In August 1970, 600,000 fans flocked to the Isle of Wight to witness the third and final festival to be held on the island. Besides the music, they also got a look at the greed, cynicism and corruption that would plague the music industry for years to come. They also witnessed the final, drugged out performance of Jimi Hendrix in England just two weeks before he would meet a tragic death. When it all was over, the fans view of rock and roll was never the same.
Direction
Lerner captures the creeping dread beneath the flower power.
Editing
Jarring cuts between transcendent music and capitalist chaos.
Acting
Hendrix's final UK performance—exhausted, transcendent, doomed.
Director
Murray Lerner
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Lerner shot 400,000 feet of film but couldn't finish editing until 26 years later, partly because Hendrix's estate blocked footage of his deteriorating condition.
This festival's commercial failure and fan revolt directly shaped how future mega-festivals like Glastonbury organized security and pricing—essentially, rock learned to protect itself from itself.
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