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The Dutch Woodstock, Crossing and Fear the Forest

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The Dutch Woodstock
Gonzo

This DVD/2-CD set recorded at the Holland Pop Festival in 1970 features many of the biggest names from the era such as Pink Floyd, the Byrds, Santana and Jefferson Airplane but it has been cobbled together from bootleg or otherwise substandard sources. That being said, there is still plenty of interest here. The filmed portion is the iffiest; performers are not always visible so you won't necessarily get a good look at T. Rex during "By the Light of the Magical Moon," It's a Beautiful Day performing "Wasted Union Blues" or Al Stewart strumming an acoustic version of "Zero She Flies," but you will get at least glimpses of the big names and lesser acts like Family, Soft Machine, the Flock and Dr. John, interspersed with lots of footage of the crowd that appropriately for the time (and for liberal Europe) features plenty of nudity. Fans will fare better with the CDs where they can hear Santana play "Gumbo," "Savor," and "Jingo" along with Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil," Pink Floyd's "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" and "A Saucer Full of Secrets" and The Byrds' "Old Blue." Country Joe, Cuby & the Blizzards, Canned Heat, Livin' Blues, East of Eden and Quintessence also contribute to The Dutch Woodstock. - Get it at Amazon here.

Savages Crossing
MVD

Here's a B-movie from Australia, a thriller about a small group of people trapped in the Wonga River Roadhouse somewhere in the Outback after a rainstorm causes a flood that cuts off the only road out. Thoughts of simply waiting the flood out quickly disappear as it becomes clear that Sue and her son Damian are on the run with a bunch of money, and who should turn up just as the road closes but Sue's maniac of a husband Phil and a cop with dubious intentions. Needless to say violence ensues in and around the roadhouse, with bar owner Kate and her (somewhere out in the rain) hubby being the only sane ones in the batch. Will the last person standing end up with the money?

Fear the Forest
Lost Empire

The legend that something awful and murderous lives in the forest goes back to Native American lore but nobody (almost nobody!) believes it these days. So there's little concern among the group of college-age kids who head off for a weekend of camping in the wilds of upstate New York. The movie then follows the common plot for horror films of the ilk and the kids start getting picked off one by one. At first it seems the killing is being done by a couple of crazy backwoods hayseeds, and some of it is, but yes there really is something else going on too. And considering that one of the unhappy campers happens to be the daughter of a local town mayor, there's plenty of anguish back home when the kids don't return on time. Predictably hokey but fun nevertheless.


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