Listening to other people’s accounts of festival experiences is rarely much fun. Why watch a film documenting Glastonbury 1993, then? Well, as 2012 is one of those years in which the grandaddy of UK festivals takes a break — as organiser Michael Eavis would have it, his cows need a rest — this is as good a summer as any to remind ourselves of what Glasto used to be, before it outgrew its hippy origins to become the regulated, BBC-approved event it is today.
Glastonbury the Movie in Flashback is a beguiling trip back into the early ’90s, soundtracked by the Orb, the Verve and Stereo MCs, among many others. The original film, released in 1996, has now been remastered and recut by director Robin Mahoney. Whether you’ll enjoy it depends on your enthusiasm for the sounds of the period, as well as your level of tolerance for blissed-out ravers. At some point, though, there’s bound to be a performance that sears itself into your memory, and in the end, that’s what festivals — or festival movies — are all about. Wait, is that Porno For Pyros? Meet you by the dodgy kebab van…