The Girl On a Motorcycle (1968)

The Girl on a Motorcycle (French title La Motocyclette) is a 1968 British-French erotic romantic drama film directed by Jack Cardiff, starring Alain Delon and Marianne Faithfull. Released as Naked Under Leather it was the first film to receive an X rating in the United States, and edited by Warner Brothers for an "R" rating. It was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival but the festival was cancelled due to the May 1968 events in France. The Girl on a Motorcycle redefined the leather jacket for motorcyclists into a catsuit that Faithfull wore in the film.

The Big Cube (1969)

Former actress Andriana clashes with her step-daughter Lisa over their inheritance. Lisa and her 'hippie' boyfriend plot to drive her insane with LSD. Will they be successful in this diabolical plot?

Last Hippie Standing (2001)

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Last Hippie Standing (2001) is a 45-minute documentary by the German filmmaker Marcus Robbin about Goa, India. The film compares the 1960s and 1970s hippie era with the situation in 2000.

The film has no commentary and consists of documentation of the ongoing party culture in Goa, as well as private and previously unreleased Super 8 footage from the 1960s and 1970s in Goa, filmed by Cleo Odzer. This material is the only existing contemporary film document of the hippie era in Goa. Furthermore, interviews with hippie veterans like Goa Gil, locals, and the former chief minister of Goa, Francisco Sardinha, describe the clashes that occur between the party culture and Indian conservatism. The last part of the documentary is shot at the Berlin Love Parade, where the protagonists reflect on their own spiritual development and the changes that have occurred since the hippie movement's advent.

I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!

I Love You, Alice B. Toklas is a 1968 American romantic comedy film directed by Hy Averback and starring Peter Sellers. The film is set in the counterculture of the 1960s. The cast includes Joyce Van Patten, David Arkin, Jo Van Fleet, Leigh Taylor-Young (in her film debut) and a cameo by the script's co-writer Paul Mazursky. The title refers to writer Alice B. Toklas, whose 1954 autobiographical cookbook had a recipe for cannabis brownies. The film's eponymous theme song was performed by sunshine pop group Harpers Bizarre.

Attorney Harold Fine is cornered into setting a date for marriage by his secretary/fiancée, Joyce. Because of a fender bender, he ends up driving a hippie vehicle, a psychedelically painted station wagon. When taking his hippie brother, Herbie, to the funeral of his family's butcher he encounters Nancy, Herbie's girlfriend, an attractive, free-spirited, barefoot flower power lady. She takes a liking to Harold, and after they spend a night together in his home, makes him pot brownies. However, she departs without telling him about its special ingredient, and not knowing what they are he eats them and feeds them to his father, mother, and fiancée, who dissolve in laughter and silliness. Harold considers the "trip" a revelation, and begins renouncing aspects of his "straight" life. He leaves his fiancée at the chuppah moments before they are to be married, starts living with Nancy, and tries to find himself with the aid of a guru. Ultimately he discovers the hippie lifestyle is as unfulfilling and unsatisfying as his old lifestyle—Nancy says that monogamy "isn't hip"—and once more decides to marry Joyce. At the last minute, he again leaves her at the altar and runs out of the wedding onto a city street saying he doesn't know for sure what he is looking for but, "there's got to be something beautiful out there."

Roger Ebert found some of the movie "good and pretty close to the mark, and Sellers is very funny," he disliked the film's stereotyped view of hippiedom, concluding, "If they'd dropped Sellers into a real hippie culture, we might really have had a movie here."

Revolution (1968)

EXPOSED! The Weird Rites of the Hippies. All About the rebellious ones. How they live, love and die in their wild, wild world! Revolution is a documentary film by Jack O'Connell made in San Francisco in 1967. It was subsequently revived with added reminiscences.

Although most interviewees are not named some of them have been identified, such as Kurt Hirschhorn, Frank Jordan, Cecil Williams and Herb Caen. Daria Halprin appears in the film as herself. Also appearing in the film are the Ace of Cups, Country Joe and the Fish, and Dan Hicks.

The soundtrack album features Steve Miller Band, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Mother Earth who also appear in the film. It was released in 1968 by United Artists Records (UAS 5185) and produced by Ben Shapiro.

Jack O'Connell also made Village Sunday in 1960, which is a short documentary about the bohemian scene in Greenwich Village.

Tie-died: Rock 'n Roll's Most Deadicated Fans (1995)

Filmed during the Grateful Dead's 1994 summer tour, this film chronicles the lives of the "Deadheads"-- free-spirited fans who follow the band around the country.

Bedazzled (1967)

Bedazzled is a 1967 British comedy DeLuxe Color film directed and produced by Stanley Donen in Panavision format. It was written by comedian Peter Cook and starred both Cook and his comedy partner Dudley Moore. It is a comic retelling of the Faust legend, set in the Swinging London of the 1960s. The Devil (Cook) offers an unhappy young man (Moore) seven wishes in return for his soul, but twists the spirit of the wishes to frustrate the man's hopes.

Weed (1972)

 

Documentary about the prevalence and popularity of marijuana in the early 1970's. Featuring interviews with customs agents, a drug dealer, a law professor, and marijuana smokers, such subjects as the growing, smuggling, smoking, selling, and legalization of marijuana are all addressed. Moreover, the filmmakers take us on a tour around the world to various places that include Mexico, Canada, Cambodia, Nepal, and Saigon, Vietnam in order to show the ubiquity and availability of marijuana all over the globe. 

For the first couple years of his feature filmmaking career, X-rated auteur Alex de Renzy focused almost entirely on directing documentaries. His distinct style of cinéma vérité crossed with informal interviews resulted in a unique series of films exploring world cultures, as seen through underground and transgressive sex and drug lifestyles. 

This ambitious examination of marijuana takes deRenzy on an international journey as he meets dealers, users, and the various lawmen out to stop them. A sometimes funny, sometimes unsettling, but constantly engrossing examination of the then burgeoning "war on drugs".

LET'S GO - Psychedelic era Vancouver 1968

LET'S GO examines Vancouver's psychedelic scene in 1968 on 4th Avenue, the heart of flower power. Bill Good hosts the show and among the celebrity guests in Part 1 are Country Joe (and the Fish), Pat Boone and Richard Pryor. The weekly Vancouver, BC edition of the CBC network series usually featured local bands and singers and occasionally celebrity groups like Eric Burdon & the Animals. In Part 2 the guests joining in the discussion were The Everly Brothers, The Beach Boys, Harper's Bizarre, Little Richard, Bobby Hebb, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra jr. with comments from Timothy Leary and the Beatles' spiritual advisor Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Dreadheads: Portrait of a Subculture

Dreadheads: Portrait of a Subculture. The award-winning documentary by Steven R. Hurlburt and Flournoy Holmes provides a fun, witty, incisive trip down an unexplored tributary of Grateful Dead fan culture. Featuring interviews with authors (David Gans, Blair Jackson, Steve Silberman), musicians (Bob Weir, Jimmy Herring, Dave Schools, John Bell), academics and the heads who populate the scene. Original soundtrack music by Spunhuny.

The Doors Are Open 1968

The Doors Are Open is a 1968 black-and-white documentary about the American rock group the Doors. It was produced by Jo Durden-Smith for Granada TV and directed by John Sheppard and first aired in the United Kingdom on 4 October 1968. The programme combines footage of the Doors playing live at London's Roundhouse venue, interviews with the band members and contemporary news snippets of world current affairs - protests at the 1968 Democratic Convention, French riots, statements from politicians and footage of the Vietnam War etc.

Grateful Dead England 1970 (The Lost Film)

The lost documentary of the Grateful Dead's first trip to England in May of 1970. As the story goes, the camera crew was dosed during filming and the project was abandoned. Leaving the film in a rough unfinished state.

The film features some great interviews and dialogue with the Dead, including the most extensive interview I have ever seen with Pigpen. There is a long sequence with Jerry and Micky before playing at the Hollywood 70 festival where they are clearly tripping. Jerry inparts some wisdom according to how the world looks for him. The fashion and the recording and music gear featured are a treat as are the amazing old cars in the background along with shots of London at the time.

The Hollywood Music Festival was held at Leycett in an area called Hollywood on the grounds of Ted Askey's Lower (pig) Farm at Finney Green, between Silverdale and Leycett, near Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, on 23 and 24 May 1970. It was notable for the first performance of Grateful Dead in the UK and also for the performance of Jose Feliciano and Mungo Jerry, and featured such notable bands as Free, Ginger Baker's Air Force, Colosseum, Family, Black Sabbath and Traffic. The company responsible for the festival was Onista Ltd, who promptly went bankrupt unable to pay festival staff. Onista was an offshoot of Eliot Cohen's Red Bus company, with Ellis Elias and Elliot Cohen as the promoters.

Jimi Hendrix Experience | Live in Maui | Full Concert 1970

 

The Jimi Hendrix Experience on July 30, 1970 live in Maui. Some footage and audio has never been heard in 50 years. Just click on the image and it will take you there.......

Tonite Let’s All Make Love In London (1967)

Tonite Let's All Make Love In London (1967) from Will Andrade on Vimeo.

Legendary document from Swinging London. Peter Whitehead's Swinging London documentary, subtitled "A Pop Concerto," comprises a number of different "movements," each depicting a different theme underscored by music. A early version of Pink Floyd's "Interstellar Overdrive" plays behind some arty nightclub scenes, while Chris Farlowe's rendition of the Rolling Stones' "Out of Time" accompanies a young woman's description of London nightlife and the vacuousness of her own existence. In another segment, the Marquess of Kensington (Robert Wace) croons the nostalgic "Changing of the Guard" to shots of Buckingham Palace's changing of the guard, and recording act Vashti are seen at work in the studio. Sandwiched between are clips of Mick Jagger (discussing revolution), Andrew Loog Oldham (discussing his future) - and Julie Christie, Michael Caine, Lee Marvin, and novelist Edna O'Brien (each discussing sex). The best part is footage of the riot that interrupted the Stones' 1966 Royal Albert Hall concert

Aquarius Rising : Hippie life in California, 1967

This is six parts of a 7 part film made in 1967 documenting the Height Ashbury scene and cultures.

Aquarius Rising Chapter 1: Hippie life in California, 1967 by filmmaker Pierre Sogol. Chapter 1 starts with a lot of statements, then documents a Be-In in Orange County, Various festivals in LA, the Sunset Riots (in 1966?) and the resulting hearings (?). This is Sogol's 1992 edit of the original footage. Note: Pierre Sogol may not be the filmmaker's real name. We are trying to find the filmmaker.  Pierre Sogol 

Filmmaker: Pierre Sogol 

Video Producer: Al Lundell 

Source: Rob Menzies 

Curator: Bruce Damer

A soundtrack playlist for the six parts can be found here

Aquarius Rising Chapter 3: Hippie life in California, 1967 by filmmaker Pierre Sogol. In this episode, the gang goes to the "New Mecca" (San Francisco). Scenes from the Haight, hippie wedding, Summer of Love, Natasha's tale, Oregon LSD trip, Nancy (who reappears frequently in other chapters), July 4th in Golden Gate Park. This is Sogol's 1992 edit of the original 1967 footage.

 
Aquarius Rising Chapter 4: Hippie life in California, 1967 by filmmaker Pierre Sogol. Here we hear from Nancy, and witness open drug dealing on the streets of Haight-Ashbury during the Summer of Love. This is Sogol's 1992 edit of the original 1967 footage.

 
Aquarius Rising Chapter 5: Hippie life in California, 1967 by filmmaker Pierre Sogol. In this episode we have more scenes from OM Commune (Ben Lomond). Next we go to Love Street to Betty's house for a group discussion. Then jump to a public hearing about hippies, end with Stephen on guitar.
 
Aquarius Rising Chapter 7: Hippie life in California, 1967 by filmmaker Pierre Sogol. This last chapter or "appendix" shows various scenes and rolls credits and opinions.

Vagabunden Karawane: A musical trip through Iran, Afghanistan and India in 1979

The filmmaker Werner Penzel accompanied the group Embryo at the end of the 70s on their eight-month-long trip from Munich to the province of Calcutta, India. Back then, Embryo was one of the most innovative German rock bands. On their country adventure trip, the group encounters foreign cultures and their music. The film contains expressive pictures, cultural exchange, but also the strain of the trip as well as the social and political situations of the featured countries.

The Valley of the Sacred Fire

Presentation of the Kathmandu Valley, in Nepal, and of the restoration work carried out by UNESCO with the Nepalese government to preserve the Buddhist and Hindu temples of this sacred valley where faith plays an important role. Explanation of the architectural achievements and the artistic and artisanal work on images of the various sites with a commentary on the images of Bakthapur, Patan and the temple of Nyatapola. 

The visit continues with comments on images of Bodnath, the Hindu temple of Pashupatinath populated by monkeys, the sacred rituals of the people in the Bagmati River, the Hanuman Dhoka temple and the immense work of the craftsmen who contribute to its restoration to using ancient techniques.

LADAKH 1979

 

HISTORY of INDIA LEH LADAKH full length new edit, better colours, photos, longer documentary 1979. This is Ed van der Kooy's video diary made with an 8 mm camera in 1979. Ed made his first trip to Ladakh and filmed and photographed a beautiful country. He hopes you like it. The music is added later but the movie was shot just after the Indian government opened the road to the capital Leh, Ladakh in 1978. The 1979 8mm film The Last Shangri La by Ed van der Kooy is a 1950s Old Nepal full documentary.

The Shadow Of The Caravans - Afghanistan before the Russian Invasion (1979)

 

This film is a glimpse of the traditional life of the Afghan people, their culture and their music, just before the Russian invasion in 1979. 

About Afghanistan before the Soviet invasion in Dec.1979. Border unrest, trade routes blocked and the Afghan mujahideen is about to take up arms against the intruder. In April 1978, the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) seized power in a bloody coup d'état against then-President Mohammed Daoud Khan, in what is called the Saur Revolution. The PDPA declared the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, with its first leader named as People's Democratic Party general secretary Nur Muhammad Taraki.

The Saur Revolution (/saʊər/; Dari: إنقلاب ثور‎ or ۷ ثور (literally 7th Saur); Pashto: د ثور انقلاب‎), also romanized Sowr Revolution, and alternatively called the April Revolution or April Coup, was the process by which the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) overthrew Afghan President Mohammed Daoud Khan on 27–28 April 1978, who had himself taken power in the 1973 Afghan coup d'état. Daoud Khan and most of his family were killed at the presidential palace by military officers in support of the PDPA. The revolution resulted in the creation of a Soviet-aligned government with Nur Muhammad Taraki as President (General Secretary of the Revolutionary Council). Saur or Sowr is the Dari (Persian) name of the second month of the Solar Hijri calendar, the month in which the uprising took place.

The revolution was ordered by PDPA member Hafizullah Amin, who would become a significant figure in the revolutionary government; at a press conference in New York in June 1978, Amin claimed that the event was not a coup but a revolution by the "will of the people". The coup involved heavy fighting and resulted in many deaths. The Saur Revolution was a significant event in Afghanistan's history, marking the onset of 43 years of conflict in the country.

Crazy Wisdom: The Life & Times of Chogyam Trungpa

Promiscuous drunk who liked guns, and incarnated Bodhisattva.....

A provocative account of Trungpa’s global odyssey, Crazy Wisdom offers a perceptive, if one-sided, perspective on Trungpa’s impact on American spirituality and the arts. Well before American Buddhists and New Age acolytes began flocking to the feet of Tibet’s Dalai Lama, hippies and spiritual seekers were following in the footsteps of Chogyam Trungpa, a Tibetan lama who took up residence in the U.S. during the 1970s.

Born in Tibet in 1939, Trungpa was identified as a reincarnate lama (“rinpoche”) before he was two years old and completed ecclesiastical studies within the Kagyu branch of Tibetan Buddhism before escaping his homeland in 1959 and resettling in India following China’s invasion of Tibet. A move to London to study at Oxford University eventually led him to Scotland to cofound the first Tibetan Buddhist center in the West and the decision to give up his monastic robes to become a lay teacher and marry Diana Pybus, a 16-year-old follower.

In 1970, Trungpa and Pybus moved to the U.S., where they settled rather incongruously in Vermont, establishing a rural meditation center. Trungpa began teaching a growing following of lay meditation practitioners, many of them counter-culture refugees seeking spiritual inspiration, and expanding his interest in the arts. Wherever he traveled around North America, however — eventually settling for a time in Boulder, Colo., where he founded the renowned Naropa University — Trungpa provoked controversy and intense curiosity, as well as devotion.

He freely slept with other women besides Pybus — many of them his students — and smoked and drank openly. Trungpa’s spiritual methods were often as divisive as his lifestyle, prompting followers to identify him as an embodiment of “crazy wisdom,” a traditional teaching style involving unconventional ideas and practices that shock students into new realizations of Buddhist principles.

Whether a lifestyle or a religious choice, Trungpa’s excesses led to his death in 1987 from cirrhosis of the liver at age 48, after he had established a Tibetan Buddhist monastery, a network of Shambala meditation centers and published dozens of English-language books on Buddhism.