This biography of Bob Dylan traces his life from leaving his home in Hibbing, Minnesota until his motorcycle accident in 1966 at the age of 25. I came away from this with a renewed appreciation for just what a phenomenon he is. I can't think of any other artist who has given us what he has. There are other folk singers and rock stars, but nothing like Dylan.
If you think of a poet as someone who strings words together to produce powerful images and strong emotional reactions, then Dylan is your man. I admit that a lot of Dylan's songs don't make complete sense to me, but they fascinate and afford many interpretations, and just the flow of words is captivating. The first scene in Part 2 provides a great insight. Dylan is seen on the street reading two signs, one saying, "Animals & Birds bought or sold on commission," and the other, "We will collect clip bath & return your dog/ KN1 7727/ Cigarettes and Tobacco." Dylan takes these words and goes on a spontaneous riff for a minute making sentences from them. Clearly he is a man who delights in words and has a great facility with them. You can see from this clip how he can come up with his songs. Could anyone but a poet come up with lines like: "The morning breeze like a bugle blew/ Against the drums of dawn," and "The ocean wild like an organ played/ The seaweed's wove its strands." The film traces the roots of Dylan's early musical interests; it would have been interesting to see how early on he became facile with words.
It is amazing how many inane questions Dylan was asked by a largely ignorant press. Questions like, "Why do you sing?" and "How do you explain your popularity?" It's no wonder he could get frustrated and annoyed. Clips from a current interview are interspersed throughout the film, so Scorcese was able to get more meaningful comments out of him than any of the questioners shown here.
As any good artist Dylan keeps changing. When he went from acoustic guitar to electric with a backup band many people felt somehow betrayed, but he was just moving on. The variety of his output is quite amazing, from poignant songs like, "Lay Down Your Weary Tune," to biting social commentary like "Only a Pawn in the Game," to wistful love songs like "Girl From the North Country," and then all the classics that were the soundtrack for a generation. This film seems to imply that Dylan's career ended with his motorcycle accident, but far from it--he has continued to write and record, having released a new album as recently as 2006.
Another topic of interest covered is the artist/businessman relationship. Most artists want to reach as large an audience that can appreciate them and this usually means that there must be agents, promoters, and investors in the picture. Dylan seems to have navigated this precarious situation successfully while still preserving his integrity. He was not above embellishing his background and you have to feel that he has to have some business sense to have wound up where he is. But he appears to come from that breed of artist whose main goal is to practice his craft rather than achieve fame.
I found parts of the film not completely successful. The interviews with some lesser knowns as Paul Nelson and John Cohen were of questionable value to me--it was not clear just what role they played in Dylan's career. The interviews with Alan Ginsberg are interesting, but his importance might not be understood by one not of his generation. It was frustrating to have songs interrupted or cut short, but I suppose that was necessary in the interests of keeping this under four hours.
Of course the archival footage of, and current interview with, Joan Baez are highlights. I had forgotten just what a pure voice she had, a voice that seemed almost too perfect to be of this world. There is some great archival footage of Johnny Cash, a great performance by Odetta, and fascinating clips of John Jacob Niles, Peter LaFarge, and the Clancy Brothers.
Put Dylan's poetry to music together with his musical talent and distinctive voice and you have a complete package. Of course not everyone appreciates that package, but as Joan Baez said, "If you're interested, he goes way, way deep."
This is an ambitious biography of a complex man and even at almost four hours one feels that much has been left off the table. The work of any artist must remain a mystery.
If you think of a poet as someone who strings words together to produce powerful images and strong emotional reactions, then Dylan is your man. I admit that a lot of Dylan's songs don't make complete sense to me, but they fascinate and afford many interpretations, and just the flow of words is captivating. The first scene in Part 2 provides a great insight. Dylan is seen on the street reading two signs, one saying, "Animals & Birds bought or sold on commission," and the other, "We will collect clip bath & return your dog/ KN1 7727/ Cigarettes and Tobacco." Dylan takes these words and goes on a spontaneous riff for a minute making sentences from them. Clearly he is a man who delights in words and has a great facility with them. You can see from this clip how he can come up with his songs. Could anyone but a poet come up with lines like: "The morning breeze like a bugle blew/ Against the drums of dawn," and "The ocean wild like an organ played/ The seaweed's wove its strands." The film traces the roots of Dylan's early musical interests; it would have been interesting to see how early on he became facile with words.
It is amazing how many inane questions Dylan was asked by a largely ignorant press. Questions like, "Why do you sing?" and "How do you explain your popularity?" It's no wonder he could get frustrated and annoyed. Clips from a current interview are interspersed throughout the film, so Scorcese was able to get more meaningful comments out of him than any of the questioners shown here.
As any good artist Dylan keeps changing. When he went from acoustic guitar to electric with a backup band many people felt somehow betrayed, but he was just moving on. The variety of his output is quite amazing, from poignant songs like, "Lay Down Your Weary Tune," to biting social commentary like "Only a Pawn in the Game," to wistful love songs like "Girl From the North Country," and then all the classics that were the soundtrack for a generation. This film seems to imply that Dylan's career ended with his motorcycle accident, but far from it--he has continued to write and record, having released a new album as recently as 2006.
Another topic of interest covered is the artist/businessman relationship. Most artists want to reach as large an audience that can appreciate them and this usually means that there must be agents, promoters, and investors in the picture. Dylan seems to have navigated this precarious situation successfully while still preserving his integrity. He was not above embellishing his background and you have to feel that he has to have some business sense to have wound up where he is. But he appears to come from that breed of artist whose main goal is to practice his craft rather than achieve fame.
I found parts of the film not completely successful. The interviews with some lesser knowns as Paul Nelson and John Cohen were of questionable value to me--it was not clear just what role they played in Dylan's career. The interviews with Alan Ginsberg are interesting, but his importance might not be understood by one not of his generation. It was frustrating to have songs interrupted or cut short, but I suppose that was necessary in the interests of keeping this under four hours.
Of course the archival footage of, and current interview with, Joan Baez are highlights. I had forgotten just what a pure voice she had, a voice that seemed almost too perfect to be of this world. There is some great archival footage of Johnny Cash, a great performance by Odetta, and fascinating clips of John Jacob Niles, Peter LaFarge, and the Clancy Brothers.
Put Dylan's poetry to music together with his musical talent and distinctive voice and you have a complete package. Of course not everyone appreciates that package, but as Joan Baez said, "If you're interested, he goes way, way deep."
This is an ambitious biography of a complex man and even at almost four hours one feels that much has been left off the table. The work of any artist must remain a mystery.