November 12, 2023
FILM: PSYCHEDELICIZED: THE ELECTRIC CIRCUS STORY
DIRECTED BY: LARRY CONFINO
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
There have been a number of documentaries in recent years bringing to life again a series of movements, music, and clubs of the late 1960s and early 70s. A number of them are quite excellent: the Oscar-winning Summer of Soul, The Velvet Underground, Moonage Daydream. The latest is Psychedelicized: The Electric Circus Story which turns to a much more specific subject but one that is highly reflective of the era.
The Electric Circus was a club in New York City’s East Village from 1967 to 71 which I had not hear of before but it clearly offered a unique experience. Filmmaker Larry Confino interviews the club’s co-owners, Stan Freeman and Jerry Brandt, who tell stories of the rise and eventual fall of the infamous night spot. Their focus was to create a club which combined electronics, dancing, bands, wall projections, and light shows while also featuring mimes, body painters, puppeteers, and a host of other “circus” style acts. Some of the biggest rock performers that played there included Jimi Hendrix and Sly & the Family Stone. The Rolling Stones visited when in town. Social/political figures such as the Hell’s Angels and Abbie Hoffman were regulars. In other words, The Electric Circus was a microcosm of everything that was happening in the psychedelic, experimental, and socially unstable late 1960s.
Confino infuses the film with lots of stills, lively visuals, and plenty of archival footage from performances and crowds. It’s a fairly stimulating experience to view although the numerous talking head interviews slow the film’s pacing down quite often and keep the film in the standard, less experimental, documentary tradition. This made the film feel less alive than the previously mentioned films of the era. Perhaps it might also be a bit too geographically specific for some viewers.
Like most films exploring this era though there is also plenty of talk about the political events, drug issues, assassinations, and social unrest that may have ultimately contributed to the club’s eventual downfall. There are also some great and shocking recollections of a bombing that took place inside the club almost destroying it and injuring over a dozen people. Still, it is interesting to see a club as diverse as it was allowing people to be who they were and serving a fast-changing culture.
Not the best film of its kind but certainly another good illustration of an innovative approach to music and creative entertainment during a particularly tumultuous time.
Psychedelicized: The Electric Circus Story is having its world premiere a DOC NYC. It will be available to viewed virtually via the festival’s website until November 26th. For tickets, go to https://www.docnyc.net/film/psychedelicized-the-electric-circus-story/.
FILM: PSYCHEDELICIZED: THE ELECTRIC CIRCUS STORY
DIRECTED BY: LARRY CONFINO
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
There have been a number of documentaries in recent years bringing to life again a series of movements, music, and clubs of the late 1960s and early 70s. A number of them are quite excellent: the Oscar-winning Summer of Soul, The Velvet Underground, Moonage Daydream. The latest is Psychedelicized: The Electric Circus Story which turns to a much more specific subject but one that is highly reflective of the era.
The Electric Circus was a club in New York City’s East Village from 1967 to 71 which I had not hear of before but it clearly offered a unique experience. Filmmaker Larry Confino interviews the club’s co-owners, Stan Freeman and Jerry Brandt, who tell stories of the rise and eventual fall of the infamous night spot. Their focus was to create a club which combined electronics, dancing, bands, wall projections, and light shows while also featuring mimes, body painters, puppeteers, and a host of other “circus” style acts. Some of the biggest rock performers that played there included Jimi Hendrix and Sly & the Family Stone. The Rolling Stones visited when in town. Social/political figures such as the Hell’s Angels and Abbie Hoffman were regulars. In other words, The Electric Circus was a microcosm of everything that was happening in the psychedelic, experimental, and socially unstable late 1960s.
Confino infuses the film with lots of stills, lively visuals, and plenty of archival footage from performances and crowds. It’s a fairly stimulating experience to view although the numerous talking head interviews slow the film’s pacing down quite often and keep the film in the standard, less experimental, documentary tradition. This made the film feel less alive than the previously mentioned films of the era. Perhaps it might also be a bit too geographically specific for some viewers.
Like most films exploring this era though there is also plenty of talk about the political events, drug issues, assassinations, and social unrest that may have ultimately contributed to the club’s eventual downfall. There are also some great and shocking recollections of a bombing that took place inside the club almost destroying it and injuring over a dozen people. Still, it is interesting to see a club as diverse as it was allowing people to be who they were and serving a fast-changing culture.
Not the best film of its kind but certainly another good illustration of an innovative approach to music and creative entertainment during a particularly tumultuous time.
Psychedelicized: The Electric Circus Story is having its world premiere a DOC NYC. It will be available to viewed virtually via the festival’s website until November 26th. For tickets, go to https://www.docnyc.net/film/psychedelicized-the-electric-circus-story/.