Legends of the Canyon: The Music and Magic of 1960s Laurel Canyon uses musician/photographer Henry Diltz's candid photos as backdrop to tell the story of the genesis of the Laurel Canyon/West Coast rock scene.

The filmmakers' premise is that the aftermath of JFK's assassination drove the youth culture to embrace The Beatles and that The Beatles energized the West Coast folk scene to go electric. Henry Diltz narrates the story which starts with the formation of The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield and ends with the Manson Family killings. Intermixed in narrative are photos and live footage of the Laurel Canyon bands and interview clips with the majority of musicians who sprung out of that scene. The film predominately focuses on Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - the bands that they were in prior to CSN(&Y) and the recording of the first two albums - and The Mamas & The Papas.

Interviews include extensive footage with David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and original CSN(Y) drummer Dallas Taylor and it is fascinating to hear some of the different viewpoints and versions of what was beneath some of the legendary tensions within the group. The other key interviewee is Michelle Philips who tells the story behind The Mamas & the Papas, her relationship with Gene Clark and more. Both Philips and all of the interviewees discussed their love and admiration for Mama Cass Elliot who was influential in both the Laurel Canyon music scene and in getting Crosby, Stills and Nash together. The other non-appearing musician who got a lot of positive accolades was Joni Mitchell; Crosby, Stills and Nash all seemed to be in awe of her.

Other interviewees include record industry executives David Geffen, Ahmet Ertegun and Lenny Waronker and musician Van Dyke Parks (who, in the bonus footage, claims that he named Buffalo Springfield).

The bonus footage is a treat for CSN fans or fans of this era as it includes uncut interviews with David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash (footage from which was included in the main feature) along with Diltz's silent 8MM films of both The Byrds and CSN in concert and fan filmed footage of Stephen Stills on one of his early solo tours. Of lesser importance, there are interviews with Ron Stone (long-time CSN manager) and Van Dyke Parks and Gerry Beckley (from the band America). Lastly, the bonus footage includes the somewhat silly "Henry's Acid Trip" - the vignette's title gives all the explanation needed.