On a beautiful June weekend in 1967, at the height of the "Summer of Love," the first and only Monterey International Pop Festival roared forward--capturing a decade's spirit and ushering in a new era of rock and roll. Monterey would launch the careers of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Otis Redding, but they were just a few among a wildly diverse cast including Simon and Garfunkel, The Mamas and the Papas, The Who, The Byrds, Hugh Masekela, and the extraordinary Ravi Shankar. With his characteristic verité style, D.A. Pennebaker captured it all, immortalizing those moments that have become legend: Pete Townshend destroying his guitar; Jimi Hendrix burning his. The Criterion Collection is proud to present the most comprehensive document of the Monterey International Pop Festival ever produced, featuring all three films of the Festival--Monterey Pop, Jimi Plays Monterey, and Shake! Otis at Monterey--along with nearly every complete performance filmed by Pennebaker and his crew.
Box Set: The following DVDs are included in this set:
New 5.1 mixes by legendary recording engineer Eddie Kramer, presented in Dolby Digital and DTS
Two hours of performances not included in the original film, from the following artists: The Association, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Blues Project, The Byrds, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Country Joe and the Fish, The Electric Flag, Jefferson Airplane, Al Kooper, The Mamas and the Papas, Laura Nyro, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Simon and Garfunkel, Tiny Tim, and The Who
Audio commentary on Monterey Popby Festival producer Lou Adler and D.A. Pennebaker
New video interview with Lou Adler and D.A. Pennebaker
Audio interviews with Festival producer John Phillips, Festival publicist Derek Taylor, and performers Cass Elliot and David Crosby
Photo essay by photographer Elaine Mayes
Original theatrical trailer for Monterey Pop
Original theatrical radio spots for Monterey Pop
Monterey Pop scrapbook
Audio commentary on Jimi Plays Monterey by music critic and historian Charles Shaar Murray
Two audio commentaries on Shake! by music critic and historian Peter Guralnick: the first on Otis Redding's Monterey performance, song by song; the second on Redding before and after Monterey
Interview with Phil Walden, Otis Redding's manager from 1959 to 1967
Original theatrical trailer for Jimi Plays Monterey
Video excerpt: Pete Townshend on Monterey and Jimi Hendrix
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