Joan Baez Movies

The reflective documentary Pete Seeger: The Power of Song explores the legacy of revered American folk singer and activist Seeger - written and directed by filmmaker Jim Brown when Seeger was in his late '80s. In lieu of recounting the narrative of Seeger's life note-for-note, however, Brown uses that individual biography as a contextual lens, through which he recounts decades of American social history. To tell his story, the filmmaker interpolates original, exclusive interviews with such Seeger contemporaries as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, archival footage of Seeger in concert, and extracts from Seeger's private home movies. In the process, Brown unveils the extent to which Seeger continually prompted societal change through his consciousness-raising music and offstage social efforts. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

For about a year after the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969, it seemed as though everyone wanted to stage a rock festival. However, The Rolling Stones' disastrous Altamont free concert (documented in the film Gimme Shelter) forever tarnished the image of the rock festival in the U.S., while in Europe, the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival was fortunately less deadly than Altamont, but nearly as controversial. Staged by two men with greater ambitions than practical experience (not unlike Woodstock), the festival was held on a small island off the British coast, where some of the finest rock talent of the day -- Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Who, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Donovan, Jethro Tull, Joan Baez, Leonard Cohen, and Kris Kristofferson, among many others -- were scheduled to play over the course of five days. But while at Woodstock no one had given much thought about keeping gatecrashers out, at the Isle of Wight those without tickets were greeted with corrugated steel fences that sealed off the festival grounds. Huge numbers of visitors simply camped on hills surrounding the grounds, while others broke down the fences by force after refusing to pay the three pounds admission. This led to heated conflicts between the promoters (who railed bitterly against the audience from the stage), the festival's security staff (who had to deal with the many gatecrashers), the concert-goers (who were upset with both the admission price and the site's facilities, one spectator calling it "a psychedelic concentration camp"), and the performers (who had to deal with unruly audiences and the prospect of not being paid). It was estimated that 600,000 people attended the festival, but less than 50,000 actually paid to get in, spelling financial ruin for the promoters. American documentary filmmaker Murray Lerner brought a crew to record the festival on film, but thanks to the festival's bad publicity and uneven reviews, he was not able to obtain completion funds for the project until 1995, hence the presence of many musicians who had since passed away, such as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Miles Davis. Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival examines the concert both on-stage and behind-the-scenes, capturing performances from many of the artists who appeared. We see Joni Mitchell and Kris Kristofferson angrily confronting the rowdy crowd, and The Who at the peak of their form (their full set was released as a separate film), alongside the numerous catastrophes and conflicts that dominated the festival's five days. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Woodstock: The Lost Performances is a video collection of highlights from the 120 miles of footage used to make the original 1970 film. Included here are "Work Me Lord" by Janis Joplin, "We Shall Overcome" by Joan Baez, and "Let's Go Get Stoned" by Joe Cocker. This compilation also contains performance footage from Arlo Guthrie, Country Joe McDonald, and the Band. The video was compiled and released during the 20th anniversary of Woodstock. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

A music performance video from Greenwich Village's Folk City club. See performances by many modern folk singers, including The Roches, Roger McGuinn, Odetta, Tom Paxton, Melanie, Richie Havens, Suzanne Vega, Violent Femmes, Arlo Guthrie, Eric Anderson and Joan Baez. ~ Rovi

This compilation documentary covers the massive anti-nuclear peace march held in New York City on June 12, 1982, including the preparations that led up to the march and interviews with concerned and knowledgeable people on the issue of peace, as well as Japanese survivors of the atomic bomb attacks on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in World War II (see No More Hibakusha). The producers, Robert Richter and Stan Warnow have smoothly spliced-together views of the protest march, its speakers and musicians, filmed by more than 40 separate individuals. Among the noted artists who either were there to lend their presence or contributed their talents in one way or another to the success of the protest (estimated at 1,000,000 people) are Pete Seeger, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, Roy Scheider, Orson Welles, Ellen Burstyn, Joan Baez, Judd Hirsch, Bianca Jagger, Susan Sarandon, Jill Clayburgh, and others. Meryl Streep and Anne Twomey did a moving voiceover of the testimony of the Japanese atomic bomb blast survivors. Among the non-artistic notables adding stature to the event were Dr. Benjamin Spock, and Helen Caldicott, representing Physicians for Social Responsibility. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

There was a large, Woodstock-style peace concert held in Hamburg in 1983, and this documentary records the performances and the statements made by many international notables, including Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte, and Floyd Westerman from the U.S., Udo Lindenberg from Germany, Cieslav Niemen from Poland, and many others. The program played to a crowd of 50,000 and lasted a total of 12 hours -- edited down to 100 minutes in this documentary. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This documentary is a tribute to peace activists, containing two separate films on peace protests. The first, "The Healing of Brian Wilson" tells the story of a protester whose legs were cut off by a train carrying weapons. The second film, "The Arms Race Within", focuses on activists who are going to protest nuclear weapons, using the music of Bob Dylan as a backdrop. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

The legendary co-founder of bluegrass, Earl Scruggs (the other co-founder was his longtime partner, Lester Flatt) is seen performing here with the Earl Scruggs Review and a number of other performers, in a concert given in his honor in 1975. The performers who gathered to honor him include The Byrds, Doc & Merle Watson, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Joan Baez, and Ramblin' Jack Elliott. Concert footage is interwoven with reminiscences and testimonials to this remarkable musician. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Narrated by Tom DeWitt, this theatrical video explores the reality that is created in illusion in several short scenes. ~ Rovi

One of the most notorious American judicial cases of the 20th century is paced and photographed like a spaghetti Western in the Italian Sacco and Vanzetti. There is no denying that Nicola Sacco (Riccardo Cucciolla) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (Gian Maria Volontè) were anarchists. But it is highly doubtful that Sacco and Vanzetti were guilty of murder. However, their trial took place at the height of the 1920s "Red Scare," so there was little opportunity for the two men to receive fair treatment. Despite worldwide protests from politicians, intellectuals, and "average Joes," Sacco and Vanzetti were executed on August 23, 1927, after spending nearly seven years on death row. Like most TV and film accounts of this story, Sacco and Vanzetti is clearly sympathetic to the main characters. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This film contains a collection of commercials, interviews, and music featuring Joan Baez, Richard Pryor, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Lenny Bruce, Andy Warhol, and Allen Ginsberg. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

This documentary interview folksinger Joan Baez and husband David Harris, who will soon begin a three year prison term for draft evasion. Harris gives his philosophy about the state of America and the revolution. Baez embarks on a national tour singing folk songs and calling attention to her husband's plight. She gives her opinions to talk show hosts and students in interviews between her delivery of 11 songs. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi