If it’s a theatrical review you’re looking for, head over HERE to read our review for TAKING WOODSTOCK.

Blu-ray Rating: 3/10

From director Ang Lee (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN), TAKING WOODSTOCK takes a comedic and dramatic look at the real life story of the events that led up to the 1969 Woodstock Festival in White Lake, New York. Demetri Martin stars as Elliot Teichberg, a young man who, in trying to save his family’s motel and the town it exists in, brings the struggling festival and its organizers to his small town. Not long after, thousands of people descend upon the town for the 3 days of peace and music, as the town’s people descend their judgment on Elliot. The young man soon sees firsthand the power behind the choices he’s made, and in the process gets to make a few of his own…maybe for the first time in his life.

As Ms. Urban noted in her review, there is a very famous saying surrounding Woodstock. “If you remember it, you weren’t there.” Just as she cleverly noted that there was also nothing worth remembering about the film TAKING WOODSTOCK, the same can be said for its Blu-ray release, which is seriously lacking any content worthy of a viewing.

I would have expected maybe a documentary on the festival, a retrospective on the event portrayed in the film from the real life people who lived them or possibly even something on the music. This is of course expecting too much, from a film that did not even show the actual spectacle that was the festival one time. Or anything about music for that matter.

Instead we are given a few thrown together, run-of-the mill special features including a behind-the-scenes featurette, with the most interesting segment being a woman describing intricate scene details as they are sprawled out in Post-it notes on a white board. Also included is an uninteresting featurette on The Earthlight Players, a experimental theater troop from the 70s that have maybe three scenes in the film. Then of course are the deleted scenes, which quickly become apparent why they fall under this section. Lastly is the feature commentary with director Ang Lee and writer James Schmaus, in which they mostly discuss just how much detail they put into things you often don’t even notice in TAKING WOODSTOCK.

All in all, the special features for this film were about as far from groovy as the film itself. I’m not even sure watching them stoned would make them interesting or worthwhile. You’re better off getting your own commentary from your parents on this one…that is if they can remember it!