Three Days of Peace and Music

Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur‘s dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, 40 miles (65 km) southwest of the town of Woodstock. 

I was there in spirit

When this event happened in Woodstock, I was a first-year college student in Tokyo and a part-time DJ for a pop music program on a newly opened public FM station called FM Tokyo. Hearing about this event reinforced my desire and determination to move to the US and be a part of this “new generation,” with which I was familiar through the music I was fervently listening. 

It wasn’t until I watched the original film of this festival, Woodstock: 3dys of peace and music, that I realized this event really happened.

While the scene and my taste in music had largely changed by the time I migrated to the US in 1975, I still have fond memories of the music from that bygone era.

Last summer was the 54th anniversary of this generation-defining event. So, I watched the following two films to celebrate it:

Woodstock Anniversary

Taking Woodstock:

Taking Woodstock is a 2009 American comedy-drama about the Woodstock Festival of 1969, directed by Ang Lee. The screenplay by James Schamus is based on the memoir Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life by Elliot Tiber and Tom Monte.

While some details differ from those described by the festival producer, Michael Lang, and other festival attendees, this film captured the stories behind the scenes in a vividly visual and cultural fashion. As always, Ang Lee excelled in adding his entertainment flare to this otherwise dry storyline.

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Woodstock: Three Days that Defined a Generation

Featuring never-before-seen footage, filmmaker Barak Goodman examines the cultural, political and social ramifications of the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival in upstate New York, offering a rosy view of the titular event that, for many, is synonymous with Peace and love. — The Hollywood Reporter

I truly enjoyed this documentary film because it offers some factual accounts of the event by the attendees, participants, and the people who experienced it by living in the area. From this film, I learned for the first time that the community in the nearby towns spontaneously organized a food drive to feed the starving people at the festival as the food service operation ran out of food on the first day.

Three days of bliss stays in my heart

After watching this documentary, I truly understood that the most important factors in the success of this festival were the positive attitude of all participants and the kindness of people in general.