Monterey Pop

— A documentary that’s held up well and offers a good glimpse of the summer of love. When I saw it again for the 50th anniversary, the audience was mostly gray and a few had come with kids or grandkids, most of whom probably didn’t understand that Monterey Pop was the start of something, if not the Summer of Love, at least of the modern concert festival as we know it—and maybe better since all the groups were treated equally and none of them was paid to appear. It took only seven weeks from start of planning to the first day of music history. It was also the first concert film to use multiple, synched, cameras modified for the film to be "hand-held." And it may have been the first time we’d see the kind concert shots we’re now used to seeing, with severe close-ups, or performers in silhouette because there's a bright light almost behind them. But mostly, you’re amazed that Janis Joplin was pretty much unknown outside California at the time, or that Otis Redding had never really played before a white audience, or that Jimi Hendrix was previously unknown in the U.S. (thank you Paul McCartney for suggesting Jimi be invited to Monterey Pop). It’s also a good reminder of the diversity of audiences at the time, some of whom are dressed in caftans and have flowers in their hair, while others could just as easily be on the fraternity steps or at the country club. It was nice to go back to 1967 for an hour and a half, and then to look at where we’ve gone since then.

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[1968. 78 minutes. Directed by D.A. Pennebaker. Featuring Scott McKenzie, the Mamas and the Papas, Canned Heat, Simon and Garfunkel, Jefferson Airplane with Grace Slick, Big Brother and Holding Company, Janis Joplin, Eric Burdon and the Animals, The Who, Country Joe and the Fish, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, and Ravi Shankar.]
https://nowtoronto.com/movies/reviews/fifty-years-later-monterey-pop-is-a-powerful-reminder-of-the/