The Film (5/5)

    The Monterey Pop Festival could be considered from a pop culture perspective the beginning of the hippie 1960's as many know them (and yes this is a concert that took place in 1967). The hippie movement had obviously been occurring in pockets for years, but this concert, and D.A. Pennebaker's film of it put the movement on the big screen and its significant acts out there for for the world to see.  It was a huge coming out party in many ways for significant artists of the flower power generation such as Jimi Hendrix, Country Joe and the Fish, and Janis Joplim (playing with Big Brother and the Holding Company).  The cultural impact of this one show could be felt for decades to come, and certainly make waves over American culture through the early half of the next decade at a minimum.

    Of course, none of that would have mattered if D.A. Pennebaker's documentary didn't do such a fantastic job of taking the wonderful and exciting performances and translating them to the cinematic medium. On top of that Pennebaker and his crew between songs film the crowd, and their reaction, but not just their reaction, but the make up of the crowd which shows the burgeoning hippie movement as it is ready to explode on to the world stage.

    The documentary has a raw, almost hypnotic quality to it's style that is just fascinating to watch. This is brought to life by the lovely organic 16mm film stock Pennebaker and crew used to capture the event and is rendered so wonderfully by Criterion on this new 4k re-release (more on that in A/V below), which brings the colors and detail of the event to life like never before. 

    Also, included in this Criterion set are out takes which include parts of sets of various bands that were deemed not quality enough to fit into the films, but are still interesting and fun for fans of the respective bands (I love the Who's Substitute included here).  There is also Jimi Plays Monterey! Which is Jimi's 50 minute set which turned the now guitar god into the legend he became practically overnight, and Shake! Otis at Monterey the full 5 song, 19 minute set that Otis Redding played at the event. This would tragically be one of the final shows of his career before his untimely death a few months later.

Audio/Video (5/5)

    All 3 transfer are presented at 1:33:1 in 1080p transfers. Shake! Otis at Monterey, and Jimi Plays Monterey are preseented in their 2009 remasters while the actual Monterey Pop documentary has a new 4k scan. All 3 films look really fantastic on Blu-ray, however, the new scan for the Montery Pop documentary itself has a truly dynamic look with more fantastic colors, more intact and organic grain structure and detail. The others have solid colors and detail, and look organic as well, with nice solid blacks and flesh tones.

    There are 2 audio options on the Jimi and Otis disc English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0 and 3 on the Monterey disc  English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English LPCM 2.0 (Original), and English: LPCM 2.0 (Remixed). All the tracks really provide an excellent and dynamic audio experience throughout and I found no issues with any of them.

Extras (5/5)

    If you are a fan of Monterey Pop, D.A. Pennebaker, and the bands involved this set is going to please you immensely.  This set has commentaries, out takes, documentaries, short films, photo essays, liner notes, and much more. It is truly an immersive Monterey Pop experience.

Overall

    Monterey Pop was a cultural touchstone when it was released at the tail end of the 60's. The documentary still holds up wonderfully today, and Criterion's new release looks and sounds brilliant. It is loaded up with a wonderful slate of extras and comes highly recommended.