Taking Stock

 

The buzz is mixed for Ang Lee's "Taking Woodstock." The Telegraph says it's a "sunny-side-up account of the famous hippy festival in upstate New York ... that is a loving recreation of a time that holds a special place in the hearts of millions of people all across the world ... timed to coincide with its fortieth anniversary this year, that unashamedly plays up its comedy and youthful idealism." But Entertainment Weekly says "there's very little of the authentic music and even less of the authentic vibe in Ang Lee's 'Taking Woodstock,' a view of the legendary 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Festival as seen through the eyes of a gay, Jewish, aspiring interior designer and his immigrant parents who ran a ratty Catskill motel down the road from where it all went down. So if you want the truth -- and the spirit -- get Michael Wadleigh's great 1970 Woodstock documentary on Netflix."