MESSAGE TO LOVE: THE ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL is a vital historical document that depicts a climate in which the boundless hippie optimism of the 1960s was about to be chewed up and spit out by the materialistic capitalism of the 1970s. Poorly organized by three upstart concert promoters, the festival brought together 600,000 music fans for a star-studded five-day event. Unfortunately, not many of the festival attendees bothered to purchase tickets, and the resulting dramas kept the concert from becoming the free-and-easy event that people dreamed it would be. While the lineup reads like a who's who of the era's greatest artists--The Who, Free, Taste, Tiny Tim, John Sebastian, Donovan, Ten Years After, The Moody Blues, Kris Kristofferson, Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis, Leonard Cohen, ELP, Joan Baez, Jethro Tull, The Doors, and more--the overlying tensions threatened to drown out the music itself. That said, the show had its standout moments, including what would turn out to be the final stage performance of Jimi Hendrix. Ultimately, director Murray Lerner was aiming for something greater than mere musical reverie, and the finished product reflects that, including several heated exchanges between the promoters and angry managers. The final Isle of Wight festival was not simply a financial fiasco. It spoke of a much greater loss, the loss of a generation's innocence.
Theatrical release: February 23, 1997
The performances were filmed between August 26-30, 1970.
Jimi Hendrix died 18 days after his appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival.
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
(unspecified) - English
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Cinematographer
Andy Carchrae: Cinematographer
Cinematographer
Jack Hazan: British Director
Cinematographer
Mike Whittaker: Cinematographer
Cinematographer
Nic Knowland: British Director of Photography\"Testimony"
Cinematographer
Norman Langley: Cinematographer
Director of Photography
Charles Stewart: Director of Photography, '70s-'90s
Cinematographer
Richard Stanley: Cinematographer
Review 1:
"...[The film] contains the final stage performances of Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix..."
Source: USA Today
p.3D 06/06/1997
Review 2:
"...[An] engrossing time trip backward....A complex, flavorful overview that's like a nonfictive counterculture NASHVILLE..."
Source: Variety
02/12/1996
Review 3:
"The iconic moments are abundant."
Source: Uncut
p.150 04/01/2005
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