"It's as much fun to watch Jimi Hendrix in the choice offstage moments of the documentary Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix Live At The Isle Of Wight as it is to watch him alternately gun and strum at this now legendary 1970 concert."
- Elvis Mitchell (New York Times Review)

The Experience Hendrix production Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix Live At The Isle Of Wight recently enjoyed a successful US theatrical premiere at the 2001 New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center.

Lincoln Center, where Jimi Hendrix himself had performed at Philharmonic Hall in November 1968, was once again buzzing about an extraordinary Jimi Hendrix Experience. Tickets for the five screenings at the famed Walter Reade Theater on October 6 were quickly snapped up. In addition, Director Murray Lerner took questions from audience members following the 6 and 9 p.m. screenings.

The 102 minute film, which combines documentary elements featuring the remembrances of fellow Experience bandmates Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell with dramatic concert footage, presents Jimi's renowned Isle Of Wight performance as never before seen. Previously unseen footage of Hendrix favorites such as "Purple Haze" and "Lover Man" join restored versions of "Freedom", and an extended rendition of "Machine Gun". The New York premiere also featured the debut of a new 5.1 surround mix created by Eddie Kramer.

As a result of its successful engagement at the New York Film Festival, Experience Hendrix has been asked to showcase the film at a series of upcoming film festivals and special events. The next showing will be part of the Festival International Nouveau Cinema Nouveaux Medias in Montreal on October 20 and 21. Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix Live At The Isle Of Wight will then be featured at Minnesota's City Pages Documentary Film Festival on Saturday, November 10.

In addition to these and other North American engagements to be announced in the coming weeks, Experience Hendrix plans to take the film abroad to Europe and Japan in 2002 for similar special engagements.

Where previous film releases featuring Hendrix's performance at the Isle Of Wight Festival have all been presented in heavily edited, and often re-arranged and truncated forms, Blue Wild Angel presents the most extensive, and technically complete, release of this celebrated performance. "The new film has the excitement and momentum of a real concert," explains Murray Lerner. "I would think that Jimi would be very pleased with the outcome. I think we did a lot of justice to the music."

While these Festival showings present Blue Wild Angel on the big-screen, film and music buffs at home should be able to catch the film on subsequent broadcasts throughout the United States. As of this writing, VH1 will be airing the film at least one more time this year, the USA Network will begin airing the film later this year, and the first quarter of 2002 will be marked by subsequent airings on various PBS affiliates around the country. For exact show times please visit each station's website directly or visit Musicstation's RockOnTV guide for this and other Hendrix broadcasts each week.

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