Bob Dylan: No Direction Home Bob Dylan: No Direction Home
2005 Directed by Martin Scorsese
Synopsis
Bob Dylan. Songwriter. Rocker. Rebel. Legend.
A chronicle of Bob Dylan's strange evolution between 1961 and 1966 from folk singer to protest singer to "voice of a generation" to rock star.
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Bob Dylan polarises music fans like no other artist. There are those who regard him as the great musical force of the second half of the 20th century - a poet, a pioneer, a genius. And then there are those who say he's overrated; his lyrics are pretentious, his voice is nasal. "Wrong", we call them.
No Direction Home is a portrait of the artist as a young man: described variously as "a sponge", "a shaman" and - yes - "a genius". Focusing on the period 1961-66 (with a little flashing back to his childhood), the three-and-a-half hour film presents his transformation from hero to outcast, as he defined, then rejected, the socially-conscious "folk revival" scene of the period.
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I don't even know why I watched this. Bob Dylan, to me, is just ok in small doses, but I'm not really a fan. Even Scorsese couldn't make me interested.
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It's no DON'T LOOK BACK, but it's about as masterful as compilation/talking head documentaries come. Seems like the whole four hours is propelling to the absolutely chilling final 15 minutes where we essentially watch the capital-B-Bob-Dylan that everyone tries to remember wash into oblivion. [The moment where he sings "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" with Johnny Cash never fails to put me in tears. And the actual footage of the "Judas" moment is pretty jarring.] My viewing may be tinged by my extreme enthusiasm for Dylan's sound, but this thing is also an unforgiving exercise in hindsight bias. Would I have called him Judas? No way to know, really, but it does make you consider how we interpret greatness…
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Decent portrait of Bob Dylan by Martin Scorsese. The film looks at the culture which produced him as well as the songs which made the man a living legend. Dylan himself remains an enigma, so despite the efforts the film goes to, in the end you don't really get anything conclusive out of it.
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(Quickie Review)
"No Direction Home" is Martin Scorsese's fantastic, fascinating and fresh archival collage of interviews and historical footage documenting Bob Dylan's formative years and rise to star power in the 1960s. Scorsese fuses so much together, not only of Dylan's artistic genius and popularity, but also the climate of the times that were a' changin'. It also leaves enough of the Dylan mystery alone, keeping you hungry for more and unearthing treasures on your own. Just like with the music, I could easily absorb a mountain of this movie material and never be bored nor unfulfilled. What a fine and fitting tribute to an American original, by an American original.
-djg
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Scorsese does an amazing job in putting together this doc of the legendary poet and songwriter Dylan. Even if your not a Dylan fan this is a worthy doc to give a chance.
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How Robert Zimmerman became BD
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Bob Dylan polarises music fans like no other artist. There are those who regard him as the great musical force of the second half of the 20th century - a poet, a pioneer, a genius. And then there are those who say he's overrated; his lyrics are pretentious, his voice is nasal. "Wrong", we call them.
No Direction Home is a portrait of the artist as a young man: described variously as "a sponge", "a shaman" and - yes - "a genius". Focusing on the period 1961-66 (with a little flashing back to his childhood), the three-and-a-half hour film presents his transformation from hero to outcast, as he defined, then rejected, the socially-conscious "folk revival" scene of the period.
The…
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Scorsese clearly makes the effort to give the thing some form outside of talking heads and photo zooms, inter-cutting throughout to the infamous 1966 Royal Albert Hall performance where Dylan was booed and called Judas for betraying the folk movement by plugging in his instruments. In the film, this era looms over Dylan finding his roots, as the man himself says one thing (present day), the facts speak another and the Dylan of the time continues to avoid giving a straight answer to any question; He is the very picture of a man so impenetrable he charmed the world into the challenge. The press conferences are particularly telling. Press, fans and detractors alike all try to read into him and…
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Good documentary, in terms of seeing some great footage of Dylan and hearing some great performances. My only problem was that it seemed to focus far too heavily on the fact that the British audience hated him for changing from Folk to Rock in the mid 60's. This was all well covered in Pennebaker's 'Don't Look Back' documentary. I'm sure there was more to Dylan's 60's than this.