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40 Years On: Murray Lerner's Isle of Wight Films
40 Years On: Murray Lerner's Isle of Wight Films
MAY 21–27, 2010
Director in Attendance Saturday-Monday (May 22-24)!
(Murray Lerner, USA, 1970, HD)
"This is the last festival, enough is enough, it began as a beautiful dream but it has got out of control and become a monster." —Ron Foulk, concert promoter, (on Monday morning, September 1, 1970)
Forty years ago this summer, the legendary third-annual Isle of Wight Festival hit the stage with some 600,000 screaming fans in attendance, the biggest ever rock festival in Europe. It was a chaotic affair that redefined festival madness. The attendees, most without tickets, descended on East Afton Farm, on the tiny unsuspecting English Channel island, to hear the likes of The Who, Jimi Hendrix (in his last live festival performance; he died 18 days later in London), Jethro Tull, the Moody Blues, Miles Davis, Joan Baez, the Doors (in their final U.K. gig with Jim Morrison), Joni Mitchell and Sly and the Family Stone. Fortunately for us New York based filmmaker Murray Lerner was there to document the entire event. To kick off summer, we present nine of Lerner’s films, including nearly complete performances from eight artists and the two-hour documentary that puts the entire event into perspective. We’ll be offering a festival pass for the series, so come out and experience one of music’s most renowned events in almost its entirety!
Series pass $40/Film Forum members, $50/general
Take a Documentary Workshop & Critique with Murray Lerner!
Sponsored by KBCS 91.3FM
Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue
May 21 - May 24, 2010
(Murray Lerner, USA, 1970, DigiBeta 123 min)
On August 29th, 1970, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Miles Davis and his band played to 600,000 people at The Isle of Wight Festival. This documentary dramatizes the difficult transition Miles went through during his change to electric in the face of extremely negative reactions from the jazz establishment.
Emerson, Lake and Palmer: The Birth of a Band - Live at the Isle of Wight
May 21 - May 24, 2010
(Murray Lerner, USA, 1970, DigiBeta, 67 min)
Emerson Lake and Palmer made prog music history playing their first gig together at the Isle of Wight festival in 1970. The focal point of this performance was a full rendition of "Pictures at an Exhibition," a piece which would later be released as an official album.
Listening to You: The Who at the Isle of Wight
May 21 - May 24, 2010
(Murray Lerner, USA, 1970, DigiBeta, 85 min)
Listening To You is a record of one of the finest concerts given by The Who during arguably their most dynamic and creative period. Beautifully shot with exceptional sound, Listening To You will surely become one of the great rock concert films.
The Moody Blues: Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970
May 22 - May 25, 2010
(Murray Lerner, USA, 1970, DigiBeta, 79 min)
This legendary performance captures The Moody Blues at the height of their popularity and creative powers. Touring in support of their A Question Of Balance album, The Moody Blues in 1970 had four albums on the top of the UK charts (with two #1 singles). It was an era that will never be duplicated.
Jethro Tull: Nothing is Easy - Live at the Isle of Wight
May 22 - May 25, 2010
Jethro Tull took to the stage immediately after rock legend Jimi Hendrix on the last day of the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. Murray Lerner's cinematography accurately conveys the raw energy of their live act and lead vocalist Ian Anderson offers insight into what was going on behind the scenes of Jethro Tull at a time before the band had approached superstar status.
Jimi Hendrix at the Isle of Wight
May 22 - May 25, 2010
(Murray Lerner, USA, 1970, DigiBeta, 118 min)
By the time Hendrix came on stage for what would be his final UK performance, the crowd realized this wasn't Woodstock and that the peace-and-love vibe of the last few years was at an end. In a tangerine jumpsuit, Jimi looks slightly misplaced amongst the drab British longhairs, but while the set itself veers from the sublime to the soporific, he is never less than mesmerizing.
Leonard Cohen: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970
May 22 - May 25, 2010
(Murray Lerner, USA, 1970, DigiBeta, 64 min)
On August 31, 1970, 35-year-old Leonard Cohen was awakened at 2am and brought onstage to perform. An estimated 600,000 people were waiting, energized by a legendary set by Jimi Hendrix. As fellow festival headliners Joan Baez, Kris Kristofferson, Judy Collins and others looked on, the Canadian folksinger-songwriter-poet-novelist quietly tamed the crowd with an equally spellbinding mix of songs and stories.
Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival
May 23 - May 27, 2010
(Murray Lerner, USA, 1970, DigiBeta, 127 min)
This vital historical document depicts a climate in which the boundless hippie optimism of the 1960s was about to be chewed up and spit out by the materialistic capitalism of the 1970s. The final Isle of Wight festival was not simply a financial fiasco. It spoke of a much greater loss, the loss of a generation's innocence.