Fillmore (1972) User Reviews

Must see for the obscure bands

[Evildad · 8/10 · 7 March 2010]

Never saw the original theatrical release, but this DVD is only 55 minutes or so. There's no Bill Graham interview stuff, he just hops on stage and introduces a few of the bands. The opening credits seem to run forever, sucking up a lot of that minuscule hour of video. Possible the most egregious (to me) error is that during Jefferson Airplane's clip, they show a ton of footage of outdoor scenes (crowds, rallies, concerts) and occasionally closeups of Grace, Paul and Marty. I suspect this was in the original film this way, and probably because the stage footage sucked but they wanted to include the Airplane.

All that's the bad news. The good news is that this DVD has two complete songs by Quicksilver (featuring plenty of guitar work by John Cipollina), most of a song by It's a Beautiful Day, two pieces by Hot Tuna, a rave-up tune by Cold Blood: all this is worth the price of the DVD. The video is extreme wide-screen, mostly split in two parts, sometimes three and sometimes overlapping montage. If you're looking for footage of old heroes, you could do worse than this.

It Got Me Hummin'!

[ferbs54 · 8/10 · 3 June 2013]

There is a current popular saying, to the effect "I may be old, but at least I got to see all the good bands"; a sentiment with which I could not agree more. As a matter of fact, this aging baby boomer would even be more than willing to be a good two or three years older now, if only I could have seen more shows at Bill Graham's Fillmore East here in NYC. My tender years seemed to make it impossible for me to take in more than a single show at the beloved theater, but at least it was a memorable triple doozy--Johnny Winter, Chicago and Blodwyn Pig--on 11/15/69. But for all the hundreds of incredible bills at that theater and at the older Fillmore West that I missed, at least there is a consolation prize: the documentary "Fillmore," which was released in 1972, and which gives us a glimpse of some of the acts that performed at the famed San Francisco institution during its closing week in the summer of '71, after an almost six-year run. Besides showcasing some tremendous music, the film gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the charismatic Graham himself, arguably the most popular and influential concert promoter in rock history. Thus, interpolated among the musical acts, we get to see Bill playing basketball, hanging out at the park with his young son, threatening to beat up a musician who has just cursed at him, and generally cajoling, charming, arguing and dealing with managers and other music biz people on the phone. (Surprisingly, the group Santana, which one might have thought the most right-on of entities, comes off as a bunch of genuine prima donnas here, judging by Bill's comments!) He also gives us a capsule biography of himself at one point, and reveals that at first he wanted to be a character actor, and indeed, the mercurial, Berlin-born, Bronx-raised Graham might have made a good one. He is a foul-mouthed charmer, giving the film both humanity and soul. Still, it is the music that is the main drawing card of "Fillmore," and rightfully so.

Many folks have already complained about how the current Rhino DVD excises over 20 minutes of footage from the original film, including a wonderful performance by Boz Scaggs, and yes, I would agree that this is to be lamented. Others have complained about the number of performers who appear on the "Fillmore" double CD but not in the film, and while it is true that bands such as Malo, Sons of Champlin, Tower of Power, Stoneground, NRPS and yes, Scaggs all do appear on the CDs but not the DVD, still, much wonderful music remains. I consider the CD and DVD to be complementary items, as even many of the bands appearing on both are represented by different songs. And as to the incredible music on the DVD itself: The unjustly forgotten band Lamb kicks things off, featuring some dynamite singing from Barbara Mauritz on the tunes "Hello Friends" and "Isn't It Just a Beautiful Day" (the latter tune does not appear on the CD). Following this set we have a band with still another awesome female lead singer, Lydia Pense and Cold Blood, performing "You Got Me Hummin'" and "Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free," with Lydia giving Janis and Grace some serious competition as the best distaff belter in the Bay Area. (On the album, the band is only represented by one song, "I Just Want to Make Love to You.") Next up, the awesome and mighty Hot Tuna, a band that I have seen around 150 times now over the past 40 years. Here, we are given a snippet of "Candy Man," followed by a most impressive rendition of "Uncle Sam Blues." (On the album, the only Tuna song provided is the Rev. Gary Davis burner "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning.") Following a rehearsal segment by the Rowan Brothers, Quicksilver Messenger Service (sadly, not featuring John Cipollina in this incarnation) gives us their hit song "Fresh Air," followed by "Mojo," highlighted by some impressive singing from Gary Duncan and awesome picking by the Cipollina fill-in (Dino Valenti?). After some footage of the San Fran scene to the strains of J.A.'s "We Can Be Together," and some backstage views of Jerry Garcia rehearsing on pedal steel with NRPS, the good ol' Grateful Dead takes the stage to perform "Casey Jones" and "Johnny B. Goode," the latter song inducing the audience to go understandably bonkers. The wonderful band It's a Beautiful Day next performs the one-time FM staple "White Bird," and then we are privy to the Elvin Bishop Group tearing it up on a segment of "The Sky Is Crying." (On the album, the band gives us "So Fine" and "Party Till the Cows Come Home.") Finally, recorded on the Fillmore's last night, Sunday, July 4th, Santana blows the roof off the dump with staggering versions of "Incident at Neshabur" and Miles Davis' "In a Silent Way." In all, a highly satisfying document of a legendary theater and its manager. On a side note, I might add that one item the CD offers that the DVD does not is a list of every single show that the Fillmore hosted from 11/6/65 to 7/4/71. For a baby-boomer music lover, some of these shows--such as Arthur Lee and Love, the James Gang and Black Sabbath (11/19-22/70), and Ten Years After, Canned Heat, and Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks (6/28-30/68)--would almost seem too good to be true. And yet, thanks to the hard work of Bill Graham and his staff, they all happened, and the "Fillmore" DVD is a nice visual and aural proof. And now, if you'll excuse me, I will go back to work on my time machine. The Delaney and Bonnie with Eric Clapton, New York Rock & Roll Ensemble, and Golden Earring show on 2/19/70 is one that I've just GOT to see!

If ever a movie begged for expanded DVD...

[sjohgart · 7/10 · 22 September 2004]

Yes, friends and IL' hippies, if ever there was a movie begging for an expanded edition wide-screen DVD release, this is the one. I haven't seen it since '72, granted, and my mental awareness at that time was probably a bit...different...but based on the soundtrack CD set I'd wager this is still a great look at the crazy IL' daze, with some wonderful music and a fun backstage look at the music culture of the time. Yes, it's true, I do have the added motivation that I had the astounding good fortune to attend a couple of these shows (the Dead/New Riders/Rowan Brothers show and the Hot Tuna/Quicksilver show), and would thus particularly get a kick out of seeing the film again. Let's hope "Festival Express" does really well; maybe that will punch somebody's button and wake 'em up to the potential market for this film.

Just for the record...

[kohntarkosz · 31 December 2006]

The movie could theoretically be released on DVD, if someone can be bothered to work out all the legalities of getting the footage of all the different bands cleared.

But an "expanded" edition is impossible. In one of the Grateful Dead books I have, it's said that the director had filmed entire performances by the various bands, and had always intended to make a sequel, but could never get funding to do so. He carried this footage around with him, every time he moved, but eventually reached a point during the 80's when he could no longer afford to pay for the storage fees. So he was forced to junk all of his outtake footage.

A dim look at some good stuff

[Nozz · 8/10 · 9 May 2000]

The music of the Fillmore West closing concert is interspersed with a bit of documentary about Bill Graham. The music isn't reproduced too well (if I can judge by my cable-tv reception), and there is evidently a split screen that is lost (or more irritatingly, almost lost) in the video version. But Bill Graham is fascinating, there are some unjustly-forgotten musical groups such as Cold Blood, and we're reminded that once upon a time Jefferson Airplane did harmonies and Santana was a group, not a guru.

Laast Days of The Fillmore

[mark-2629 · 10/10 · 14 March 2006]

Considering so few films exist of this era, this is a must see and I too indeed hope it makes it to DVD. I am at this point searching out a VHS copy. I have the vinyl soundtrack and I enjoy hearing many of the tracks often. Real footage of the workings of a Bill Graham presentation, with the Dead, Quicksilver, Santana, etc is a unique experience.And to see Bill Graham in action. Worth the experience. He was one in a billion. Attending this particular event, most would have died and gone to heaven to be within a bongs smoke cloud whisper of the Fillmore East on this 3 day event. The closing of the Fillmore East in NYC. Luckily here in the Bay Area the Fillmore West still goes on strong.

Truth be told. I saw this as a young teenager when it came out and on PBS once a few years ago. I would love to see it again. The feeling of the era is there and the music stands up well against memory. The Hot Tuna alone is superb. All in all a long hairs dream come true and in the film Garcia, Jorma and Jack and Bill Graham all look forever young. To be there once again in film would do everyone a fine solid.

Very disappointing

[xnet95 · 4/10 · 31 May 2011]

I was really pumped to see this one, but as I sat through one hour and 45 minutes of "The Bill Graham Show", my mood slowly deflated. If you have a Bill Graham fetish or you love Bill Graham, you will love this movie. If not, well...

The problems include way, way, way too much Bill Graham. Over 50% of this movie is him. More music and less Bill, please. Also, shot selection of the band's performances is horrendous. I don't know if they were intentionally trying to be artsy, or they were covering up terrible camera work. For example, during It's a Beautiful Day, we see unrelated cover shots instead of the gorgeous female lead singer. During Jefferson Airplane, we see exterior shots from an outdoor festival. During Santana, we see Carlos for about 1 minute out of 15 because they're too busy showing the keyboard player's hands for 5 minutes. Last, but not least, the two songs they chose for the Dead were the lamest two songs they did during this era - Casey Jones & Johnny Be Good. I love the Dead, but that just killed it for me.

Bright spots include Hot Tuna (with Papa John Creach), Quicksilver, Elvin Bishop, and especially Santana. If you're a Santana fan, you should definitely watch this movie.

This film needs to be preserved and released on video asap!

[lordguano · 5 January 2001]

This movie is a precious time-capsule that is, unfortunately, out of print on home video. The terrific performances from the likes of Boz Scaggs, Santana, Jefferson Airplane and particularly the Grateful Dead each at their respective peaks, would be reason enough to celebrate this film... But they almost pale in comparison to the portrait of the magnetic pioneering rock impresario Bill Graham and his immortal magical San Fransiscan rock palace, the Fillmore West.

In 1971, Graham decided the time had come to close the doors to the fabled concert hall (and it's NYC counterpart, The Fillmore East) due to what he candidly describes as the egos of the performers having run amuck. This now-rarely seen documentary gives us a glimpse into the hassles and headaches (and joy) Graham experiences while trying to put together the lineup of acts for this final week of shows at the Fillmore. Footage of Graham doing dances to accommodate the needs of this performer or meet the demands of that agent illustrate his sense of disillusionment with the "business" in fascinating detail.

While the split screen techniques applied here are derivative of the ground breaking work by Mike Wadleigh and company on the Woodstock film project, the subject matter in Fillmore is sufficient to set this movie apart from most other such films of the time. The only question remains is, who owns the rights to this film and why hasn't it been mastered in wide screen for DVD and home video yet?

The end of an era

[stephen-357 · 26 January 2005]

An excellent in your face documentary about 60's rock promoter Bill Graham that chronicles the last days of his Fillmore West which he closed in 1971 along with the Fillmore East a while later. FILLMORE gives us a no nonsense look at the music business after the nirvana of the 1960's had evaporated. The musical groups that flourished in the open San Francisco atmosphere and elsewhere during the mid to late 60's, became "authoritarian", corrupted by power bought with success and money. When love of music became secondary to egos and business interests, Graham decided to get out of the business. And so after watching the daily drudgery of Graham having to deal with prima Donnas, the threat of cancellations and broken agreements, it's easy to see why he wanted out. On the other hand, when talented musicians like Boz Scaggs, Carlos Santana, Elvin Bishop and Jerry Garcia take the stage to do their thing, it's easy to see why he got into the business in the first place.