Fantastic!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Having just watched the '60s Country music revue film The Road to Nashville-with the clean cut and well dressed male and female performers who among them was Waylon Jennings-I decided to then go to YouTube to see this concert film from the '70s featuring many male bearded, outlaw Country music performers who among them was Waylon Jennings. He sang "Good Hearted Woman" among his set. Willie himself started with "Whiskey River" and ended with "Goodnight Irene" with Leon Russell accompanying backing vocals. Oh yes, Leon is the highlight of the show as he keeps ramblin' about his love of drink and is constantly on stage whether performing or not. I loved his mention of Louisiana and its various cities (including the one I currently live in, Baton Rouge) he visited and of the "Coon Ass" he intros as from the Pelican state-fiddler Doug Kershaw. Kershaw sure plays a mean fiddle, doesn't he? And what a pleasantly shocking surprise when that completely nude woman went on stage at the end of one his sets and just embraces him and Russell right there! In fact, the camera seemed to love putting the lens on several women undressed. Also enjoyed seeing musicians B.W. Stevenson, The Lost Gonzo Band, Michael Murphey, and Jerry Jeff Walker perform. It was quite an experience watching this so I can only imagine what it was like for the people that actually was there. So on that note, Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic (as the title was actually printed in the print I watched) was sure a great experience I'll never forget!

I was part of the crew on the shoot. It was shot with 35 mm Mitchell BNC's fitted with the 3D Spacevision process lenses used for "Andy Warhol's Frankenstein" and hand held 16mm cameras without 3D. It was briefly available on Betamax, and has now surfaced on DVD in the UK from Oracle Home Entertainment, titled "Willie Nelson Invites You To His 4th of July Picnic" with a running time of 90 minutes. There's a very long story about the original financier, the original director, and why the movie was never released in the 3D, as well as the delayed copyright and release in the states. PS - the woman that streaks the stage in Doug Kershaw's segment was anything but spontaneous, but the rest of the talent wasn't expecting it.

The 1979 date is a little misleading because although it was apparently released theatrically that year, the actual footage came from several years earlier. I have heard a lot of conflicting opinions on this but most of the evidence points to it being filmed entirely in 1974 at the second 4th of July Picnic which was a three-day event held in College Station, TX at the Texas World Speedway. Also, FWIW, the title on the movie that I have seen is "Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic" (not "Celebration") although I have seen photos of two different posters--one calling it "Picnic" and the other "Celebration." So, unless there were two different movies, it was apparently billed under both names. Both film and TV cameras are evident on stage and part of the concert was also broadcast on Wolfman Jack's "Midnight Special" TV show on August 2, 1974 according to TV dot com. You can plainly see Wolfman milling about with Willie and the crew in a couple of shots from the film. There is also legend that the film was shot in 3-D but the only release prints I ever saw were normal flat prints that projected best at 1:1.66 (not widescreen). To further confuse things the copyright date on the film is 1977. I really have no idea why a film shot in 1974 would be copyrighted in 1977 and distributed in 1979 but based on very sketchy information, that appears correct. And, yes, as the previous reviewer noted, Leon Russell is quite drunk. The fiddle player is Doug Kershaw. Great concert film, and very hard to find. There was definitely some partying going' on! I'm a little surprised there has never been a DVD of this given Willie's popularity.

I feel very fortunate to have seen this extremely rare film. The performances are very raw, and the sound is NOT replaced. All the wonderful feedback and unintelligable lyrics are kept intact. Leon Russell gives the performance of a lifetime. Not necessarily a good musical performance, but his character is amazing. He is obviously drunk. He has THAT look. There is an incredible fiddle player dressed like Austin Powers who whales on his fiddle. The audience is filled with the best Texas rednecks that ever existed. Many shirtless women (some you wish they had their shirts on!) are sitting on the shoulders of their hairy faced, cowboy hatted, men. I did feel like this film was too short, but Leon Russell makes up for it. He is the STAR of this film!