Jerry Garcia Movies

The concert film A Night at the Family Dog captures an evening of music performed in September of 1970 at the Family Dog Ballroom in San Francisco. Three of the leading bands of the era - Santana, The Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Airplane - perform both individually and in a jam sessions together at the end of the event. The seven song set list includes "Sour Sacrifice," "China Cat Sunflower," and "Eskimo Blue Day." ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

While psychedelic rock pioneers the Grateful Dead had been making audio recordings of their shows since the 1960s, in the late '80s -- when their popularity had grown enough that they were regularly playing sports arenas and stadiums -- they started using video screens on-stage to provide a clear view of the band for everyone in attendance, and the group's staff began archiving the video feeds from their live shows, as well as the music. Grateful Dead: A View From the Vault, Vol. 2 presents the video from the band's June 14, 1991, show at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., along with the concert's original live audio mix. Selections include "Jack-A-Roe," "Big River," "The Music Never Stopped," "Dark Star," and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," among others. As a bonus, this video also includes four songs from a July 12, 1990, performance at the same venue. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The ultimate psychedelic video trip, Headcandy is a mind-twisting array of multi-colored abstract visual imagery that bends lights, hues and shapes into an awe-inspiring onslaught for the eyes. Put on the enclosed prism 3-D glasses and light up the enclosed incense to make the trip even more intense. Includes music from Merl Saunders (with special guest Jerry Garcia), as well as Alpha Wave Movement, Cyan, Richard Bone and The Bohemian Swingers. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Traffic: The Last Great Traffic Jam documents a 1994 tour by the reformed band that featured Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi performing together under that name for the first time in over twenty years. The film features a dozen songs performed live including "Dear Mr. Fantasy," "John Barleycorn (Must Die)," and a cover of "Gimme Some Lovin'." ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A Spanish language version of this program is available. Great musicians come together to perform salsa, mambo and improv works. ~ Rovi

On July 8, 1990, the Grateful Dead played one of their legendary three-hour-plus shows for a sold-out crowd at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium. To augment their famous light show (and to give folks in the back a better view of the band), the group employed a multi-camera video setup that allowed everyone in the arena to have a close look at the Dead in action. Given the Grateful Dead's habit of obsessively documenting their performances, it's no great surprise that they held on to a copy of the video feed used that evening, and Grateful Dead: View From the Vault is a home-video release of this performance, mastered from the Dead's own archive copies of the evening's video display and the original two-track soundboard audio mix. The video also features three additional songs from a performance in St. Louis two days earlier. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This 55-minute "trip" into the music of the The Grateful Dead is unlike any other celluloid project the group has attempted. Most Dead movies involve an effort to capture the live experience of Dead culture and energy, but they fall considerably short for obvious reasons. Grateful Dead: So Far, is an attempt to make a more personal vision for the fan. Using advanced computer animation and other psychedelic tricks, you will hear and see interesting versions of Dead classics and some rare relics such as Rhythm Devils, Lady with a Fan, Throwing Stones (Ashes, Ashes), and Uncle John's Band. Directed by Papa Deadhead himself, Jerry Garcia, this film is of great interest to all devout followers of the band, but should also help the neophyte Deadhead to understand the allure of the music. ~ Ed Atkinson, Rovi

This semi-documentary offers an interesting look at the infamous biker organization and makes the slightly slanted point, that despite their reputation as hell-raisers and violent thugs-on-wheels, they do in fact live by a strict code of honor and a genuine love of the road. The film chronicles their initial formation in the early '50s and features appearances by such performers as Willie Nelson, Jerry Garcia, and Johnny Paycheck. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Heartbeeps stars Andy Kaufman and Bernadette Peters as domestic robots who fall in love and run off together. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

This remake of the 1956 horror classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers moves the action from small-town USA to 1970s San Francisco and replaces at least part of the original's psychological horror with special effects. Spores rain forth, unseen, from outer space, and soon strange flowers begin popping up all over the city. After bringing one of these hybrid specimens home with her one night, biologist Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) notices that her live-in boyfriend, Geoffrey (Art Hindle), doesn't seem like himself; he's cold and distant and somehow just not quite there. When she turns to her friend Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland), a colleague at the Department of Public Health, he convinces her to see his friend Dr. Kibner (Leonard Nimoy), a pop psychologist who argues that the problem is all in Elizabeth's head. Soon, though, Matthew and Elizabeth begin to notice that people all over the city are changing subtly and inexplicably. When their friend Jack Bellicec (Jeff Goldblum) and his wife Nancy (Veronica Cartwright) find a lifeless, half-formed doppelganger covered with plant fibers in the mud baths they own and operate, the group of friends finally begins to understand that a sinister transformation is sweeping their city. Kevin McCarthy and Don Siegel, respectively the star and director of the original film, have small roles in the new version, as does an unbilled Robert Duvall. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Even if you're not a "Deadhead," you'll find much to enjoy in The Grateful Dead Movie. This grandiosely labelled "Movie" is a free-form documentary of the Frisco-based rock group, replete with animation sequences and precious concert clips. Jerry Garcia, the head Dead, is credited as co-director. Given Mr. Garcia's legendary preoccupation with controlled substances, it's more than likely that some of the trippier passages can be attributed to him. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi