85
Metascore
26 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Film ThreatPhil HallFilm ThreatPhil HallRich with wonderful music and images.
- 100The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterFestival Express should rightfully take its place in rock history as one of the great performance films of all time.
- 100San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco ChronicleMust-see cinema for any serious rock fan.
- 100VarietyEddie CockrellVarietyEddie CockrellAn instant ancillary classic for music fan.
- 100Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanUltimate geezerfest and rock-doc holy grail.
- 90The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe sociological angle of Festival Express is a narrow one--perhaps too narrow--and doesn't overwhelm the film's real selling point, which is some of the best-looking and best-sounding footage of counterculture icons ever screened.
- 90The New York TimesDave KehrThe New York TimesDave KehrTo watch the biggest stars of their time in casual conversation, trading riffs and passing bottles, without benefit of publicists, handlers and security goons is to relive an innocent, anarchic time in the entertainment business when music, not marketing, was at the center of the enterprise.
- 80L.A. WeeklyHazel-Dawn DumpertL.A. WeeklyHazel-Dawn DumpertTo watch Joplin, Rick Danko, Jerry Garcia and Mickey Hart, all massively wasted, giggling and jamming, is a delight tempered by the knowledge that Joplin would be dead just months later, with the rest but one following after.
- 75Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittFull of bright colors, offbeat people, tuneful sounds.
- 60TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghThe result is a vivid record of live acts whose rough-edged immediacy is an integral part of their appeal.