Woodshock (1985)

A correction is needed here that this project was not directed by Richard Linklater. This project was done by Lee Daniel with Richard as a newcomer to film. Yes, he participated in it but he did not by any means direct it. Good snapshot of Austin at that time and the seed of slacker life.

I've never been to the Woodshock music festival in Texas, but watching the footage from Richard Linklater and Lee Daniel it looks like a lot of fun (though it depends on the word "lot"). It's just a simple stretch of interviews and images capturing the people who camp out, dope up, drink up, sometimes get naked, and jump into a nearby waterfall, whilst listening to musicians like Daniel Johnston. It's nothing very provocative or entrancing, but I liked how it opened with the two shots of just the sun in the horizon surrounded by trees, and the neat pan going across the empty grass and river. Then it cuts right into the mayhem of the festival- not as chaotic or beautiful as Woodstock but pretty 'neat' in its own right- and it's not too far removed from the kinds of characters one might find in the foreground &/or background of Dazed and Confused. Some of the 'psychedelic' moments aren't too complicated either, which is a plus, as there are only a few shots where an image is superimposed over another to create something strange. I liked it.

This short film - a documentary of a local Austin rock festival and co-directed with Linklater's friend Lee Daniel - is little more than some hand held footage and short interviews with festival goers, mostly potheads and drunks. It is an interesting document of the times, and perhaps the most interesting aspect for most people is comparing these children of hippies and hippie culture in the light of the original Woodstock. For me, it was nostalgic to see this film - like Linklater, I am a Texan and grew up with kids like these. But I don't see much appeal for other people, it reveals very little about Linklater or his style. Mike Judge (another Texan) no doubt found his inspiration for Beavis and Butthead from these types of concert-goers.

Perhaps, because the Ausitn music festival, "Woodshock" obviously lifted their name from "Woodstock", young filmmaker Richard Linklater, decided to shoot this documentary short film in the same style as that acclaimed documentary from which it borrows it's name.This short appears on the "Slacker" DVD, and like that disc's other bonus film - the feature length, "It's Impossible to Know How to Plow By Reading Books" - it's a chance to see a young talented filmmaker trying to figure out how to make movies.The film shows that Rick does understand how to shoot stylistically - even if he is only imitating "Woodstock". But that in later years, Rick would decide to shoot his films in a more subtle style, where dialog takes precedence over visuals.