Newport and the Great Folk Dream

Newport and the Great Folk Dream

2025 · 99 min · Documentary, Music

Powerful music leaps from the air and can change the actual world. At the Newport Folk Festivals in the early 1960s, the molecules were electric with rebellion and democracy, with anger and hope. Musicians drove that change — Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Pete Seeger but also banjo players from coal country, remote Georgia gospel artists, rural Canadian fishermen, and the opportunities created for the urban kids to mingle with those they’d not ordinarily encounter.

Directed by Robert Gordon

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

2h 30m together

Newport and the Great Folk Dream

Muddy Waters: Can't Be Satisfied

Both from Robert Gordon.

More from Robert GordonSee all →

Muddy Waters: Can't Be SatisfiedMuddy Waters: Can't Be Satisfied · 2003
Muddy Waters: Can't Be Satisfied
10.02003
MovieDocumentaryMusic
Filmmaker Robert Gordon captures the life of fascinating blues artist Muddy Waters. Credited with inventing the electric blues, Waters left an indelible mark on both his contemporaries and the generations of musicians that followed him. This documentary includes numerous film clips and interviews with big-name musicians, such as Bonnie Raitt, the Rolling Stones's Keith Richards and blues man Buddy Guy.
Respect Yourself: The Stax Records StoryRespect Yourself: The Stax Records Story · 2007
Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story
8.52007
MovieMusicDocumentary
Between 1959 and 1975, Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee released international chart-topping hits from artists including Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Booker T. & the MG's, Rufus and Carla Thomas, the Staple Singers, Isaac Hayes, and even Richard Pryor and Jesse Jackson. Founded by a white conservative bank teller who played country fiddle music, Stax became the preeminent soul music label in America, and became identified with the civil rights movement of the 1960s and '70s. RESPECT YOURSELF documents the Stax label, its visionaries, and most of all, its music.
Johnny Cash's AmericaJohnny Cash's America · 2008
Johnny Cash's America
8.52008
MovieDocumentaryMusic
This classic concert features a number of tracks from his new album coupled with favourites from across his career including Folsom Prison Blues, I Walk The Line, Ghost Riders In The Sky, Orange Blossom Special and San Quentin.
Shakespeare Was a Big George Jones Fan: 'Cowboy' Jack Clement's Home MoviesShakespeare Was a Big George Jones Fan: 'Cowboy' Jack Clement's Home Movies · 2013
Shakespeare Was a Big George Jones Fan: 'Cowboy' Jack Clement's Home Movies
8.02013
MovieDocumentary
A Documentary about Nashville's Maverick songwriter/producer, 'Cowboy' Jack Clement.
Best Before DeathBest Before Death · 2019
Best Before Death
7.52019
MovieDocumentary
Bill Drummond, once the most notorious man in pop music, now travels around the world baking cakes, building beds and shining shoes as part of a twelve year World Tour which is his final art project. This film follows him as he does his work in India and the United States.
Best of EnemiesBest of Enemies · 2015
Best of Enemies
7.22015
MovieDocumentaryHistory
A documentary about the legendary series of nationally televised debates in 1968 between two great public intellectuals, the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr. Intended as commentary on the issues of their day, these vitriolic and explosive encounters came to define the modern era of public discourse in the media, marking the big bang moment of our contemporary media landscape when spectacle trumped content and argument replaced substance. Best of Enemies delves into the entangled biographies of these two great thinkers, and luxuriates in the language and the theater of their debates, begging the question, "What has television done to the way we discuss politics in our democracy today?"
Hannah Arendt: Facing TyrannyHannah Arendt: Facing Tyranny · 2025
Hannah Arendt: Facing Tyranny
6.82025
MovieDocumentary
Hannah Arendt was one of the most fearless writers of the 20th century, and her report of the Adolf Eichmann trial coined the phrase, “the banality of evil.” The German American scholar transformed her time as a political prisoner and refugee during World War II into insights about the human condition, the refugee crisis and totalitarianism.
The Road to MemphisThe Road to Memphis · 2003
The Road to Memphis
6.12003
MovieDocumentaryMusic
Director Richard Pearce (The Long Walk Home, Leap of Faith, A Family Thing) traces the musical odyssey of blues legend B.B. King in a film that pays tribute to the city that gave birth to a new style of blues. Pearce's homage to Memphis features original performances by B.B. King, Bobby Rush, Rosco Gordon and Ike Turner, as well as historical footage of Howlin' Wolf and Rufus Thomas.
Take Me to the River: New OrleansTake Me to the River: New Orleans · 2022
Take Me to the River: New Orleans
2022
MovieDocumentaryMusic
The second film in the Take Me to the River series celebrates the rich musical history, heritage, legacy, and influence of New Orleans and Louisiana.
Very Extremely DangerousVery Extremely Dangerous · 2013
Very Extremely Dangerous
2013
MovieDocumentary
Jerry McGill slipped from a rock'n'roll career into a life of crime, robbing banks and running from the FBI while touring with legends of country music and appearing in movies. After three jail sentences (under two different names), aged 70 and suffering from terminal cancer, he announced his return to music. We follow a gun-toting McGill and his fiance Joyce through four states as he steals whatever's not nailed down and charms his way into and out of trouble. But when you point a camera at a man who will do anything for notoriety, how responsible are you when he goes too far?
All Day and All Night: Memories from Beale Street MusiciansAll Day and All Night: Memories from Beale Street Musicians · 1990
All Day and All Night: Memories from Beale Street Musicians
1990
MovieDocumentaryMusic
Blues legends B.B. King and Rufus Thomas, plus Evelyn Young, Gatemouth Moore, Fred Ford, Honeymoon Garner, Booker T. Laury, and others play jam sessions & tell stories about Memphis' Beale Street. Filmed in Memphis in the late 80's, the award-winning documentary has been lovingly remastered and restored from the original 16mm film and audio tape. A personal look at a neighborhood where the music lasted "all day and all night". It's a must-see for any music fan.

More Like This

Couldn't load this row right now.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter