In August 1969, half a million young people from all walks of life journeyed from every corner of the country to a dairy farm in upstate New York for a concert unprecedented in scope and influence.
From American Experience, Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation examines the tumultuous decade that led to those three historic days — years that saw the nation deeply divided by Vietnam and racial, generational and sexual politics — through the voices of those who were present for the event that would become the defining moment of the counterculture revolution.
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When to Watch the Program
In conjunction with the 50th anniversary, Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation premiered Tuesday, August 6, 2019 on CPTV, as well as on pbs.org and the PBS Video App.
Upcoming encores on CPTV include Saturday, August 31, 2019 at 8 p.m. and Tuesday, September 3, 2019 at 12 a.m.
More About Woodstock
Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation is directed by award-winning filmmaker Barak Goodman, written by Goodman and Don Kleszy, and produced by Goodman and Jamila Ephron.
“For three days in August, 1969, the values of ‘peace and love,’ loudly championed by the counterculture movement, were actually put to the test in the miserable conditions at Woodstock,” said Goodman. “The more than 400,000 people who attended the festival proved that they were more than just words. For a surprising number of people, that brief encounter with sacrifice, cooperation and generosity changed their lives. I think Woodstock continues to inspire because the grace demonstrated there was real and enduring.”
“Unlike Michael Wadleigh’s classic 1970 documentary, our film turns the cameras around, into the audience,” said American Experience executive producer Mark Samels. “By focusing on individuals — from concert goers to security guards to performers to local residents — Woodstock expands our understanding of the event as not only an unparalleled musical milestone, but a once-in-a-century cultural phenomena that served as a coda to the sixties and a harbinger of the decades to come.”
Interviewees include festival producers and staff including Donald Goldmacher, Carol Green, Michael Lang, John Morris, John Roberts and Joel Rosenman; activist Wavy Gravy; festival attendees and others.
For more information on the film, click here.