Festival Express
| Festival Express | |
|---|---|
The movie poster
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| Directed by | Bob Smeaton |
| Produced by | Gavin Poolman John Trapman Hugh McGregor |
| Starring |
Janis Joplin Grateful Dead The Band Delaney and Bonnie Buddy Guy |
| Cinematography | Peter Biziou Bob Fiore Clarke Mackey |
| Edited by | Eamonn Power |
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Production
companies |
Apollo Films
PeachTree Films |
| Distributed by | THINKFilm |
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Release date
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Running time
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90 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Festival Express is a 2003 documentary film about the 1970 train tour of the same name across Canada taken by some of North America's most popular rock bands, including Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Buddy Guy, Flying Burrito Bros, and Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. The film combines live footage shot during the 1970 concerts, as well as footage aboard the train itself, interspersed with present-day interviews with tour participants sharing their often humorous recollections of the events.
The film, released by THINKFilm, was produced by Gavin Poolman (son of the original 1970 film shoot's producer, Willem Poolman) together with John Trapman, and directed by double Grammy Award-winner Bob Smeaton (The Beatles Anthology), with music produced by Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin), and features original footage shot in 1970 by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Peter Biziou (Mississippi Burning, Pink Floyd – The Wall , The Truman Show). The original 1970 footage was filmed by director Frank Cvitanovich. A DVD release followed the film's 2003 theatrical run.
Festival Express was staged in three Canadian cities: Toronto, Winnipeg and Calgary, during the summer of 1970. Rather than flying into each city, the musicians traveled by chartered Canadian National Railways train, in a total of 14 cars (two engines, one diner, five sleepers, two lounge cars, two flat cars, one baggage car, and one staff car). The train journey between cities ultimately became a combination of non-stop jam sessions and partying fueled by alcohol. One highlight of the documentary is a drunken jam session featuring The Band's Rick Danko, the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir, New Riders of the Purple Sage's John Dawson, as well as Janis Joplin.
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