this film be release only a few year ago and construct from footage almost three decade old . one wonder why it have never see the light of day before . message to love be an instant classic and a rock documentary that deserve to sit up on the same mantle a woodstock and monterrey pop and gim me shelter . the isle of wight festival in august of 1970 be the last of it kind and an event that be suppose to be an english woodstock but descend into utter chaos a the aquarian hippie ideal knock head with the emerge juggernaut of a corporate music industry ready to mass market a product to the grow legion of rock fan . but despite the hypocrisy and mismanagement and unruly behavior that director murray lerner ( when we be king ) so keenly observes and he do not lose sight of the fact that a lot of great music go down during those five day . with an amazingly eclectic lineup that have mile davis and tiny tim a it polar extreme and lerner and his crew capture many memorable performance from both the icon of the 60 and the rise star of the 70 . if your memory of rock festival flick be limit to the good vibe of monterrey or woodstock and you will likely be take aback by the unrestrained belligerence that permeate the air at wight . rikki and the so called master of ceremony be the lightning rod here and a he both patronizes and berate the horde who have descend on the festival site . it turn out that some 600 and 000 fan have reach the island by ferry but only a fraction of those have any intention of buy a ticket . a tent city call desolation row sprout up on a nearby hillside and be populate by folk who be determine to get a close view at no charge . this tension be reflect in the selection of onstage peformances and like the who ( very much in their prime ) rip through an incediary young man blue and the door sinister version of when the music over and the end . the isle of wight have long be notable for be the last performance of both jim morrison ( he would be go within a year ) and jimi hendrix and who die less than three week later . hendrix appearance here only add to his already large legacy his music sound as revolutionary a ever a he wail away on three song with the band of gypsy and include an otherworldly voodoo chile . message to love also open a window onto the grow compartmentilization of rock and with three genre take root at the start of the 70 . hard rock ( ten year after and free and rory gallagher ) and singer songwriter ( joni mitchell and leonard cohen and kris kristofferson ) and progressive rock ( the moody blue and jethro tull and the audacious debut of emerson and lake and palmer ) be all compete for their slice of an increasingly large pie . with rikki and the other promoter dubiously claim that no other band will take the stage without be pay in full with cash ( in hope of get potential gatecrasher to pay up ) the musician be catch in an uneasy position . try to show they be of the people while know full well they be not go through life playing for free and it make for some of the most interesting stage patter on record . lerner let the fan have their say a well and include one who note that the band be become plastic god while another vividly describe the festival a a feudal court scene with the star a royalty and the groupie a the courtier and the audience a the serf . he may have go one step far and note the moat like double fence with a dog patrol no man land in between ( actually closer in design to the former berlin wall ) that serve to hopefully keep out the desolation row barbarian . but a one of the promoter people note and in the end it doesn not matter if the music good . this be true enough a the film close with the door and hendrix and the who be edit in for one more song each . an uneasy truce be reach but when rikki flash a double peace sign at the crowd he only succeed in look like richard nixon . an era have pass before our eye a the rise colored glow of the 60s counterculture be smudge by the inevitable rise of the mass consumer pop marketplace .