'Magic and midsummer madness': The last of the old-school Glastonbury Festivals

Image source, Mensch Films/Robin Mahoney Image caption, The movie captured the spirit of Glastonbury Festival in the early 1990s By Rachel Candlin West of England Published 3 hours ago Many die-hard fans claim 1993 was the last of the old-school Glastonbury Festivals. It was before phone masts, biometric tickets and wall-to-wall coverage changed the music event forever. To celebrate the special year in the festival's history, a digitally restored film is screening in cinemas across the UK showing scenes from 1993. The original director of Glastonbury The Movie, Robin Mahoney, recorded footage at the event over four days, with a group of 30 young filmmakers, which has now been restored using the latest technology. "The music, the magic, the midsummer madness. No voiceover. No talking heads. No presenter telling you how to feel. Just Glastonbury as it was," Mahoney said. "The festival was on the cusp of being its original free-form, free-for-all, mad, chaotic environment to becoming considered a world-class music festival." Image source, Mensch Films/Robin Mahoney Image caption, The footage records a snapshot of British cultural history from the 1990s "The year was 1993 - the last of the great old-school Glastonburys, before the BBC arrived, before phone masts, biometric tickets and wall-to-wall coverage," Mahoney added. The crew aimed to capture the spirit of fun and freedom enjoyed by the festival-goers, rather than the headline acts on the Pyramid Stage - what Mahoney described as the "real" festival. Image source, Mensch Films/Robin Mahoney Image caption, Robin Mahoney said the film captured the "magic and midsummer madness" of the festival Glastonbury The Movie was the first British feature film to receive National Lottery funding, via the British Film Institute. It was first released in 1996 to rave reviews - the film director Mike Leigh called it "a masterpiece" and the Daily Telegraph critic, Robbie Collin, described the film as "blissed-out, almost Pasolini-esque; could almost be footage of a medieval fair that had somehow plopped through a time rift". Originally shot in the CinemaScope format, the movie has now been digitally restored to a resolution of 4K. Co-director Matt Salkeld said the new level of detail is remarkable. "In a big room, on a big screen, with the Dolby system turned up, it is a unique time-machine journey," said Salkeld. "A dewy-eyed nostalgia trip for one generation, and a pin-sharp eye-opening exploration for the next." Image source, Mensch Films/Robin Mahoney Image caption, Robin Mahoney directed the original movie which was first released in 1996 Mahoney said the crew was lucky enough to capture an era before fences keeping people out and no protocols surrounding performers. "While we were there, we obviously had access, so it would be a knock on the door of a caravan, or going backstage to have a chat with the manager as a band was about to do their set. "One of our cameramen just climbed on the stage, with permis