Themes: Bohemian Life, Ladder to the Top, Musician's Life
Main Cast: Bob Dylan, Paul Nelson
Release Year: 2005
Country: US
Run Time: 207 minutes
Plot
Renowned director Martin Scorsese's documentary No Direction Home: Bob Dylan chronicles the career of the singer and songwriter during the tumultuous years between 1961 and 1966. Dylan allowed Scorsese to have access to hours of footage that had never before been made public, including a number of live performances, and footage of Dylan in the recording studio creating some of his landmark albums from the period. Dylan sits for an extensive interview, as does a variety of people who worked with him during this time period, including Joan Baez and fellow songwriter Pete Seeger. The film debuted on PBS stations around the country on September 26, 2005. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Review
Much like in The Last Temptation of Christ, Martin Scorsese makes a figure of God-like power more relatable -- without diminishing an ounce of his mysterious power -- in the remarkable achievement that is No Direction Home: Bob Dylan. Martin Scorsese manages to make the inscrutable performer very human by making clear how quickly Dylan can adapt to whatever surrounds him, as well as absorb whatever strikes his fancy. By showing so many of the folk artists that influenced the young Dylan, it becomes easier to understand the persona he developed in his early career. Where the film surpasses earlier works on Dylan (most specifically the still fascinating Don't Look Back) is in the way Scorsese details the various forces both internal and external that led to Dylan embracing the change in his sound that alienated many in his audience. There are edits that make connections even longtime Dylanphiles may not have considered. Scorsese's sure hand becomes even more apparent in the second half, which opens with a dizzying sequence that makes the viewer feel the claustrophobia and pressure Dylan was experiencing at the time. The film works as history thanks to the wealth of remarkable footage Scorsese was granted access to, but the most fascinating aspect is that the film feels as psychologically penetrating as any film could be about an artist who seems to pride himself on his successful ability to stay unknowable. Dylan is still inscrutable at the end of the film, but in some way he has been made less mythic and more human thanks to Scorsese's skill. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Margaret Bodde - Co-producer, Martin Scorsese - Director, David Tedeschi - Editor, Nigel Sinclair - Executive Producer, Anthony Wall - Executive Producer, Susan Lacy - Executive Producer, Jeff Rosen - Executive Producer, Jody Patton - Executive Producer, Paul G. Allen - Executive Producer, Tia Lessin - Line Producer, Martin Scorsese - Producer, Nigel Sinclair - Producer, Anthony Wall - Producer, Susan Lacy - Producer, Jeff Rosen - Producer
