Many documentaries represent a single point of view—but in filming the legendary free music festival in upstate New York in the summer of 1969, director Michael Wadleigh employed a groundbreaking multiple-screen effect so that memorable moments wouldn't be lost. Viewers can see performers onstage and audience members listening, dancing, and reacting, as well as other behind-the-scenes events at the same time. This required 16 cameras and 120 miles of film, but the performances of legendary acts like The Who and Jimi Hendrix, as well as popular acts of the day like Canned Heat and Country Joe & The Fish, are now immortalized in something more than just a music documentary. It's a timeless record of a specific movement, culture, and state of mind. Future director Martin Scorsese was on the crew, and Scorsese's future editor Thelma Schoonmaker received her first Oscar® nomination for her watershed work in cutting the finished film.