Bob Dylan: Dont Look Back [Blu-ray + DVD]

I have owned this movie in just about every format and it's always a treat to watch. If you are into Bob Dylan you have to own this film. Shot on his 1965 English tour. Even though it was shot on 16mm film it still looks great on Blu Ray (but it does have black bars down the side of the screen). This version does come with the bonus one hour documentary that came with the deluxe DVD but it DOES NOT come with the packaging (ie. The two books). So if your like me you will be holding on to your old one as well. The only new thing on it is an interview with The director. The audio has been upgraded to DTS-HD 2 Chanel audio. but it does not make a huge difference to the sound. Content wise any serious music fan will need to own this. It is the most candid film you will ever see of Dylan and It has some great music. In most case just clips but you get a lot more on the bonus disc (which by the way is a DVD. So do not think this is a Blu Ray / DVD in the sense that you get the movie in both formats just the bonus documentary is the only thing on the DVD. So if you own the DVD Deluxe you might not want to buy this again ( but the Blu Ray does look great). But if you don't have this film at all drop the cash.it's totally worth it.

There's no doubt this film was an influential piece of cinema verite for subsequent rockumentaries. With little ado, it follows Bob Dylan and his small entourage (including Joan Baez) around England on an acoustic concert tour in the spring of 1965, in delicious black-and-white (mostly with hand-held cameras.) Much of the time we are in cars and hotel rooms, with occasional footage of Bob onstage performing alone with his guitar and harmonica. On a certain level we get a gritty version of the carefree fun of the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" - Bob and friends mostly hang around, seemingly without a care in the world, not appreciating how fleeting is this era of anyone's youth. At the same time, Dylan spends much of his time in pointless debates with journalists and others who are hanging around, keeping up a self-centered patter that I trust would embarrass an older man looking back on his cocky youth. It's argument for the sake of argument. His insouciant bravado has always been maddening; Bob shows little of his true self to the public in interviews and encounters, but then...he goes onstage, and those songs speak directly to our hearts, now as then. It's a weird contrast between the backstage kiss-off artist and the onstage genius. However, snatches of the real Dylan do slip through in this footage too. He seems wary and insecure around peers such as Donovan. Before going onstage at the Royal Albert Hall, the man who has just spent a long time telling a reporter that Time magazine is meaningless stops to carefully check himself in the mirror before going on. After the same concert, he seems genuinely upbeat and glad about the performance. In these and a few other glimpses, we see chinks in the armor of the self-conscious rebel, and behold, there is a human being beneath. No wonder the songs are so good. (The sound quality of the live performances isn't great in this film, but then it probably wasn't in real life in those days either.)

Many productions you are expecting music and all you get is \people talking about each other and occasionally mentioning the artist. Ties is a great documentary as instead of people talking about each other you get a candid look at the artists, on and off the stage.

I was surprise to see such a young Joan Baez and it was fun to listen to her and Bob singing Hank Williams' songs.

Just as I was about to be disappointed because other than "Subterranean Homesick Blues" I thought we would never get a full song until I realized that there were extras with full track extras:
"It Ain't Me Babe" May 10, 1965
"It's All Over Now"/ "Baby Blue" May 10, 1965
"Love Minus Zero/No Limit" May 9, 1965
"The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll" May 10, 1965
"To Ramona" May 4, 1964

I enjoyed the banter between Terry Ellis (science student) and Bob.
Then if you look quickly you will see Marianne Faithfull Soundtrack (writer: "Witches Song") in the movie "The Craft" (1996).

Now we must say good-by to Bob Dylan's last acoustic tour.

DON'T LOOK BACK

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