with a set during the morning of August 31. As Havens performed his version of "Here Comes the Sun," the morning sun rose. Havens' set, which is available as an audience recording also included "Maggie's Farm", "Freedom" and "Minstrel From Gault".

In an important way, MESSAGE TO LOVE is the final chapter in an unofficial trilogy of concert films, along with WOODSTOCK and GIMME SHELTER, that paint a picture of the highest and lowest points of Woodstock Nation politics--from mass goodwill to anarchy. However, MESSAGE OF LOVE is a rock & roll movie with several performances that are outright revelations, such as the Who's triumphant show, the Doors' "The End", and Jimi Hendrix's "Machine Gun". But some are superfluous, including Ten Days After, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, and Jethro Tull. Cameras are often focused on the increasingly testy relationship between deadbeat hippies who travel a long way to see the show but refuse to pay, and capitalist concert producers who resort to using guard dogs, cops, and aluminum walls to keep crashers at a distance. The mood becomes so bad, in one scene Joni Mitchell breaks down in tears after singing her ode to peace and love, "Woodstock". A crazed hippie bothers her on stage, she calls the audience "tourists", and carries on singing "Big Yellow Taxi." Kris Kristofferson is booed off stage, but the film does not show his come-back performance a few days later, when he was better received.

Most of the performances are good, although a little too brief and some songs are edited. The Miles Davis segment lasts about one minute. This is more of a documentary of the event than anything else. You'll see the promoters and the crowd get almost as much time on the camera as the performers. The Isle of Wight wasn't exactly Britain's answer to Woodstock. Altamont ended the Woodstock spirit and this is Hippydom's last true hurrah at a great festival.

There are poignant moments, like Jimi Hendrix' final performance featuring "Message to Love", "Machine Gun" and "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)", and one of the Doors' final performances featuring "When the Music's Over" and "The End". After disasters like Altamont, the promoters add security like police dogs and a metal fence dividing the young teens and adults who've paid admission from those who haven't. So, naturally, there's plenty of arguments between the promoters and the music fans. Due to the war between them, Kris Kristoferson is unfairly booed onstage. Folks are too busy trying to get in to listen to the original "Me and Bobbie McGee". Joan Baez, after her performance of "Let It Be" is interviewed. She's honest and says "This is my job, so naturally, I expect to be paid." A humorous moment is Tiny Tim singing via megaphone "There'll Always Be An England".

An alarming moment is when one hippie says he's given his young son LSD. It's interesting to see a young thin Ian Anderson perform with Jethro Tull ("Whoever said we wouldn't perform tonight is full of...") on "My Sunday Feeling", and a young thin Paul Rogers perform "All Right Now" with Free. This is also Emerson, Lake and Palmer's debut performance, and each of them celebrates by Emerson nearly destroying his organ, Lake setting off a cannon and Palmer removing his shirt while performing "Pictures at an Exhibition/Blue Rondo a la Turk". It's also one of the Moody Blues' first performances live. Fortunately for the freeloaders, the fence is taken down and all hold hands in peace, while a guitar plays "Amazing Grace". You begin to sympathize with Rikki Farr as he tells the audience that he and the other promoters will have to pay for this decision. As the festival comes to an end, Farr sums it all up when he says "This is the last great event."

The DVD has a runtime of 127 minutes, whittled down from 175 hours of footage. Sony Music released it on February 24, 2004. Too many of the music performances are extremely edited-down. Donovan is only seen for about three seconds. John Sebastian's show stopping performance is poorly edited too as they come in for the ending of his song. Performances from Tony Joe White, Melanie, Cactus, and Procol Harum weren't even included in favor of "Machine Gun" (Hendrix) ", All Right Now" (Free), and "Young Man Blues" (The Who)--all redundant footage available in other presentations. Finally, the film is generally downbeat, focusing on the problems that plagued the festival. The violence and unpleasantness are exaggerated. It was actually a good festival, with great bands and many positive aspects. Too bad Lerner didn't focus more on this. All songs are live except for Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row", which is the studio version, played over the end credits of the film. The American title is MESSAGE TO LOVE: THE ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL: THE MOVIE, whereas the UK title is simply MESSAGE TO LOVE.

Monterey Pop (1968) * * *

On a beautiful weekend in 1967 from June 16-18, at the height of the Summer of Love, the first and only THE FIRST ANNUAL MONTEREY INTERNATIONAL POP MUSIC FESTIVAL was captured on film by documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker. Some of the festival's big acts, such as The Byrds, The Grateful Dead, and Buffalo Springfield didn't make the final cut for various reasons. In some cases it was a legal or managerial decision. However, I once listened to the entire 3 day concert and was surprised at how bad most of the musical performances were. Eric Burdon, a great singer, was absolutely embarrassing singing "Gin House Blues". Laura Nyro was OK, but basically flopped at the festival. On the other hand, Monterey Pop instantly made superstars out of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin for their astonishing performances.

Program book: Be happy, be free; wear flowers, bring bells--have a festival.

Otis Redding: This is the Love Crowd, right?

The performers who appear in the film are excellent: Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Hugh Masekela, Big Brother and the Holding Company (featuring Janis Joplin), Simon & Garfunkel, and The Mamas and the Papas. Papa John Phillips was one of the festival's principal organizers along with Paul McCartney. Pennebaker immortalized moments that have become legend: The Who destroying their instruments at the end of "My Generation", and Jimi Hendrix Experience setting his guitar on fire during "Wild Thing". Backstage before the show Pete Townshend accused Hendrix of ripping off the Who's stage act. Hendrix called Townsend a "honkey", who refused to follow his performance, realizing that nobody could. On the last day of the event, Ravi Shankar pleased the crowd with his energetic Ragas. He was quite disturbed by the violent showmanship of The Who and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and actually didn't want to perform. The arrogant jerk demanded his own separate stage, where he played in a cloud of incense. (Lone Wolf also plays sitar and is not very impressed by Shankar.)

Papa John Phillips: We were doing the Monterey Pop Festival, which I produced with Lou Adler, and the town of Monterey was sort of frightened by the thought of two hundred and fifty thousand hippies coming. The police force was very concerned. They were prepared for riots, but they ended up interacting with the kids in a very positive way. Policemen had orchids in their helmets and on their motorcycles.

Mama Michelle Phillips: I thought we did a poor concert there. We only had about two minutes to warm up, and we hadn't rehearsed for three months. I came off the stage crying. There was something so extraordinary about the harmonic convergence of that weekend. I don't believe Monterey could ever happen again.

Hugh Masekela: Monterey was a platform to be able to get more visibility to bring awareness about what was happening especially on my continent. People were turned on in those days just with music. There was no genre, category, or marketing as there is today. People just loved music, they either liked it or it didn't turn them on.

D.A Pennebaker: People were there to see what was going to happen. There was no attitude about it. People were just as interested and surprised by Ravi Shankar as they were by Canned Heat.

The film concentrates on the musical performers, with only brief intimations of the burgeoning counterculture, showing unique and amazing sights, sounds, and experiences. Two years before Woodstock, an unprecedented crowd of young people gathered in and around the Monterey County Fairgrounds for a three day celebration. It attracted an estimated 200,000 total attendees with 55,000 to 90,000 people present at the event's peak at midnight on Sunday. Only about 10,000 were actually seated in the official paying "audience". Admission was only $1, but most did not pay. The performers appeared for free with all revenue donated to charity--only lodging and travel expenses were provided. The only exception was Ravi Shankar, who was paid $3,000 for his afternoon-long performance on sitar. It was a time of reunion and discovery for the performers as well as the audience. Funds raised by the festival and subsequent film and CD sales were earmarked to The Monterey Pop Foundation which is still in existence today and providing help to worthwhile causes such as the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic. Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones attended, introduced The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and was hailed "King of the Festival" as he waded through the crowds undisturbed by the hippies.

Songs featured in the film, in order of appearance:

1. Big Brother & The Holding Company ("Combination of the Two")
2. Scott McKenzie ("San Francisco")
3. The Mamas & The Papas ("Creeque Alley" & "California Dreamin'")
4. Canned Heat ("Rollin' & Tumblin'")
5. Simon & Garfunkel ("The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)")
6. Hugh Masekela ("Bajabula Bonke")
7. Jefferson Airplane ("High Flyin' Bird" & "Today")
8. Big Brother & The Holding Company ("Ball & Chain")
9. Eric Burdon & The Animals ("Paint It Black")
10. The Who ("My Generation")
11. Country Joe & The Fish ("Section 43")
12. Otis Redding ("Shake" & "I've Been Loving You Too Long")
13. The Jimi Hendrix Experience ("Wild Thing")
14. The Mamas & The Papas ("Got a Feelin'")
15. Ravi Shankar ("Raga Bhimpalasi").

In 2002 MONTEREY POP was re-released on DVD as part of a Criterion Collection box set, The Complete Monterey Pop Festival, one of the most impressive sets they've released to date. It also includes Pennebaker's short films JIMI PLAYS MONTEREY (1986) and SHAKE! OTIS AT MONTEREY (1986), as well as two hours of outtake performances, including some by bands not seen in the original film. One of rock music's most famous concerts gets the royal treatment with this three-disc boxed set.

Material on two of the three discs has already been widely available. MONTEREY POP, D.A. Pennebaker's 79-minute, 1968 film, effectively sets the scene for the festival. It shows the festival from construction to the festival's end. While not all the featured performances are great, those that are--the Who, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Otis Redding--are worth the price of admission, especially in the high-definition digital transfer and new 5.1 mix seen and heard here. The same can be said for JIMI PLAYS MONTEREY and SHAKE! OTIS AT MONTEREY, which appear in the boxed set on a separate disc and provide a much fuller look at Hendrix's and Otis Redding's amazing sets.

Those two discs are also loaded with bonus features, including audio commentary by Pennebaker, festival producer Lou Adler (on Monterey Pop), and author Peter Guralnick (Shake!); audio-only remarks by some of the performers; photos; trailers; and other material. There's also a substantial booklet, filled with essays and photos. But it's the third disc, "The Outtake Performances", comprising some two hours of music that didn't make the final film edit, that will be of most interest to many viewers. The disc supplies a taste of some of the artists who didn't appear in Monterey Pop at all, such as the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Quicksilver Messenger Service, plus a more complete look at some who did.

DISC ONE: MONTEREY POP in a new high-definition digital transfer, supervised by D.A. Pennebaker. New 5.1 mix by legendary recording engineer Eddie Kramer, presented in Dolby Digital and DTS. Audio commentary by Festival producer Lou Adler and D.A. Pennebaker. New video interview with Lou Adler and D.A. Pennebaker. Audio interviews with Festival producer John Phillips, Festival publicist Derek Taylor, and performers Cass Elliot and David Crosby. Photo essay by photographer Elaine Mayes. Original theatrical trailer. Orginal theatrical radio spots. Monterey Pop scrapbook. Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition.

DISC TWO: JIMI PLAYS MONTEREY and SHAKE! OTIS AT MONTEREY are featured. The Jimi Hendrix film contains performances of: "Can You See Me?", "Purple Haze", Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", "Monterey", "Killing Floor", "Foxy Lady", "Like a Rolling Stone", "Rock Me Baby", "Hey Joe", "The Wind Cries Mary" and "Wild Thing". The Otis Redding film contains performances of: "Shake", "Respect", "I've Been Loving You Too Long", "(I Can't Get No) Staisfaction", and "Try a Little Tenderness". New high-definition digital transfers, supervised by D.A. Pennebaker. New 5.1 mixes by legendary recording engineer Eddie Kramer, presented in Dolby Digital and DTS. Audio commentary on JIMI PLAYS MONTEREY by music critic and historian Charles Shaar Murray. Two audio commentaries on SHAKE! by music critic and historian Peter Guralnick: the first on Otis Redding's Monterey performance, song by song; the second on Redding before and after Monterey. Interview with Phil Walden, Otis Redding's manager from 1959 to 1967. Original theatrical trailer for JIMI PLAYS MONTEREY. Video excerpt: Pete Townshend on Monterey and Jimi Hendrix. Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition

DISC THREE: "Monterey Pop--The Outtake Performance" contains two hours of performances not included in the original film, from the following artists: Buffalo Springfield, The Association, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Blues Project, The Byrds, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Country Joe and the Fish, The Electric Flag, Jefferson Airplane, Al Kooper, The Mamas and the Papas, Laura Nyro, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Simon and Garfunkel, Tiny Tim, and The Who. Here are the artists and the songs played in order: "Along Comes Mary" by The Association, "Homeward Bound" and "Sounds of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel, "Not-So-Sweet Martha Lorraine" by Country Joe and the Fish, "(I Heard Her Say) Wake Me, Shake Me" by Al Kooper, "Driftin' Blues" by The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, "All I Ever Wanted to Do (Was Love You)" by Quicksilver Messenger Service, "Drinkin' Wine" by The Electric Flag, "Chimes of Freedom", "He Was a Friend of Mine", and "Hey Joe" by The Byrds, "Wedding Bell Blues" and "Poverty Train" by Laura Nyro, "Somebody to Love" by Jefferson Airplane, "Flute Thing" by The Blues Project, "Combination of the Two" by Big Brother and the Holding Company, "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield, "Substitute", Summertime Blues", and "A Quick One While He's Away" by The Who, "Straight Shooter", "Somebody Groovy", "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)", "I Call Your Name", "Monday, Monday", and "Dancing in the Street" by The Mamas and the Papas. Finally there is a performance by Tiny Tim of "King for a Day", "Laugh, Clown, Laugh", "May God Be With Our Boys Tonight", and "My What a Funny Little World This Is".

The first two discs also have special features, but there are none on disc three. However, there are over 60 pages of essays, a list of performers and a lot of other extras.

Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969 - 1974) * * *

MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS was a group of six comedians who created a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on October 5, 1969. The troupe included John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, and Graham Chapman. Forty-five episodes were made over four series with their distinctive brand of irreverent and often surreal comedy and satire on BBC-1 from 1969 through 1973 and on BBC-2, without Cleese, for the last few months of 1974--plus 2 episodes for German TV, both entitled "Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus". The final episode of Series 4 was recorded on November 16 and broadcast on December 5, 1974.

BBC Announcer: We interrupt this program to annoy you and make things generally irritating.
Hermit: It's...

The first three series contained 13 episodes each, but the fourth ended after six. MONTY PYTHON offered savage broadsides against the pomposity and repression of the British establishment, spoofs of European history, satires of leading intellectual and cultural figures, and lots of cross-dressing men in drag. These ugly "women" were referred to as pepperpots, and usually Carol Cleveland appears for sexy female roles. The show is noted for its surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags, and sketches without punchlines. It also features the animations of Terry Gilliam, which are often sequenced or merged with live action.

Announcer: And now for something completely different.

Loosely structured as a sketch show but with an innovative stream-of-consciousness approach, it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style and content on TV. The irreverent skits are often surreal, baudy, uncompromising, tasteless, but inevitably hilarious. The troupe wrote and performed their work, changing the way performers entertained audiences. Monty Pythons' creative control allowed them to experiment with form and content, discarding rules of television comedy. Their influence on comedy has been overwhelming in the UK and in North America, influencing shows such as SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.

The members of Monty Python were highly educated. Terry Jones and Michael Palin are Oxford graduates. Eric Idle, John Cleese and Graham Chapman are Cambridge graduates, and American-born member Terry Gilliam is an Occidental College graduate, with their comedy often pointedly intellectual by way of numerous references to philosophers and literary figures.

Graham Chapman was born in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England on January 8, 1941. He was originally a medical student, but changed to theater when he joined Footlights at Cambridge. He completed his medical training and was legally entitled to practice as a doctor. Chapman was well known for his roles as straight-faced men of any age or class, frequently an authority figure such as a military officer, policeman or doctor, who could, at any moment, engage in "Pythonesque" maniacal behavior and then return to their former sobriety. Some of his sketches include "An Appeal from the Vicar of St. Loony-up-the-Cream-Bun-and-Jam", "The One-Man Wrestling Match", "Johann Gambolputty" and “The Argument Clinic". He was also skilled in abuse, which he used in sketches such as "The Argument Clinic" and "Flying Lessons". Chapman died of spinal and throat cancer on October 4, 1989. He is now lovingly referred to by the surviving Pythons as "the dead one."

Mr Barnard: What do you want?
Man: Well I was told outside that...
Mr Barnard: Don't give me that, you snotty faced heap of parrot droppings!
Man: What?
Mr Barnard: Shut your festering gob, you tit! Your type really makes me puke you vacuous, toffy-nosed, malodorous pervert!
Man: What? I came in here for an argument.
Mr Barnard: Oh, oh, oh, I'm sorry, this is "abuse'. You want Room 12-A just along the corridor.
Man: Oh sorry. Thank you very much, sorry, thank you.

John Cleese was born on October 27, 1939 in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England, making him the oldest Python. Cleese’s surname was originally Cheese, but his father changed it to Cleese when he joined the army during World War I. John Cleese usually played ridiculous authority figures. Gilliam claims that Cleese is the funniest of the Pythons in drag, as he barely needs to be dressed up to look hilarious. Cleese is also well known for playing very intimidating maniacs. His character of Eric Praline, the put-upon consumer, is featured in some of the most popular sketches, most famously in "Dead Parrot". One skit that proved very memorable was the "Ministry of Silly Walks", where he worked for the eponymous government department. Another Cleese trademark is his over-the-top delivery of abuse, particularly his screaming "You bastard!" Having considered the possibility at the end of the second series, Cleese left the Flying Circus at the end of the third. He later explained that he felt he no longer had anything fresh to offer the show.

Doctor: Now I know some hospitals where you get the patients lying around in beds.
(man whispers into Doctor's ear)
Blood Bank Doctor: No. I'm sorry, but, no.
(man whispers again)
Blood Bank Doctor: No, you may not give urine instead of blood.

Terry Gilliam was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, on November 22, 1940. He is the only member of the troupe of non-British origin, though he married a British citizen, makeup and costume designer Maggie Weston, and held dual American-British citizenship for 38 years before renouncing the former. Gilliam's unique visual style is characterized by sudden and dramatic movements and errors of scale set in surrealist landscapes populated by engravings of large buildings with elaborate architecture, grotesque Victorian gadgets, machinery, and people cut from famous pieces of art. All of these elements are combined in incongruous ways to obtain new and humorous meanings in surrealist collage assemblies. Initially only hired to be the animator of the series, Gilliam was not considered as an on-screen performer at first. However, the others felt they owed him something and so he sometimes appeared before the camera, generally in the parts that no one else wanted to play. Gilliam has gone on to become a celebrated and imaginative film director of such notable titles as TIME BANDITS (1981), BRAZIL (1985), THE FISHER KING (1991), TWELVE MONEYS (1995), and FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (1998).

Eric Idle was born on March 29, 1943 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England. When Monty Python was first formed, two writing partnerships were already in place: Cleese and Chapman, Jones and Palin. That left two in their own corners: Gilliam, operating solo due to the nature of his work, and Idle. Regular themes in his contributions were elaborate wordplay and musical numbers. Younger than his colleagues and not from an already-established writing partnership prior to Python, Eric Idle is perhaps best remembered for his roles as a cheeky, suggestive, slightly perverted, upper middle class "playboy" in sketches such as "Nudge Nudge", and a crafty, slick and the shop keeper who loves to haggle in MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN (1979). He is acknowledged as "the master of the one-liner" by the other Pythons, and is also considered the best singer/songwriter in the group, for example writing and performing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from THE LIFE OF BRIAN. Unlike Jones' high level in drag, he often plays female characters in a more straight-forward way. His appearances as upper-class, middle-aged females are his most notable.

Alan: Well last week, we showed you how to become a gynaecologist. And this week on "How to Do It" we're going to show you how to play the flute, how to split an atom, how to construct a box girder bridge, how to irrigate the Sahara Desert and make vast new areas of land cultivatable, but first, here's Jackie to tell you all how to rid the world of all known diseases.
Jackie: Hello, Alan.
Alan: Hello, Jackie.
Jackie: Well, first of all, become a doctor and discover a marvellous cure for something, and then, when the medical profession really starts to take notice of you, you can jolly well tell them what to do and make sure they get everything right so there'll never be any diseases ever again.
Alan: Thanks, Jackie, great idea. How to play the flute.
(produces a flute)
Alan: Well here we are. You blow there and you move your fingers up and down here.
Noel: Great, great, Alan. Well, next week we'll be showing you how black and white people can live together in peace and harmony, and Alan will be over in Moscow showing us how to reconcile the Russians and the Chinese. So until next week, cheerio!
All: Bye!

Terry Jones was born on February 1, 1942 in Colwyn Bay, Conwy, Wales. He has rarely received the same attention as his colleagues, but has been described by other members of the team as the "heart" of the operation. Recent Python literature has highlighted his lead role in maintaining the group's unity and creative independence. Python biographer George Perry has commented that should you "speak to him on subjects as diverse as fossil fuels, or Rupert Bear, or mercenaries in the Middle Ages or Modern China... in a moment you will find yourself hopelessly out of your depth, floored by his knowledge." Renowned by the rest to be "The best Rat-Bag woman in the business", his portrayal of a middle-aged housewife was louder, shriller and more disheveled than that of any of the others. He also often plays upper-class reserved men, such as in the famous "Nudge, Nudge" sketch and the "It's A Man's Life" sketch, and incompetent authority figures. Generally, he deferred to the others as a performer, but proved himself behind the scenes, where he would eventually end up pulling most of the strings.

Hungarian: If I said you had beautiful body, vould you hold it against me? I... I am no longer infected.
Milkman: Don't you shout at me, madam, don't use that tone. Now then, I must ask you to accompany me down to the dairy and do some aptitude tests.
Mrs. Pim: I've got better things to do than come down to the dairy!
Milkman: Mrs. Ratbag! If you don't mind my saying so, you are badly in need of an expensive course of psychiatric treatment. Now I'm not going to say that a trip down to our dairy will cure you, but it will give hundreds of lower-paid workers a good laugh.
Mrs. Pim: All right... but how am I going to get home?
Milkman: I'll run you there and back in my psychiatrist's float.
Mrs. Pim: ...All right.

Michael Palin was born on May 5, 1943 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The youngest Python by a matter of weeks, Palin is often referred to as "the nice one". He attended Oxford, where he met his Python writing partner Jones. Michael Palin was regarded by the other members of the troupe as the one with the widest range, equally adept as a straight man or wildly over the top character. He portrays many working-class northerners, often portrayed in a disgusting light. On the one hand, he plays weak-willed, put-upon men such as the husband in the Marriage Guidance Counsellor sketch, or the boring accountant in the "Lion Tamer" sketch. However, he is equally at home as the indefatigable Cardinal Ximinez of Spain in The Spanish Inquisition sketch. Another high-energy character that Palin portrays is the slick TV show host, constantly smacking his lips together and generally being over-enthusiastic. Palin eventually announced his retirement from comedy in the late 1990s and has written books and produced travel documentaries. His book "Michael Palin Diaries 1969-1979", published in 2007, gives a remarkable, and extremely amusing, inside view of the Python years.

Michael Palin: Mount Everest: forbiding, aloof, terrifying. The mountain with the biggest tits in the world.
Cardinal Ximinez: Nobody expects the Sp -
("THE END" appears on screen)
Cardinal Ximinez: Oh, bugger!

Writing started at 9 am and finished at 5 pm. Typically, Cleese and Chapman worked as one pair isolated from the others, as did Jones and Palin, while Idle wrote alone. After a few days, they would join together with Gilliam, critique their scripts, and exchange ideas. Their approach to writing was democratic. If the majority found an idea humorous, it was included in the show. The casting of roles for the sketches was a similarly unselfish process, since each member viewed himself primarily as a writer, rather than an actor desperate for screen time. When the themes for sketches were chosen, Gilliam had carte blanche to decide how to bridge them with animations, using a camera, scissors, and airbrush.

The usual Flying Circus opening began without the traditional opening titles or announcements. An example of this is the "It's" man: Palin in Robinson Crusoe garb, making a tortuous journey across various terrains, before finally approaching the camera to state, "It's...", only to be then cut off by the title sequence and the Liberty Bell theme song. The Liberty Bell, a march by John Philip Sousa, was chosen partly because the composition is in the public domain.

Many sketches are well-known and widely quoted, such as: "Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", "Spam", "Nudge Nudge", "The Spanish Inquisition", "Upper Class Twit of the Year", "Cheese Shop" and "The Ministry of Silly Walks". The Pythons play the majority of the series characters themselves, including the majority of the female characters, but occasionally they required regular supporting cast members including Carol Cleveland, referred to by the team as the unofficial "Seventh Python", Connie Booth (Cleese's then-Wife), Series Director Ian MacNaughton, Neil Innes (in the 4th series) and The Fred Tomlinson Singers for musical numbers.

The title Monty Python's Flying Circus was partly the result of the group's reputation at the BBC. Michael Mills, BBC's Head of Comedy, wanted their name to include the word circus because the BBC referred to the six members wandering around the building as a "circus". The group added flying to make it sound less like an actual circus and more like something from World War I. Monty Python was added because they claimed it sounded like a really bad theatrical agent, the sort of person who would have brought them together. A title considered instead of MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS was "Baron Von Took’s Flying Circus". "It’s" was also an early candidate for the title of the series.

The cast also includes: Carol Cleveland (Various in 34 episodes, 1969-1974), Ian Davidson (Algy Braithwaite in 8 episodes, 1969-1970), The Fred Tomlinson Singers (Amantillado Chorus in 7 episodes, 1969-1973), Connie Booth (Animated mother in 6 episodes, 1969-1974), Bob Raymond (Dad in 5 episodes, 1974), Lyn Ashley (Algon Girl in 5 episodes, 1970-1972), John Hughman (Alfred, Lord Tennyson in 5 episodes, 1970-1974), Rita Davies (The Black Spot Narrator in 4 episodes, 1969-1972), Stanley Mason (Clapper Man in 4 episodes, 1970-1971), David Ballantyne (Ivan the Terrible in 3 episodes, 1970-1971), Peter Brett (Door-to-Door Martial Arts Salesman in2 episodes, 1974), Flanagan (Anona Winn in 2 episodes, 1969-1970), Frank Lester (The Late Professor Thynne in 2 episodes, 1972-1974), Katya Wyeth (Elsie in 2 episodes, 1969), Richard Baker (Himself as BBC News Anchor in 2 episodes, 1972), Douglas Adams (Dr. Emile Koning, Surgeon in2 episodes, 1974), and Neil Innes (Hesitant guitarist in2 episodes, 1974). The script writers were: Graham Chapman (46 episodes, 1969-1974), Eric Idle (46 episodes, 1969-1974), Terry Jones (46 episodes, 1969-1974), Michael Palin (46 episodes, 1969-1974), Terry Gilliam (44 episodes, 1969-1974), John Cleese (43 episodes, 1969-1974), and Neil Innes (2 episodes, 1974). The series was directed by Ian MacNaughton (46 episodes, 1969-1974) and John Howard Davies (5 episodes, 1969).

In 2005 The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus 16-Ton Megaset was released as a 14-DVD set with the two-disc Monty Python Live in space-saving Thinpaks. Some fans may want to pick and choose among the previously released individual volumes of Monty Python for their collection, but many will want to own this definitive megaset that contains all 45 episodes of MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS. This "persistently silly" collection encompasses three-and-a-half seasons of dead parrots, cross-dressing lumberjacks, loonies, upper class twits, baked beans, spam, spam, and spam. You get every episode put out on the BBC, and the extras give some insight into the making of the series through some written blurbs about each episode. They have spliced together some thematic skits and animations, you can test your trivial knowledge of the Pythons, and learn some history of the players. Also, some of the skits that they later performed live are available in the extras. The menu is also well done using Terry Gilliam's animations.

There is also the MONTY PYTHON Movie Box set that contains all 4 Python movies: AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT (1971), MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1974), the 2 disc set MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN (1979) including a 50 minute documentary, and MONTY PYTHON'S MEANING OF LIFE (1983).

Gorgo (1961) * * ½

Captain Joe Ryan (Bill Travers) is salvaging for treasure off the coast of Ireland when a volcano erupts and nearly sinks his ship. Ryan and his first officer Sam Slade (William Sylvester) take the ship to Nara Island for repairs. As they enter the harbor, they discover the floating carcasses of marine animals, the first hint that something dangerous was awoken by the volcano eruption.

Ryan and Slade land on Nara Island and consult the shady harbor master McMartin (Christopher Rhodes), who has archeological pretensions and is in no mood for anybody snooping about in his work, despite the fact that several island divers have gone missing following the undersea disturbance, and one died of fear. He has been salvaging a Viking longship in the harbor. After dark, a monstrous creature surfaces, attacks a group of fishermen, then comes ashore to wreak havoc on the island. This dinosaur-like creature is about 65 feet tall, and the people on the island manage to drive it away.

Ryan and his crew capture the monster, haul it aboard their ship, and tie it to the deck. Soon scientists arrive on Nara, hoping to collect the monster for study, but Ryan has been offered a better deal by the owner of a circus in London. Ignoring the pleas of the Edinburgh Museum, the ship takes off for London, with young orphan Sean (Vincent Winter) stowing away. When the ship arrives in London, the circus owner Dorkin (Martin Benson) names it "Gorgo", after the Gorgons of classical mythology. It is exhibited to the public as a carnival attraction at Dorkin's Circus in Battersea Park, billed as the Eighth Wonder of the World. Sean comes to pity Gorgo and says, "It's a bad thing ye're doin'! A teddible bad thing!"

The scientists examine Gorgo, and conclude that he is not yet an adult, and that his mother must be nearly 200 feet tall. On that note, the film cuts to Nara Island as Gorgo's mother Ogra attacks. Ogra trashes the island, sinks a Royal Navy destroyer, and resists attack from other warships. Later, Ogra comes ashore in London, still looking for her son, and destroys Tower Bridge and Big Ben, despite being bombarded by tanks and infantry. Royal Air Force jets attack Ogra with no effect. Having demolished much of London, Ogra rescues Gorgo, and both mother and son return to the sea. The film is sometimes praised for its innovative ending, which has an environmental moral. Unusual for such films, the monsters, which are presented as innocent victims of human interference, survive and prevail. This idea came from Lourié's daughter, who was upset when he killed off the monsters at the end of his previous pictures. His new monster is as sympathetic as possible--and it wins in the end!

GORGO is a British science fiction rip-off of Godzilla with hints of King Kong. Director Eugène Lourié recycled the plots of his earlier BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953) and the London setting of BEHEMOTH THE SEA MONSTER (1959) but this time used a man in a rubber costume rather than stop-motion animation. Lourié tried to secure the talents of Willis O'Brien or Ray Harryhausen for GORGO (he had worked with them previously), but neither was available. Gorgo attacks a rollercoaster in Battersea Funfair, like The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms did in Coney Island. Although GORGO is made like a Godzilla movie, it is a peculiarly unique British monster film. The modelwork and special effects are from some of the finest technicians of the time, who later went on to work on 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968), but with a much bigger budget. Gorgo's special effects are sometimes hit and miss, but easily on a par with the Japanese monster flicks of the time, though crude by contemporary standards. The monster suit looks fantastic on film, the creature's actions make it look huge, and the modelwork is detailed and large scale. There is even a full scale Gorgo transported around London on a flatbed lorry, and a full-size prop of its claw to interact with unwary sailors. Acting is above par, there is no dubbing of voices, and the music score is also quite good.

Britain's answer to the popular Godzilla movies was originally set to take place in Japan, then France, and then finally changed to the UK. Australia was also considered. The location where Gorgo first appears, the fictional Nara Island, is likely a tribute to the Godzilla series: Nara being a city in southern Honshu, Japan. Scenes where Gorgo is driven through the streets of London were shot on a Sunday morning when there was no traffic. The film studio wanted Gorgo to fight the military despite Lourié's objections. Later, Lourié acquired a print of the film and removed the footage. A novelization of the film was released in paperback at the time of its original release ("Gorgo" by Carson Bingham). The film was also given a comic book series, published by Charlton Comics and included work by Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko, from 1961 to 1965 for 23 issues. Another series, titled "Return of Gorgo" was published for 2 issues in 1963/64, as well as a one-shot "Gorgo's Revenge" in 1962.

The villains are a bit harder to point out in GORGO than in the Japanese monster films. Joe, Sam, McMartin, and the Dorkin Circus people are all garishly portrayed as greedy bastards with never a tinge of remorse over their money-grubbing indiscretion. However, GORGO is a cute little film, a pleasant diversion on a lazy Saturday afternoon that will appeal to fans of Godzilla and Japanese monster movies.

The cast also includes: Joseph O'Conor (Professor Hendricks), Bruce Seton (Professor Flaherty), Maurice Kaufmann (Radio Reporter), Basil Dignam (Admiral Brooks), Barry Keegan (Mate), Tommy Duggan (First Naval Officer), Howard Lang (First Colonel), Dervis Ward (Bosun), John Breslin (Soldier), Nigel Green (Bulletin Announcer), and Harvey Hall (Squadron Leader). Angelo Francesco Lavagnino composed the original music. Robert L. Richards and Daniel James wrote the screenplay. Eugène Lourié directed. GORGO was his final directorial credit, and he returned to production design, art direction, set dressing, and special effects.

Fans of the film will welcome the new DVD release from VCI. It is definitely an improvement over the previous laserdisc release that was generally murky. Transferred from an original source print and presented in a widescreen aspect ratio, this time the picture looks significantly better than its large-format predecessor. It's no full-on restoration effort, however, despite the back cover copy proclaiming it as a digital remaster. The image is much brighter and sharper, showing a great deal more detail. Some bits are too sharp, looking slightly over-processed. The colors look OK but are generally muted and detail level is not as crisp as it could be. Since much of the picture is set in underwater sequences, there's a considerable amount of murkiness. But it's better than what you may have seen before. The audio is presented in a serviceable Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono mix. The few extras include a new documentary from fan/film historian Tom Weaver, some bio notes on Lourié and the actors, a photo gallery of film stills and poster art, and an overdramatic theatrical trailer: "The Most Astonishing Event in Our Lifetime!"

That's Entertainment! (1974) (1976) (1994) * * *

In 1974 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios celebrated its 50th anniversary with a compilation documentary looking back on the golden years of the studio when it produced lavish musicals starring some of the era's top entertainers. With the end of silent films in the 1920s, musicals were a favorite choice to take advantage of the new "talkie" technology. Technicolor and other photography methods ushered in color filmmaking during the same time period and the costumes and decorative sets of musicals allowed MGM to showcase their stars in full color and with singing. For much of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, the musical was a popular choice for theater-goers with stars such as Fred Astaire and Gene Kelley in their stable of performers. MGM was king of the musical genre and this compilation includes clips from nearly 100 musicals. It was followed by two sequels and a related film titled THAT'S DANCING!.

(first lines)
Frank Sinatra: The year is 1929; the singer, Cliff Edwards, also known as Ukelele Ike. The film: HOLLYWOOD REVIEW. it is the first all-talking, all-singing, all-dancing movie ever made. In the years that followed, "Singin' in the Rain" would become a theme song for MGM.

Some of the movies MGM produced during their first fifty years constitute an incredible list. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) is only one film of dozens of very memorable pictures. The image of Gene Kelley dancing with an umbrella and singing the title song of SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952) is a familiar image to just about anybody who has turned on a television. TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME (1949) and MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944) are two memorable musicals from the mid Forties. SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (1954) is one of the liveliest and strenuous films ever made. ZIEGFELD FOLLIES (1946) is a classic fondly remembered by many. Some non-musical films were also part of MGMs wondrous past and celebrated in the THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! trilogy. TARZAN THE APE MAN (1932), ABBOTT AND COSTELLO IN HOLLYWOOD (1945), GONE WITH THE WIND (1939), and THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940) are just a few.

MGM used to brag that the studio had "More stars that there are in the heavens." Archival footage of Judy Garland, Eleanor Powell, Lena Horne, Esther Williams, Ann Miller, Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Jeanette MacDonald, Cyd Charisse, June Allyson, Mickey Rooney, Mario Lanza, and many others are featured. In addition to Fred Astaire, many of the finest singers and dancers to ever be filmed are shown. Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra are two performers who are still popular, long after their deaths. Jimmy Durante is one of the most underappreciated stars to ever be filmed, at least by today's audiences. James Stewart, Mickey Rooney and Cary Grant are three more leading men that helped MGM produce so many amazing musicals and films during their earlier days. A strong leading woman was another powerful part of the MGM family. Contracted stars included Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli, Ginger Rogers and Jean Harlow. Other familiar ladies of MGM golden age included Ava Gardner, Lena Horne, Lucille Ball and Joan Crawford.

The first film features a number of hosts, all of them household names. Frank Sinatra is the first host, followed by Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Mickey Rooney, Bing Crosby, James Stewart, Elizabeth Taylor and Liza Minnelli. Peter Lawford, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor also share hosting duties. These stars recollect fond memories and films they starred in during the heyday of MGM musicals and introduce many important musical numbers from the multitude of musicals produced. THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! was the final production on MGM's former backlot and many of the sets appear in various states of disrepair with trash strewn about. But this is show biz and the "disrepair" is very artfully done. They could have easily cleaned up the trash. Obviously, it's just another authentic looking Hollywood set.

(last lines)
Frank Sinatra: Through the years, MGM has produced over 200 musical films. And if you had to select one number from one film, that would best represent the MGM musicals, I have a feeling that the vote would be unanimous, especially among the people who worked here, and that's why we've saved the best for the last: "AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. It won an Oscar as the Best Picture of the year over 20 years ago; but the ballet from that film is as timeless as the day you and I first saw it. Produced by Arthur Freed, directed by Vincente Minnelli, and choreographed by Gene Kelly, it can only be described as MGM's masterpiece.

The second film in the THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT series was released two years later, in 1976. Their first film had been one of the highest grossing films of its year, so MGM was quick to produce a follow-up. They have more than enough musicals to produce a great number of sequels, but instead of completely focusing on the music, a very nice and lengthy segment of this second film looks at some of the memorable moments and lines from MGM's library. The Marx Brothers and Abbott and Costello are part of this nicely edited collection of clips. Unlike the first film, THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT II has only two hosts. Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly appear together and co-host the film. They sing and dance and fondly remember the days when they worked on MGM's backlot producing these magical musicals. Whereas the first documentary was the last time anything was filmed on MGM's famous and expansive backlot, this sequel marked the final time that Fred Astaire was filmed dancing. Part of the attraction of this sequel is in the reunion of these legendary stars, and Kelly directed the introductory segments featuring him and Astaire.

For this second documentary, archivists featured more obscure musical numbers from MGM's vaults, and also included tributes to some of the studio's best known comedy teams such as the Marx Brothers and Laurel and Hardy, romantic teams such as Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, and a montage of iconic stars such as Clark Gable, Mickey Rooney, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow, James Stewart, Lana Turner, and Greta Garbo.

The film is highlighted by several newly-filmed musical numbers featuring Astaire and Kelly, including a couple of routines in which they dance together for the first time since the 1946 film ZIEGFELD FOLLIES (1946), and for only the second time in their careers. It was the last time 76-year-old Astaire danced on film. According to film historian Robert Osborne, in specially-filmed introductions produced for Turner Classic Movies, it was Astaire who suggested to Kelly that the two take advantage of this potentially last-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform together, something Kelly had actually wished for during his narration of the first THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! film. The sequel received more critical acclaim, but was not as successful at the box-office as the first entry.

In 1985 THAT'S DANCING! was released, a retrospective that looks back at the history of dancing in film. However, unlike the THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT films, this documentary does not focus exclusively on MGM productions. This film is sometimes considered part of the THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT series, especially since its starting credits include a card with the THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT III title--not to be confused with the 1994 film--but even though it shared studio and producers, it is considered a separate production.

THAT'S DANCING! includes more recent performances by the likes of John Travolta in SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (1977) and Michael Jackson and from the then-popular films FAME (1980) and FLASHDANCE (1983), as well as classic films from other studios, including CAROUSEL (1956), released by 20th Century Fox, and OKLAHOMA (1955), released by Magna Corporation and 20th Century Fox. A highlight of the film was the first theatrical release of a complete dance routine by Ray Bolger for his "If I Only Had a Brain" number that had been shortened in THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939).

The hosts for this film are Gene Kelly, Ray Bolger, Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr., and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Pop singer Kim Carnes was commissioned to sing an original song that plays over the closing credits. THAT'S DANCING! was not included when the three THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT films were released on DVD in 2004. Instead it was released on its own in 2007. The DVD includes several behind-the-scenes promotional featurettes from 1985 on the making of the film, as well as its accompanying music video featuring Kim Carnes although the DVD omits the video itself.

It took eighteen years, but in 1994 MGM celebrated their 70th Anniversary with a third entry in the THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT series with THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT III. This last sequel provides many musical numbers and history of the MGM musicals, but adds a new aspect to the documentary series. It features more retrospectives with a focus on previously unreleased or rarely seen material cut from the MGM films, culling together lost performances that had been edited out of MGM's vast library. These scenes include performances from familiar names, including Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Debbie Reynolds and Cyd Charisse. June Allyson, Cyd Charisse, Lena Horne, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Debbie Reynolds and Esther Williams join Gene Kelly in hosting duties. This film marks the final time Gene Kelly appears on camera.

Although posters and home video versions use the title without an exclamation mark, the actual on-screen title of the film uses it. Many changes had occurred since the first two films--including the deaths of Fred Astaire, who had co-hosted the first two films, and many other MGM stars of the past. Plus, the advent of home video and cable TV had made many of MGM's films readily accessible to audiences, a luxury they did not have in the mid-1970s. In order to provide a "hook" for audiences, the producers decided to feature film footage cut from famous MGM musicals. Many of these numbers are shown for the first time in THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT III. Unfortunately, this is definitely the weakest entry in the series, although still well worth watching.

(last lines)
Gene Kelly: MGM's dream factory created a rich, romantic, compelling world of illusion. And although we may not see anything like it again, we're blessed with memories and miles and miles of film. In the words of Irving Berlin, "The song has ended, but the melody lingers on."

The four documentaries are nostalgic and very entertaining. However, the procession of brief and unrelated film clips is like watching a variety vaudeville show, or if you're not in the mood, like watching movie trailers. But most of the scenes are first rate seldom-seen treasures and the commentaries from the many movie star hosts is very educational. We learn, for example, that the singing voices of Lucille Ball, Elizabeth Taylor, and Debbie Reynolds were dubbed in.

Jack Haley Jr. wrote and directed the first THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! film, and also directed, produced and wrote THAT'S DANCING! Gene Kelly directed THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT II, and Leonard Gershe wrote the narration. THAT'S DANCING III was directed and written by Bud Friedgen and Michael J. Sheridan. All three films were released on DVD in 2004. The box set collection of the films comes with a bonus DVD that includes additional musical numbers that had been cut from MGM films as well as the first release of the complete performance of "Mr. Monotony" by Judy Garland. The version used in THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT III is truncated. THAT'S DANCING! received a separate DVD release in 2007.