Renaldo and Clara (1978)

This epic is a mass amalgamation of three separate film-types that is, contrary to popular opinion, coherent and a unified whole. Bob Dylan is shown in concert, often masked, during the ... See full summary »

Director:

Bob Dylan

Writers:

Bob Dylan, Sam Shepard

Stars:

Bob Dylan, Sara Dylan, Joan Baez

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bob Dylan	...	Renaldo
Sara Dylan	...	Clara
Joan Baez	...	Woman in White
Ronnie Hawkins	...	Bob Dylan
Jack Elliott	...	Longheno de Castro
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Lafkezio
Bob Neuwirth	...	The Masked Tortilla
Allen Ginsberg	...	The Father
Mel Howard	...	Ungatz
David Mansfield	...	The Son
Jack Baran	...	The Truck Driver
Helena Kallianiotes	...	Herself
Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter	...	Himself
Anne Waldman	...	Sister of Mercy
T-Bone Burnett	...	The Inner Voice

Storyline

This epic is a mass amalgamation of three separate film-types that is, contrary to popular opinion, coherent and a unified whole. Bob Dylan is shown in concert, often masked, during the Rolling Thunder Revue. The film also features documentary footage, including Ruben "Hurricane" Carter's struggle against the forces that have imprisoned him. The third element is fictional "role-playing" footage with Bob Dylan in the guise of guitar-strumming Renaldo and his wife Sara as his companion Clara. Ronnie Hawkins takes on the role of Bob Dylan in these sequences. The film includes footage of a visit to the grave of Jack Kerouac, an Allen Ginsberg poetry reading and various friends and acquaintances, namely David Blue (playing pinball by a swimming pool), discussing experiences on the road.

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Plot Keywords:

bob dylan | written and directed by cast member | musician | folk singer | singer songwriter | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Renaldo e Clara

Filming Locations:

Alabama, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lombard Street Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

235 min 292 min (original) 122 min (re-cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the film was originally released, its screenings were extremely limited. The film received very many condemning reviews and many theaters refused the screenings. The film was cut from its original four-hour length to a two-hour length, and what was left was mostly concert footage. This version was shown in more theaters than the original director's cut. The original four-hour cut would appear on European television some time later, on Channel 4.

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Quotes

The Truck Driver: Why are you so much in a hurry? Is the law after you?
Renaldo: I am the law!

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits end with a minute-long title card reading "A Film by BOB DYLAN" directed after he is credited as writer and director. The closing credits are divided in three sections, separated by wide time gaps, played over a different artist performing.

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Connections

References Magical Mystery Tour (1967)

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Soundtracks

"House of the Rising Sun"
Traditional
Performed by Bob Dylan

User Reviews

A sometimes irritating and sometimes profound meditation

At over four hours and consisting of a lot of improvised and apparently self-referential scenes, this could and indeed has irritated many viewers. But if one stays with it and takes it as it comes (Dylan himself has recommended that one watches it doped), the film is an extraordinary meditation on the nature of self, performance, show biz and life. At its heart, the film seems to me to be saying that everything is show business (love, politics, poetry) or perhaps that show business (represented by a cheesy club act) is as valid a life choice as any of the more profound things portrayed. For all his supposedly radical support for Rubin Carter, the film suggests that the boxer is just as much a performer as anyone else. The film contains some moving sequences, not least the wonderful one in which Alan Ginsberg performs Kaddish before a group of oldsters. And not least, the concert footage of Dylan is magnificent - Isis being a stand-out. Which brings me back to the movie's theme: here is a performer whose name is not really Bob Dylan playing a performer who is called Renaldo performing a song about marriage but not marriage to his wife Sara (who plays Clara in the film) but marriage to the ancient Egyptian Goddess Isis - which implies that the singer really is Osiris, God of the underworld. But it's just this kid Robert Zimmerman! What is the real truth? This is the sort of heady trip the film offers. Put up with the irritating self-indulgence of much of this,and the enormous length, and there are great rewards. Re-issue it, Bob!