Bob Dylan - Don't Look Back details
| Formats: | Ex DVD, Blu-ray |
|---|---|
| Starring: | Bob Dylan |
| Director: | D.A. Pennebaker |
| Genre: | Music/Musical - Music - Classical |
| Studio: | SONY BMG |
| Name | Discs | |
|---|---|---|
Bob Dylan - Don't Look Back |
Ex Feature |
DVD Information
| Run time: | 1 hour 37 minutes |
|---|---|
| Rental release: | 30 Apr 2007 |
| Main languages: | English |
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Most helpful review
oh mercy.....
By a customer from london , 12 Jun 2005[Highly rated reviewer]
this is THE best rockumentary ever made. the first and best of its kind, the subterranean homesick blues intro is also the first music video.
dylan may come off as grouchy but that's because he's on the cusp of turning electric -not to mention the fact that he's surrounded by insipid journos and sychophants. then again, his razor wit is hugely enjoyable to watch, especially when he tears down a time journo -who doesn't even get it when dylan makes fun of himself ('as a matter of fact, i'm just as good a singer as caruso'). poor joan baez is ignored throughout, and in fact left early on, but editing makes it appear as if she stayed.
dylans impatience with his folk singer label is shown when he speeds through times they are a changin and blowin in the wind. and yet -you're still held by them. his charisma is extraordinary -all around him just get sucked into it, like poor donovan. by the way, donovan's part was edited to make it seem as though dylan detested him, but actually he quite liked him. well, you gotta have an interesting doc i guess)
if you haven't heard of it, god help you and rent it. when is it actually gonna come out here on dvd????? if it doesn't, get the video pronto!!- Was this review helpful to you?
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(8)Bob Dylan's Ramblings
By Sewnupfromthefentbox (1 review) , 04 Jan 2013A bit random for me and not enough of the songs in it. Not a very polished documentary. Didn't hold my interest.- Was this review helpful to you?
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I'm no obsessive but I want more
By zorilla (221 reviews) from Kew, Richmond , 07 Dec 2012That this is the best music documentary ever made is not up for debate. The only possible quibble is that if Pennebaker was tracking Dylan to the extent he obviously was, where is the rest of the footage? There must be hours of film lying around and some of it should be made available. On this particular DVD there's an alternative version of Subterranean Homesick Blues. Where's all the other good stuff? We're a few years off the 50th anniversary of Dylan's '65 tour. If that isn't reason enough to uncover some buried treasure, questions may well be asked in the house.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Dylan 1965 = Shakespeare 1596
By mcmrbt (51 reviews) from Buckingham , 15 Aug 2011This quintessential fly-on-the-wall docu takes full advantage of portable camera equipment to provide an insight into the madness surrounding Dylan in the middle of his conversion from folk troubadour to rock shaman.
England, pace The Beatles, was always a little behind the Dylan curve. In 1965, he was already well into that brilliant mid-60s trilogy of extraordinary musical invention, but had not yet adopted The Hawks as his backing band, and so toured the UK solo, with an acoustic guitar.
He's clearly bored and restless, impatient with what was clearly a contractual obligation. The film shows him surrounded by sycophants and others not fit to shine his shoes. Joan Baez is there, but only just, and largely ignored. People often talk of how enigmatic Dylan is, but I always think this film explains very clearly why he repeatedly turned his back on whatever he was doing. Everywhere he goes, people want answers he's unable to give. Every question is asked about something he's no longer interested in.
If he died tomorrow, the British press would probably still discuss him in the same outdated terms they were using in 1965. When he played China recently, people were still demanding that he 'say something', just as they were doing in 1965. Then, as now, he's not interested in providing answers.
This is a groundbreaking documentary, but it does go on a bit. It's quite repetitive (I guess we need to know that in order to understand how bored and restless he is), and so I don't think it's really an 'in' for the non-fan.
But imagine this: if such technology had existed 400 or so years ago, and a documentary film maker could have followed Shakespeare around as he prepared his latest play, would we be interested? This documentary has that kind of importance.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Just Keeps Rolling Along
By Cato (703 reviews) from Lydbury North , 25 Jul 2011Great if you like the maestro, but he wasn't all that nice sometimes was he? You certainly didn't disagree with him, or waste his time.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Always carry a lightbulb
By Magnulus (6 reviews) from Edinburgh , 19 Sep 2009I was never a fan of Bob Dylan's. That doesn't mean I didn't like him, I just hadn't given him the time of day. I've liked some songs of his but never delved into the 'full experience'. I watched this film for my course on documentary filmmaking, but now I feel compelled to get to know Dylan better. The film paints a picture of a staunch individualist and poet who's beleaguered by the realities of being a popular musician. Journalists hound him and then misrepresent him in the papers, and fans chase his taxi down the street. While you rarely see him angry, he is obviously an impulsive man who is quick to fire back at people he feels are attacking him and his lifestyle. When he's with his friends, the whole film relaxes, and there's music at every turn. Pennebaker and his crew have obviously been hard at work during the filming, as you get more than just the 'following the musician around' type of rockumentary. There are journalists phoning their articles in, fans waiting outside his hotel to catch a glimpse of their favourite folk/pop/neither singer, and technical problems at concerts. Whether they're just very fortuitous in their timing or very enterprising in making things happen is unclear, but it all plays out in a compelling narrative with its heroes and villains (Look out for Donovan!). A very enjoyable film about a constantly misrepresented poet who's always 'busy being born'. Highly recommended.- Was this review helpful to you?
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