Monday, June 17, 2019

BOB DYLAN/ ROLLING THUNDER REVUE

 THE GENERALIST has written extensively on Bob Dylan, a mercurial figure whose global influence continues to spread and deepen.                                                                                                                                       This remarkable new film om Netflix of the 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour in the run-up to the US Bicentennial draws the performances and other footage from Dylan's 4-hour 'Renaldo and Clara' movie that died at the box office and is currently unavailable.                                                                                                                                                      Dylan is at his beautiful best. He sings with an intensity that matches the power of his wonderful songs, the words of which seem eerily contemporary. Now 78, Dylan appears briefly with wry comments on this long ago circus-tour initially of small venues that involved Allen Ginsberg, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Sam Shepard and many others.                                                                                                                           Having been genuinely stunned by this powerful film I then set out to read the back story of the making of this movie. What one discovers is that many of the episodes and characters in the film are actually made up. The clue is right at the beginning with a clip from an early silent film of an illusionist. Dylan invented his own persona and has spent his entire life wearing a variety of masks and identities. In the age of Trump and fake news this also seems highly contemporary.

There are no spoilers in this post. Enjoy the film before reading these excellent features in which all is revealed. Each writer has a slightly different take on these sleights of hand employed by Dylan and Scorsese one presumes. Knowing the truth does not in any way affect the wonderment of the film but adds other levels to what is moving and profound experience.

See Previous Posts: Type Bob Dylan into search box on top left of this site.

The Chaotic Magic of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue                              by David Remnick/ The New Yorker/ June 10, 2019


by Richard Brody/The New Yorker/ June 14, 2019

 A Guide to What’s Fake in ‘Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story’
By Andy Greene / Rolling Stone / June 12th, 2019



Why Rolling Thunder Revue is a Terrible Documentary But A Great Bob Dylan Film

Review on Aquarium Drunkard/14th June 2019


Monumental 14CD Box Set Includes 5 Complete Bob Dylan Sets From Rolling Thunder Revue Concerts Spanning October-December First Leg, Rehearsal Performances, Rarities And More



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