Review: Though it may not be what he is most associated with Martin Scorsese is possibly the greatest director of rock and roll movies period. Films like The Last Waltz and Shine a Light are pure rock and roll heaven. With this his new movie on Bob Dylan, one of the all time great figures in rock and roll had a lot to live up to. Does it live up to the impossibly high expiations that it is so easy to set upon it? After watching the film the answer is an undeniable yes.
Of course in a rock and roll movie one of the most important factors is the music. Good thing that the music here is top notch Bob in every possible way. This film focuses on Bob's 1975 Rolling Thunder Tour, and from the many song performances here, there is no doubt at that time Bob was completely on the top of his game. Scorsese, understands something that many directors of rock and roll documentaries don't. We want to here the songs in full when watching one of this films. Too many music documentaries just play a short snippet of a song being performed and then cut to people talking about the music. Scorsese lets us watch Bob perform many songs in their entirety. This makes it a better movie in two ways. One is that we can understand what we are hearing the people say about the music better, because we get to experience the music in its whole. This makes what they are saying feel completely real instead of something abstract. The other reason is the simplest. This is great music and we like to hear it. We get to see and hear Bob perform such incredible songs as Hurricane, Mr. Tambourine Man, Knocking on Heaven's Door, Simple Twist of Fate, Just Like a Woman, Love Minus Zero/No Limit and Oh Sister. Each performance makes it obvious that Bob does not phone a single performance in. He puts his whole heart and soul into each song and watching these performances makes even a seasoned Bob Dylan fan feel like they are hearing each song for the first time. One of my favorite things about Bob Dylan's live performances is that he will do a song in a completely new way than it was heard on the album. An excellent example is used here as he does an electric rock and roll version of his early acoustic folk protest song, The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol. As well as his own songs we also get to hear Bob do a couple covers, including Peter La Farge's The Ballad of Ira Hays (best known as being sung by Johnny Cash) and Hank Williams' Your Cheating Heart. Not all of the musical highlights come from Bob though. A fantastic scene involves Joni Mitchell performing the fantastic song Coyote (she also performs this song in Scorsese's The Last Waltz). Also fantastic are performances that are not musical but just as incredible. These are when we get to see Alan Ginsburg perform his poetry on stage. He was not only a great poet but a very charismatic performer as well.
Only Martin Scorsese would open a documentary on one of the great figures of rock and roll with a clip from a 1895 George Melies film (anyone who has seen Hugo knows that Scorsese has somewhat of a fascination with Melies). This may seem out of place to one who doesn't give it much thought, but this clip shows in a way what is to come. Just as Melies used the magic of the movie camera to manipulate audiences and make them believe outright fantasies, Scorsese uses the music documentary for the same reason. This is not an outright 100% factual movie and that is part of the fun of it. Scorsese mixes the fantasy in with the fact in the same well Melies did during the early days of fictional cinema, and he does it with the same playfulness. If you can catch these fantasies, the film becomes that much more fun and you will finding yourself laughing out loud at various moments. There are even people being interviewed that are completely and utter fictional, as well as a few tall tales that one almost wishes were true.
This movie is an incredible experience and a must watch for any Dylan or Scorsese fan. How after watching this film, I wish I could have seen this tour. I have seen Bob live before but this would have been something truly different and special.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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