Last October the Academy presented a two-day celebration of the documentary feature Woodstock at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.  Now Woodstock magic returns to its East Coast roots in a screening of a 35mm print of the film’s original 1970 stereo theatrical release. 

The screening will begin at 1 p.m., and after a two-hour break, the celebration will continue at 6 p.m. with an onstage panel discussion with festival veterans.  Guests include Academy Award®-winning film editor Thelma Schoonmaker; concert producers Michael Lang and Joel Rosenman; concert staffer Lee Blumer; headhunter and campground coordinator Stan Goldstein; and sound engineer Bill Hanley (schedules permitting). 

In 185 glorious minutes, Woodstock captures an event, a culture, a generation.  The day before the festival, director Michael Wadleigh came on board with little more than a verbal agreement and a handshake, and associate producer Dale Bell organized roughly 80 cinematographers, sound recordists and technicians into a single crew.  Through rainstorms, electrical shorts and a swelling crowd, the team captured “three days of peace and music” on 315,000 feet of film, immortalizing performances by Richie Havens, Joan Baez, The Who, Sha Na Na, Ten Years After, Arlo Guthrie, Crosby Stills & Nash, Joe Cocker, Country Joe & the Fish, John Sebastian, Santana, Sly & the Family Stone and Jimi Hendrix.

This 35mm print of Woodstock is screened courtesy of Warner Bros.

Academy Award winner: Documentary Feature (Bob Maurice, producer).

Academy Award nominee: Film Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker), Sound (Dan Wallin, Larry Johnson).