for those of us who were n't yet born when the 1960 's rock ' n ' rolled around , monterey pop affords an affectionate glimpse of the music that influenced our parents to be hippies .
from otis redding to jimi hendrix , janis joplin to the mamas and the papas , and jefferson airplane to the who , this documentary is jam - packed with contagious energy .
but i give fair warning that i will reveal the ending , which does not do the rest of the film the justice it deserves .
shot in 1969 at an outdoor concert that precluded woodstock , the film defies the stereotype of the general population at the time .
sure , some have painted their faces and smoke joints , but d .
a .
pennebaker ( the war room , moon over broadway ) surprisingly chooses to show a broad spectrum of the audience .
no matter who is watching , it all comes back to the talented musicians that stir your soul .
the excitement starts before the music even begins .
a young girl is cleaning thousands of seats and when asked why by an interviewer , she replies that she feels lucky to do so .
there are moments of organized craziness as john phillips , leader of the mamas and the papas and one of the concert organizers , tries to get in touch with dionne warwick .
and when one band is tuning up , a member remarks , " finally , a decent sound system !
"
you can tell just by watching these first few moments that this show is n't about vanity , it 's about playing the music you love to those who have an appreciation for it , a two - way street .
this interaction between audience and performer continues throughout the film and becomes infectious to the audience .
it 's impossible to tear your eyes away from janis joplin as she belts out her ballad about love being a ball and chain .
and while the lyrics to " wild thing " may not be all that complicated , watching jimi hendrix mime having sex with his guitar is as captivating as otis redding singing about love .
even if you do n't recognize every band you see on stage , you can imagine being as enthralled by their work as the public sitting in those seats .
the only drawback to the film is the ending , which unfortunately i must reveal .
all the other bands , big names then and still today , got approximately 7 to 10 minutes of screen time .
in contrast , the last band on camera , a wholly forgettable one , gets an entire 18 minutes of screen time .
for a film that 's only 78 minutes long , that 's too large of a chunk , especially when previous acts are much more stimulating .
all in all , monterey pop is
a precious , rare look at a time period that still holds sway over us .
the variety of music , as well as the beautifully shot performances , are easy to become immersed in .
if there was ever any question as to why most of these bands were so popular , this is quickly dispelled .
it 's almost depressing to think that music this moving does n't get made much anymore .
instead we 're stuck with * nsync , the backstreet boys , and jennifer lopez , all of whom should have stuck with modeling .
a precious , rare look jam - packed with contagious energy becomes infectious to the audience captivating the excitement starts before the music even begins the variety of music , as well as the beautifully shot performances , are easy to become immersed in it 's impossible to tear your eyes away affords an affectionate glimpse