Festival Express
Festival Express is a 2003 British documentary film about the 1970 train tour of the same name across Canada taken by some of North America's most popular rock bands, including Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Buddy Guy, Flying Burrito Bros, Ian & Sylvia's Great Speckled Bird, Mountain and Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. The film combines footage of the 1970 concerts and on the train, interspersed with contemporary recollections of the tour by its participants.
| Festival Express | |
|---|---|
The movie poster | |
| Directed by | Bob Smeaton |
| Produced by | Gavin Poolman John Trapman |
| Starring | Janis Joplin Grateful Dead The Band Delaney and Bonnie Buddy Guy |
| Cinematography | Peter Biziou Bob Fiore Clarke Mackey |
| Edited by | Eamonn Power |
Production companies | Apollo Films PeachTree Films |
| Distributed by | Optimum Releasing |
Release dates |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The film, released by THINKFilm in the United States and Optimum Releasing in the United Kingdom, was produced by Gavin Poolman (son of the original 1970 film shoot's producer, Willem Poolman) together with John Trapman, and directed by double Grammy Award-winner Bob Smeaton, with music produced by Eddie Kramer and featuring original footage shot in 1970 by Academy Award–winning cinematographer Peter Biziou. The original 1970 footage was filmed by director Frank Cvitanovich. A DVD release followed the film's 2003 theatrical run.