Martin Scorsese's Masterpiece Bob Dylan Documentary. Since Batman Jones doesn't post here anymore, I don't expect any responses ....but.... If anyone is interested in the TRUE Bob Dylan story, this is it. Dylan tells it in HIS OWN WORDS. Rare concert footage and interviews with almost everyone from Dylan's early days (school friend who still has a reel to reel recording of Dylan's first ever recording) right through Joan Baez. A must have for any serious Dylan fan. It will be on your local PBS channel on Sept 27th and 28th. 4 hours of rock n roll history. This has been the greatest month in Rock history in a long long time: Eric Clapton Rolling Stones Paul McCartney Neil Young Bob Dylan The Band- Anthology All had new releases this month. It doesn't get any better than that.
I watched the first episode last night, and it was awesome. It told Dylan's entire story from birth thru going to NYC at age 20 and becoming the darling of the Greenwich Village folk music scene. I definitely got a sense of his influences, what inspired him to write some of his songs, and where some of his lyrics came from (i.e. the circus/carnival anecdotes in some of his tunes come from the fact that the circus/carnival was the only entertainment in Hibbing Minnesota). Very enlightening and I learned things about him and the whole Greenwich Village scene back then that I didn't know. I will definitely be glued in for part two tonight.
I'm slowy getting into his music, but really love his sons stuff with the Wallflowers.. I'll have to TIVO this..
I saw the last half of it last night and really enjoyed it. I think he's coming out of his personal shell a little bit, but I'm not sure if anyone can get a real picture of who he really is. He's still very guarded and has bull****ted so many people in interviews over the years, it's hard to know when he's being straightforward or not. His music is all I really need to know about though.
I also strongly recommend the movie Don't Look Back if anybody hasn't seen it, a black-and-white documentary of his 1965 tour of England.
ditto What I also liked was the segment about how he made the transformation from being sort of an okay entertainer into the phenom. Like he "sold his soul" to the devil and just transformed into this unbelievable story teller in just a few months. How does stuff like that happen? I guess you just are "touched" with some magical spirit.
Bob -- Thanks for the heads up on this. I didn't realize it was a 2-parter until I saw your post, so I only had the TiVO set to tape one part. I would've been pissed! I'll probably end up caving in and getting the DVD anyway. Looking forward to getting the soundtrack/Bootleg Series Vol. 7, too. Anyone know if the DVD has a bunch of extras on top of the doc that's airing on PBS?
I really enjoyed the first half as well. My favorite part was probably seeing all the different characters from the Village scene when Dylan went to NYC. Also, interviews with Ginsburg, Joan Baez, etc. was really nice to give you a sense of not just Dylan's life but the entire sense of the times he was coming up in. If you like his music you should definitely catch this. Some of the concert performances are amazing.
i can't believe he wrote most of those hits when he was in his early twenties... the music he soaked in, he was like a sponge. just listening to "Song For Woody" was enough to remind me he was no fluke, he knew his place in music history.... it was like those songs had to be written by him at that moment... part 2 tonight
Love that one, almost as much as "When the Ship Comes in." It was kind of dissapointing to find out he wrote it 'cause he was pissed at motel management though...
I was actually disappointed with the "extras" on the DVD. The concert performances are taken right from the movie, they have the interviews right in the middle of the songs. I was hoping they would show the complete songs without the interviews. Dylan gave Scorsese unlimited access to make this documentary. He has never done that before. I am guessing he realizes that he won't be around for ever and wants to get his story/history on the record. As far as "going to the crossroads" or "making a deal with the devil", the real truth is that he basically just worked his ass off. He played anywhere and everywhere in the Village. He recognized the ones with talent and clung to them to learn everything he could from them. As Liam Clancy says in the film "He was constantly at my side, so much so that you just wanted to say Go Away."
