No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Release Date:

21 July 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Music

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Bob Dylan | Interview | Archive Footage | Performance

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Bob Dylan	...	Himself
B.J. Rolfzen	...	Himself (voice)
Dick Kangas	...	Himself
Liam Clancy	...	Himself
Tony Glover	...	Himself
Paul Nelson	...	Himself
Allen Ginsberg	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dave Van Ronk	...	Himself (archive footage)
Maria Muldaur	...	Herself
John Cohen	...	Himself
Bruce Langhorne	...	Himself
Mark Spoelstra	...	Himself
Suze Rotolo	...	Herself
Izzy Young	...	Himself
Mitch Miller	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Bob Dylan Anthology Project (USA) (working title)
Bob Dylan: No Direction Home (Australia)

Runtime:

208 min (DVD) | Finland:205 min (2 part TV-miniseries) | Canada:201 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | Argentina:208 min

Country:

UK | USA | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Spain:T | Finland:K-3 | Singapore:PG | Argentina:Atp | Brazil:Livre | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Hibbing, Minnesota, USA

Company:

Spitfire Pictures

Trivia:

Martin Scorsese never met or discussed the film with Bob Dylan during filming. However he worked extensively with him during the filming of The Last Waltz (1978).

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Footage of the San Francisco Bay Bridge is included among footage of New York City illustrating Bob Dylan's arrival there.

Quotes:

Mickey Jones: People have said to me the word that, uh, he was a traitor to folk music, the *pure* music.
Bob Dylan: I'd just about had it, though, I'd had it with the whole scene. And, uh, whether I knew it or didn't know it, I was, uh, lookin' to quit for a while.
unknown: Well, what about the scene? What had you "had it with"? What about the scene were you sick of?
Bob Dylan: Uh, well, ya know, people like *you*, people like, uh, ya know, just, ya know, like bein' pressed and hammered and, uh, bein' expected to answer questions. It's enough to make anybody sick, really.

Movie Connections:

Features Dont Look Back (1967)

Soundtrack:

Like a Rolling Stone

Good insight into Dylan's life

Having been a casual listener of Bob Dylan, I found this documentary rather insightful and well-made. Narrated by Dylan, director Martin Scorsese basically interviews friends, colleagues and family of Dylan (as well as Dylan himself) and gets to the roots of his inspiration and upbringing.

As I said above, I'm not a huge fan of Dylan insofar that I'd be able to tell you all of his songs, albums, etc. Some of my personal favorites are "Like a Rolling Stone," "The Man in Me" and of course "Knockin' On Heaven's Door." The film's soundtrack uses Dylan songs which is a nice addition as well. It's four hours long and when screened on TV comes in two parts, so you may have to see it in two viewings. But I found out a lot about Dylan that I didn't know before and I think that's the point.

Well-made, well-documented.