Festival Express (2003)
91%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 2 nominations
Festival Express is a spellbinding documentary that nostalgically chronicles five days in the summer of 1970, when a train full of now- legendary rock perfomers jammed its way across Canada.
If you’re looking for a groovy time, Festival Express is the documentary for you. It’s like a time machine that takes you back to the Summer of Love, where you can witness some of the greatest musicians of all time jamming together on a train. The concert performances are out of sight, man, and the whole thing is shot on 16 mm film, so it’s got that authentic, vintage feel. Sure, it’s a little slow in parts, but it’s worth it to see Janis Joplin and The Grateful Dead doing their thing. So grab some popcorn, put on your bell-bottoms, and get ready to rock out with Festival Express.
Production Company(ies)
Black Mandala Onetti Brothers Productions, Rusty Robot
Distributor
ThinkFilm
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Canada
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some language
Year of Release
2004
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 30m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 9, 2003 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 2, 2004
Genre(s)
Documentary/Music
Keyword(s)
Festival Express, documentary, music, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, The Flying Burrito Brothers, train tour, Canada, 1970, rock performers, concert, performance, promoter, reporter, student, box office, budget, R rating, directed by Bob Smeaton, produced by Gavin Poolman, John Trapman, written by N/A, reviewed by Owen Gleiberman, Peter Travers, Marjorie Baumgarten, Anna Smith, Richard Harrington, Ann Hornaday, Jason Gorber, Ethan Alter, Robert Roten, Brian D Johnson, Dennis Schwartz, starring Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, Bob Smeaton, Gavin Poolman, John Trapman, Eddie Kramer
Worldwide gross: $1,281,754
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,021,950
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,416
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 220,496
US/Canada gross: $1,174,079
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,852,094
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,050
US/Canada opening weekend: $12,074
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $19,047
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,530
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
The Grateful Dead – Themselves
Bob Smeaton – Director
Gavin Poolman – Producer
John Trapman – Producer
Eddie Kramer – Music Mixer
Director(s)
Bob Smeaton
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 2 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (80) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (77) | Rotten (3)
September 7, 2011 | Rating: B-
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
August 14, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/4
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
TOP CRITIC
It captures a pure moment in time when musical hearts and minds beat as one, when musicians of all stripes came together to work and play hard and leave behind one damn fine-looking corpse.
October 19, 2004 | Rating: 4/5
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
The road doc format’s nothing new, but it preserves such a brief, precious moment in rock history that it’ll have fans captivated.
September 4, 2004 | Rating: 3/5
Anna Smith
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
There are sterling concert performances by several bands in peak form.
September 3, 2004
Richard Harrington
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
A delirious piece of pop ephemera, a time capsule set on the cusp between the Summer of Love and the Day the Music Died.
September 3, 2004
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Man, what were they smoking? Oh, yeah, right. That.
June 21, 2007 | Rating: A
Jason Gorber
Film Scouts
March 5, 2005 | Rating: 3.5/5
Ethan Alter
NYC Film Critic
A good snapshot of an earlier, simpler, more innocent time that seems now even longer ago than it was.
February 1, 2005 | Rating: B
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
It’s touching to see rock stars in such a raw, uncommercial state. And the film, shot on rich-grained 16 mm, has none of the hyper, fast-cutting style of contemporary concert videos.
November 20, 2004
Brian D. Johnson
Maclean’s Magazine
The music was fabulous–a reason enough to cherish this first-rate documentary.
November 17, 2004 | Rating: A
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
ultimately feels a little like warm leftovers
November 7, 2004 | Rating: 3/5
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com…
Plot
In the summer of 1970, a chartered train crossed Canada carrying some of the world’s greatest rock bands. The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Buddy Guy, and others lived (and partied) together for five days, stopping in major cities along the way to play live concerts. Their journey was filmed.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t provide any goofy or funny comments about the film Festival Express.
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