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, which took place during the fabled "Summer of Love," when the hippie ethos was in its fullest flower, especially on the West Coast. And while not all the featured performances are thrilling, those that are--principally by the Who, Jimi Hendrix, and the amazing Ravi Shankar--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 incendiary sets (literally, in the former case).

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 (the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Quicksilver Messenger Service), and a more complete look at some who did (the Who, Simon and Garfunkel, the Mamas and the Papas). A nice addition to an already very impressive DVD collection. --Sam Graham

Amazon.com
A special message from Lou Adler, an original promoter/producer for the Monterey International Pop Festival:

It was the first major Rock ‘n’ Roll Festival. No prerequisite…no precedents. We had no idea what to expect. The question of would people come was answered by mid-week prior to the start of the festival. They came and kept on coming. A major surprise was the extent of mainstream media coverage. When John Phillips and I arrived at the fairgrounds on the morning of the first day there were camera crews, photographers and journalists from all over the world. Add to that the advent of FM radio; and the following year Rolling Stone Magazine…Rock ‘n’ Roll was here to stay. Monterey gave birth to the first rock charity Monterey International Pop Festival Foundation, which continues to fund worthwhile causes in the names of the artists who appeared at Monterey. Precedents and prerequisites would be set for future concerts and festivals, including the overall treatment of the artist…Derek Taylor’s handling of the press…Chip Monks’ sound and lights…Pennebaker’s groundbreaking movie “Monterey Pop. The true legacy of The Monterey International Pop Festival is not the crowd size…not the weather…not a violent incident…it is the music. The groundbreaking artists who were introduced (Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and The Who) and the “rock royalty” (Simon & Garfunkel, Otis Redding and The Mamas & The Papas) that performed there continue to be revered and continue to impact to this day the music and musicians who came after it happened in Monterey on June 16, 17, and 18, 1967.

Product Description
Documentary about Monterey Pop Festival of 1967; includes festival footage and performances.
Genre: Music Video - Pop/Rock
Rating: NR
Release Date: 12-NOV-2002
Media Type: DVD

This sad state of affairs is beyond explanation. Why wasn't Big Brother and the Holding Company accorded their entire set instead of one token song, which is "Combination of the Two?" There is very little footage of the singer that exists at all, anywhere. Knowing that there is an entire set of her landmark performance stored somewhere in a vault is maddening.

The Grateful Dead are also missing in action. Sadly, the liner notes in the package proclaim them to be one of the outstanding acts of the festival. Even if there was scant little footage captured, it could have been included. I'd much rather watch them than suffer through five ditties of Tiny Tim in the green room. Despite the peace and love vibe, you can imagine yourself if you were there, slapping him upside the head for being an annoying idiot.

Laura Nyro, who supposedly bombed at Monterey, is given two outtake songs, but it's interesting to discover that she was quite captivating. (The festival review included in the booklet states that Nyro and the Byrds were the low point, which again makes one wonder why the filmmaker chose to highlight three Byrds songs on the outtakes disc, rather than BBHC/Janis.) The Mamas and the Papas are bestowed with their entire set on the outtakes disc; no surprise since they were the ones who founded the festival. In the commentary by John Phillips, he states his group turned in the worst performance of the festival. Not true; they were excellent, as highlighted on this disc.

Hats off to the Association, who proved that they were a progressive, musical force to be reckoned with. I would have reveled in being able to witness more than just one Association song ("Along Came Mary") in lieu of five, I must repeat, five pathetic Tiny Tim songs. URRGGGGH. And if you also own the Monterey Pop complete CD boxed set, you will know that the Electric Flag was introduced as the greatest band in the world, considered a top act at the time. Give me five of their songs featuring the great Michael Bloomfield instead of five of Tiny Tim's, pleeze.

I hate to keep being a cranky head, but another incredibly annoying addition is the "expert" commentary about the Jimi Hendrix performance. This guy, with his pedestrian music reviewers' pomposity, sets forth the lamest comments imaginable. (Such as: "And I might add that you have to be very confident in your masculinity to wear a pink feather boa.." or "nice flairs, Jimi." etc.. GROAN.)

Well, don't let my grumblings keep you from purchasing this set. You'll find yourself wondering why more wasn't included too, but the complete Jimi and Otis performances are worth the entire price, plus you have the original film, which was incredible, and some great, if incomplete outtakes, and tons of info and features to sink your teeth into. Plus the fantastic, candid shots of the many hip and beautiful people in attendance. Buy it.


Revelatory performances.   January 7, 2007
Eric S. Stroud
50 out of 50 found this review helpful

The film restoration work looks and sounds magnificent. Eddie Kramer gets extra congratulations on the 5.1 audio mix. That said, the 3rd disc is mainly in stereo only.

Karen's review below is a bit harsh. If you actually listen to the main film's commentary, you will understand why more footage isn't available: Not every second of 3 days of performances were captured. Concert films did not exist as a genre at this time (see the annoyingly choppy 'Festival!' documenting Newport), so this was new territory and the point of the film was to make a document that gave an overall feel for the event and time. Pennebaker and his crew had to decide which songs to film, which seems to have been predetermined by Dylan's buddy Bob Neuwirth who was more familiar with the scene than the filmmaker. They would turn on a red light on stage to signal to start filming the next song. At some times, they didn't have a plan and the camera men would shoot at their discretion, so some performances may have been captured by only 1 camera and therefore considered not presentable. Also, film reels would end during performances and need to be changed (approx every 20 minutes), hence footage missing from two of Jimi's songs.


Regarding the lack of more outtake footage:
1. Your precious Janis and Big Brother's new manager Albert Grossman didn't allow them to be filmed the first day, but finally they were asked to play again the next day because of the crowd reaction and the desire to get something on film. The whole set could exist but I doubt it. Grossman and his need for control is probably to blame, and it's no coincidence that Woodstock's filmmakers were also refused to use her footage in the original release. She only appears now in the directors cut.
2. The Byrds set is extremely historic, and that is one that should have been included in whole if it exists.
3. The Who's set is only missing 'Pictures of Lily' not counting 'My Generation' which is in the proper film. It is on bootleg Who dvd's so why that wasn't included is inexplicable. I would have like to have seen all footage from each artist's set put together on the bonus disc including the songs included in whole or in part in the actual final film, so that it's all in one place. What we get is anything besides what made the final cut.

4. As far as Tiny Tim, yes his impromptu performances are annoying, but they are part of just that, impromptu candid backstage footage supplied as bonus, not part of the 2 hours of bonus footage. So, skip past it like I did and get over it.

5. Regarding the Grateful Dead, a small glimpse is seen at the beginning of the 'Jimi Plays Monterey' film, but the liner notes from the 4CD box set from 1992 tells us, that like Janis, the band and or management refused to allow any audio or visuals to be used. I assume they didn't like their performance, or wanted to control it like the rest of their own vault. The whole festival was for charity, as we also learn from the supplementary interviews, and the artists therefore had to sign waivers releasing the rights to their performances. My guess it the Dead refused to comply.
6.The real shame is that there is no footage of Lou Rawls' electrifying set, which would also show more of the diversity of genre's that were at the festival.
7. Charles Shaar Murray's commentary during the Hendrix film is actually quite insightful and entertaining. Yes, there are some funny comments about substances and clothing. He wrote a definitive biography of Jimi, and his commentary is well founded and gives context to why his perfomance at the festival was revolutionary.

That said, this is a definitive package, and a must own release for a serious rock collector's library.


Must-see; must-hear; must-have   November 22, 2002
32 out of 34 found this review helpful

Run, don't walk, to pick up this DVD set. In addition to a crisp rendition of the original classic movie (with choice of audio options including 2.0, 5.1, DTS and original), and a second disk of Otis Redding & Jimi Hendrix, the addition of never-before-released performances on the "Outtakes" disk 3 make this release even better than the original.

Revel in the innocence of 1967.
Feel the shiver down your spine as you hear (every nuance of) Janis Joplin delivering "Ball & Chain" to the appreciative audience (including a stunned Mama Cass Elliot).

"Outtakes" doesn't do disk 3 justice - these are mostly concert-quality renditions, some with remixed 5.1 audio: Simon & Garfunkel (Sounds of Silence); Jefferson Airplane (Don't you need somebody to love); Scott McKenzie (San Francisco); Buffalo Springfield (w/o Neil Young, For what it's worth); another Janis Joplin, to name but a few.

This set was worth the wait.


A HISTORICAL EVENT DOCUMENTED FOR POSTERITY   November 19, 2002
David B. Bennett (The Land of Enchantment, New Mexico, USA)
25 out of 27 found this review helpful

The Summer of Love, 1967, a time that today seems as remote as the Middle Ages. A time when people cared about life, the war in Vietnam; a time when people wore beads and flowers in their hair: a time when LSD and marijuana were abundantly available; a simpler time when people lived for the music. And oh what music! The Byrds, Canned Heat, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding and the Mamas and the Papas. And did I mention JIMI HENDRIX? This Criterion DVD has all of the bands that made music relavent, and it contains so much more than the original movie that I have to recommend this set to everyone. Of course, just because it is a Criterion DVD, you know from the beginning that the picture and sound are as good as it gets, and you wont be disappointed. Put this disc on, turn up the volume, and get back to the sixties and enjoy the music and bands that made a difference. And did I mention JIMI HENDRIX? That's right, an entire disc devoted to HENDRIX, his entire performance, caught on film and digitally remastered by Jimi's own engineer, Eddie Kramer. This HENDRIX concert alone makes the set worth the money. This material has been circulated for years as a bootleg on vinyl (does anybody still remeber vinyl?) and CD, but here you get Jimi's searing performance at Monterey in beautiful technocolor and surround sound. Simply put, this DVD set is a must have for everyone that loves rock and roll, and there should be a law that every library in America should have a copy of this available to the public, and it should be mandatory viewing for all high school students.