Bob Dylan: Dont Look Back

1967
7.9| 1h36m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 17 May 1967 Released
Producted By: Leacock-Pennebaker
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

In this wildly entertaining vision of one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists, Bob Dylan is surrounded by teen fans, gets into heated philosophical jousts with journalists, and kicks back with fellow musicians Joan Baez, Donovan, and Alan Price.

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Reviews

ScoobyWell Great visuals, story delivers no surprises
Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film
Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
DKosty123 There are new talents in music today who try to do what Dylan did back in this era. They perform like Dylan, but the difference is they lack the message and the passion shown by Dylan here. Dylan was willing to rebel, take things to the edge. He did not have to deal with the political correctness stuff when he was doing live concerts in this era.This film captures it perfectly during the live London concert tour in this era. The director here gets a lot of credit for capturing that edge in this tour. Sadly, Dylan's politics and protests have become largely forgotten because back in this era, the media was so corporate that they would censure anything this edgy. This film captures a lot of the essence of Dylan so well.It is great having Donovan and Joan Baez here for Dylan since they were on the tour. While Dylan is the star, his encounters with them behind the stage are not held back on. Director D.A. Pennebaker knows what he is doing here and he does it again with Monteray Pop which is more Conservative and later he did a documentary on Woodstock, the clone of the Monteray concert that was more Liberal. An out take of the opening of this film - Bob Dylan: Subterranean Homesick Blues- was also released in 1967. The camera angles of many of these concert clips used by the director were innovative when this was made. Dylans film is about Dylan so unlike Monterey Pop, this film does not focus much on the audience. Instead it has more concert and backstage stuff. It is like Pennebakers other concert films, outstanding work. This is the essential Bob Dylan.
atlasmb Filmed in 1965, this documentary follows Dylan and his entourage on his British tour. There are some concert scenes that give a feel for his performance persona. There are scenes of his manager and British agents making deals for him to appear at various venues. But most of the film concerns Dylan backstage.Shot in black and white, the film shows Dylan to be very mercurial. He is at times charming, communicative and seemingly open about his feelings. Other times--in fact most of the time--he is confrontational, condescending and self-contradictory. He is about 24 years old and these scenes remind me of discussions I had when I was that age with other college students. His arguments are circular, as if he enjoys arguing more than he enjoys communicating. He embraces the poet's privilege of not explaining the meaning of his lyrics (which is fine). One gets the feeling that he is tired of dealing with the media and others who want to pick his brain. Why did he give them audience, then? On the other hand, he is generous with fans who have no questions for him, merely seeking his presence or a glimpse of the man.While some of his songs do seem somewhat shallow, others are undeniably deep with meaning about issues that are very timely. Regardless, his songs often have a hypnotic effect, with their sing-song cadences. This film might raise more questions than it answers, but it is fun to watch. The presence of Joan Baez is a plus. Her voice was always special. We don't see much of her, but enough to see her react to teasing and to make silly faces in return.Dylan's songs feel mostly declarative. They are assertions and observations. They usually don't extract the emotional responses of, say, Joni Mitchell, who invites listeners to her inner world. Dylan asks his listeners to regard the outside world with him.
Rainey Dawn OMG what can I say about this documentary that hasn't been said already? This is an outstanding film for fans of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Donovan. Of course the main focus is Bob Dylan and his 1965 tour of England.There are quite a few funny moments that had me literally laughing out loud, some moments that are intense, other times it's very peaceful just to kick back an listen to the beautiful songs.I knew I would enjoy this film - but I can't believe just how much I thoroughly enjoyed it. So much behind the scenes footage that I felt I was right there with them. The concert footage had me feeling like I was sitting in the front row.This is well worth watching if you like Dylan, Baez and Leitch. Highly recommended.10/10
Twins65 I just FINALLY watched "Don't' Look Back", and although I'm glad I finally plowed through it, I can't really recommend it UNLESS YOU'RE A BIG BOB FAN. The songs (all just snippets) were great as expected, but would it have hurt Pennebaker to let a few play all the way through? Granted, the idea of a rock documentary 51 years ago was pretty much unprecedented, and the fact that he had unlimited access led to some interesting scenes. But maybe I'm just numb to the constant onslaught of reality TV in 2016, so even seeing some from over 50 years ago (which wasn't really "staged" like so much of it is today) just doesn't hold my total interest for 90 + minutes.Best clip: Dylan singing "Only a Pawn in Their Game" on July 6, 1963, at a Voters' Registration Rally in Greenwood, Mississippi (shot by artist and experimental filmmaker Ed Emshwiller). NOW THIS WAS SOMETHING I HADN'T SEEN BEFORE , nor did I know it even existed.2nd best clip: the groundbreaking "Subterranean Homesick Blues" video. Often imitated, and never quite duplicated, this is still AWESOME a half-century later!