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Glastonbury film on TV last Saturday


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Didn't read any reviews of this when it came out, but if I'm in front of a TV on Saturday there are bound to be some good bits.

Glastonbury

10:30pm - 12:45am

BBC2

 

Featuring world-famous names (David Bowie, Radiohead, Blur), lesser-known greats, thousands of extras and, inevitably, a lot of mud, this insightful documentary pays tribute to the West Country music festival that has grown from a gathering of a few hippies in organiser Michael Eavis's field into the biggest open-air, weekend-long event on the planet. Director Julien Temple (The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, The Filth and the Fury) combines material shot by himself and the BBC with swathes of amateur footage by festival-goers to create a thematically structured collage that reflects Glastonbury's evolution over the decades. Some might quibble with the decision not to provide subtitles explaining who anyone is, but in many ways this reflects the democratic, free-for-all spirit of the event. Highlights include the sight of Joe Strummer losing his rag with a BBC cameraman, Eavis arguing with hippy travellers over money and rare footage of the 1985 Stonehenge riots.

 

Directed by: Julien Temple Filmed in: 2006

 

David Bowie, T Rex, Radiohead, REM, Coldplay, Pulp, Oasis, Blur , The Chemical Brothers , Joe Strummer, Primal Scream, Rolf Harris , Michael Eavis

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Ive already ordered it on DVD so im not sure if ill watch it or not...

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I saw most of this on Saturday and was a bit disappointed (Beltman will be pleased to know tha tI was flipping channels back and forth between it and Ten - the Tehran taxi documentary). It seemed to fall between all possible stools - being neither a string of 'best performances' clips, a history of the travellers and alternative festivals, a showcase for eccentrics at the festival, or a video diary of 'how to survive the mud' etc. It was good to see Pulp at their best though. I would have enjoyed more a documentary on Eavis himself (and/or the relationship with the local community), from farmer seeking alternative income through traveller-sheltering idealist to wall-building corporate heli-pad Glastonbury businessman.

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Beltman will be pleased to know tha tI was flipping channels back and forth between it and Ten - the Tehran taxi documentary

I like Ten, but it's no documentary--Kiarostami rehearsed by thoroughly explaining the characters and the story's rough outline, and then allowed the actors to improvise their dialogue while driving in the car. Plus, it's not about a taxi; that car belongs to the driver and the movie charts her various conversations with the passengers she happens to have, including her own young son. Still, that camera bolted to the dashboard sure makes it look like Taxicab Confessions, doesn't it?

 

However, Kiarostami's follow-up, 10 on Ten, actually is a documentary. Recycling the same minimalist method, Kiarostami bolts a digital camera to a dashboard and simply captures the driver

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I like Ten, but it's no documentary--Kiarostami rehearsed by thoroughly explaining the characters and the story's rough outline, and then allowed the actors to improvise their dialogue while driving in the car.

Aah - I missed the beginning, though maybe that wasn't made clear. The 'son' was acting really well then!

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