bob the moo It was the 30th anniversary of the first ever Glastonbury festival recently but to be honest I probably couldn't have told you that before watching this film. Sure, I'll tune in to the television coverage when there are bands I am interested in playing but otherwise I'm not really a festival goer. It didn't take me long to twig that this isn't really a documentary about the festival in the way I expected because it is more about the spirit of the place. Now, in a way, this makes for a very good film because it just sits back and pretty much shows the festival for what it is. The problem is that it also means the film has very little structure, precious little insight and features far too many people just being tw*ts. Some of them are just having fun but the funniest ones are those filled with the "beauty" and "importance" of the event – God I would have loved to know how some of them turned out as they got older! Here and there the film produces moments of interest (eg it was interesting to hear the organisers talk about the riot, the security problems and the like) but mostly it doesn't have many good contributions and even when it does. It doesn't use them well at all. This leaves us with two other things to fill a 2 hour+ run time, performances and footage. The choice of performances is, to put it politely, inconsistent. What does it say for a music festival that has been going on for longer than I have been alive, if this film decides to include David Grey giving a typically bland performance, Pete Dougherty falling into the crowd and several other performances that could only represent "choice picks" if taken from a very limited catalogue. There are other choices that are better but they do tend to lean towards the very modern, I assume because the media coverage meant it was better and more of it. However if the available performances lacked sufficient kickers then it could have gone for more of a focus on the scene at the festival.Like I said, it does do this reasonably well in how it just keeps churning out footage of the people and logistics of the event but even this is pretty average. By just showing the stuff that got caught on camera I did wonder why this was any different from the annual BBC coverage. Literally in the last 20 minutes, the film finally gets down to some thought and insight regarding the way the festival has drifting from being a sort of relaxed commune, to being fenced in and more controlled. However this is barely 4 minutes of discussion and it is approached to suggest that it is done because it has to be – strangely there is no discussion (beyond one scene of rich people) of how branded it has all become.Overall then a fairly pointless documentary that achieves very little in 2 hours. It does kind of grab at the spirit of the event in the footage of people but generally it is lacking interest or insight while the choice of performers made me worry about the festival if some of them were in the "top picks" of 30 years! Might be of value to some but you're more likely to get just as much if not more from the annual coverage on the BBC.

The_Void Unfortunately, I've never been to Glastonbury myself; and it is for people like me that this documentary fails. The tone of the film is aimed far more towards people that can remember the event themselves, and there isn't a great deal to learn for people like myself that have never been. I saw this film with some people that had been to Glastonbury; and they informed me that the film doesn't even show the best bits of the festival, as while director Julien Temple is busy showing us, over and over again, that the festival suffers from gatecrashers; he completely forgets about many of the events other than the live bands, and the true festival atmosphere never really shines through. Going into this film, I was hoping to see some of the great acts that have performed at Glastonbury; and audiences get treated to performances from great acts such as Radiohead, The Prodigy, Massive Attack, David Bowie and an excellent rendition of 'Waterloo Sunset' by Ray Davies, while having to suffer through drivel such as Morrisey, Coldplay and Björk...it's a real mixed bag, which could suit a range of music fans - but the director cuts the performances with other pictures and sounds, and it completely spoils it. We barely get to hear a full song and it would seem that the more exciting the act, the less screen time it gets. Throw in a completely unneeded segment about the toilet facilities and what you have is a documentary about an interesting subject, made very dull. Most of my enjoyment from this film came from the hope that I'd hear a band that I like soon; and most of the time I didn't. Shame really.

come2whereimfrom 35 years and still going strong this documentary from Julien temple tell the story of one of the worlds best festivals. From day one until the most recent the film is punctuated with memorable performances from acts like the prodigy, pulp, Joe Strummer, David Bowie, Bjork and Dr.John to name but a few. There are moments that gave me goose bumps, I suppose it helps that I was there, but none the less there are some amazing performances. As I started watching the film I began to feel it was very one-sided all great atmosphere and friendly smiles and I was pleasantly surprised when it told the side of Glastonbury we would all wish wasn't there, drugs, robberies (no mention of the shooting in 1996) and it even tells the story of the travellers that used to go to Stonehenge before they were stopped and it briefly touches on the battle of the bean field. Elsewhere it gives an overview of everything the festival has become apart from the music. Wild sculptures, musical jams, costumes and over the top performance art all is here along side the things you'd expect tie dye, silly hats and naked hippies. If you've ever been to Glastonbury then you will enjoy this loving take on all its mystical aspects, if you've never been you'll get to see just what you've missed. Music, mud and mayhem combine to make this an amazing inside glance at a world that only exists for five days once a year.

n-forbeswarren Attended a film event at the Colston Hall in Bristol of Julien Temple's documentary about the well known UK festival, from its origins in 1970 as a free festival - clock the footage of folk singer Melanie really giving her all here, plus various archive footage reminiscent of Woodstock - right up to the massive corporate-sponsored event it is today. My wife works for a well-known phone company so we got tickets quite easily and at a reduced rate and she now wants to volunteer to work on the phone charging stand . . . but won't sleep in a tent! Anyway, this movie does not run in any chronological sequence but intersperses past footage with more recent festivals, with a very in-your-face approach. Watch as eager freeloaders try to scale the Superfence and get chased away by security gorillas. Be reminded of heavy-handed police tactics of the Battle of the Beanfield in 1985, which inspired segments of both books I wrote(and promote on appropriate websites.) and also discover why organiser Michael Eavis had to let travellers leave when anarchist types infiltrated them and ruined an otherwise peaceful community. Mud lovers will also revel in footage of last year's flooding shambles and various drunken antics! Clock the entertainers and garish, freakish but very funny and well designed costumes they wear! Go harmonise with nature . . . hee. Live music footage includes Coldplay, Scissor Sisters, Bob Marley, Billy Bragg, David Gray, Chemical Brothers, Velvet Underground(I loved these in my youth!), David Bowie . . . and ROLF HARRIS.Like another reviewer stated, it almost feels like you are there in amongst the madness and noise. Having worked behind the scenes last year on site there with scaffolding for the TV tower situated in front of the main pyramid stage, walking atop the stage(half built!), asking lots of questions(research!), and clearing up afterwards, it was a fascinating and hugely entertaining piece of history brought to life. Whatever music you like, there's something for everyone here. I have to say that I would not like the job of the cleaners in a certain part of the event.But not only did we get the movie, we also got a short acoustic set by The Levellers, which for me brought back so many memories of 1990-1992, I followed them when they toured with New Model Army, met them, got crammed into a small Leicester venue called the Princess Charlotte while those that couldn't get in listened in the streets in 1990, and had fun. This band still have all that energy, even seated playing acoustic! Highly recommended.