naturalismo

“In 1971, everyone did it. And they did it for love. Filmed at the legendary West Coast philosophical retreat The Esalen Institute (which gave birth to EST and which counted Henry Miller as a regular guest), the very rarely-screened Celebration At Big Sur is a terrific document of this formerly annual concert, featuring the sounds of CSNY, Joan Baez and her sister Mimi Farina, Dorothy Morrison, John Sebastian and Joni Mitchell, all performing on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Like Woodstock, the Celebration was a free festival that had major quirks, which in turn made for great filmic moments. Highlights include Steven Stills getting into a fight with a heckler, experimental Jordan Belson-like bits during Joni’s piano playing, and David Crosby skinny-dipping with Carl Gottlieb (the film’s producer and the co-writer of Jaws) in the infamous Esalen baths while chanting up a storm. Purify yourself at the sea of madness!”

If you live in the LA area, don’t miss a RARE screening of this amazing film tonight at the Silent Movie Theatre on Fairfax. Arthur Magazine has been doing an amazing series of folk-related films. More info here.

The rest of the movie, after the jump (only for those non-LA people out there)!