I wasn’t planning to watch this three episode documentary on Netflix since I thought the fantastic Woodstock ’99 on HBO last year covered the same bases. But I heard recently this one was good too, longer, and had additional footage so I gave it a try.

Trainwreck does indeed pretty much cover the same ground. Woodstock 69 was iconic so they tried again in 94 and then in 99… where the rage-filled rockers, angsty teens, expensive water, overflowing toilets, heat, lack of shade, and other factors combined to let loose their rage. It was the end of the millennium… time to burn this mother down.

To put it simply, the HBO documentary does a better job of setting the stage. It’s more dramatic and generates a greater palpable sense of upcoming doom. It feels more tragic and inevitable.

But the Netflix doc does cover more and different detail including a sequence in the “Rave Hanger” when Fatboy Slim was performing and chaos ensued. It also shows the major difference between the attendee’s living conditions compared to the musical acts behind the stage.

The biggest addition though was a lot more footage of the final night’s mayhem. They had a little more time to cover it and they simply had better footage from some reporters charging into the melee. We get a lot more footage of looting, vandalism, and a line of trucks going up in flames that I don’t recall from the HBO flick.

Of course we get the usual blame game and finger pointing from the various people in charge who, to their credit, made themselves available for interviews. We get the perspective of an EMT, security, and other officials lower on the totem poll. But also some attendees who admitted to being part of the riot.

All said, this Netflix doc covers much of the same material but is still a worthwhile watch. And if you haven’t seen the HBO doc, then it’s all new and fresh and stupid… you should watch either version (or both).

Score: 87