[4.0]
Not a lot happens, but it’s mesmerizing. D.A. Pennebaker’s seminal doc shows Bob Dylan as obnoxious and combative, but also kind and generous. Hanging out with Joan Baez, Donavan, and picking a fight with Alan Price (from the Animals). His blistering but also rambling takedown of Time magazine, directed at the squirming Time journalist who grows increasingly flustered and outraged (how much was Dylan serious and how much of it was him simply being aloof and contrarian?). Then the uncomfortable scene where Dylan starts a conversation by playfully teasing and making fun of a science student (Terry Ellis, who would go on to found Chrysalis Records), until the back-and-forth jousting slowly escalates into a bitter take-down of the young conservative. The scenes of Dylan in concert are fantastic, of course (with a hilarious moment showing how the mic wasn’t properly hooked up and the workers backstage run around trying to fix it). And the behind-the-scenes footage is priceless, showing Dylan hanging with friends, coworkers, and fans. He gets upset at some incident in the street (someone broke a glass?) and throws a tirade. It was also amusing to watch Dylan’s sly manager Albert Grossman yell at the hotel management (after they complain about noise, Grossman gets confrontational and swears at them and tells them to get out) and also see one side of a negotiation conversation where Grossman tries to haggle more money out of an upcoming festival Dylan is set to play at. And of course, the masterful opening scene, the single-take, proto-music-video of Dylan flashing cue-cards for his song “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” This doc is a classic for a reason.
burning retina 