ROLLING THUNDER REVUE: Dylan & Scorsese Together Again!

Now available on Netflix:

ROLLING THUNDER REVUE: A BOB DYLAN STORY BY MARTIN SCORSESE (2019)

Martin Scorsese’s follow-up to his 2005 Bob Dylan documentary, NO DIRECTION HOME, is a very different film from that examination of the master musician’s early to mid-‘60s beginnings.

This two hour and 20 minute film, in which Scorsese paints a vivid picture of Dylan’s mounting of the legendary Rolling Thunder Revue, a gypsy-style traveling circus of a concert tour in 1975-1976, is a much more abstract, freewheeling work. It jumps around from a 1896 silent film by Georges Méliès (the subject of Scorsese’s 2012 film, HUGO), to vintage TV clips of bicentennial celebrations, and bits of speeches by Presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, to, most importantly spectacular live performances by Dylan and his ferocious backing band which he dubbed Guam.

Dylan may say, “I’m trying to get to the core of what this Rolling Thunder thing is all about, and I don’t have a clue because it’s about nothing! It’s just something that happened 40 years ago, and that’s the truth of it,” but he actually has a good deal of insights to share throughout. He’s pretty damn funny too.

So do other participants in the revue, such as Joan Baez, Sam Shepherd, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot who all provide their often hilarious takes on the tour. Then there are interviews with lesser known figures such as cinematographer Stefan Van Dorp, who shot the tour (“I wanted to show the land of Pet Rocks and Super Slurpees from 7-Eleven”); concert promoter Jim Gianopulos, who claims that the tour was his idea; and U.S. Representative Jack Tanner, who talks about Jimmy Carter getting him a ticket for a Rolling Thunder Revue show.

But the thing is, none of these people are who they say they are. Van Dorp is played by Martin Von Haselberg, who is a filmmaker but had nothing to do with the Rolling Thunder tour. Gianopulos is a real person, but he’s not a promoter – he’s a CEO of Paramount Pictures and also wasn’t on the tour. The most interesting of these characters is Tanner – a character from the Robert Altman/Garry Trudeau TV series, Tanner ’88, about a Presidential candidate.

Why Scorsese added these fictional folks into this epic rock doc is beyond me, but I was still highly amused by the conceit. When Sharon Stone appears to talk about her flirtations with Dylan, and joining the tour, it’s hard to believe anything she says. I learned later that this was a justified feeling as Stone didn’t go on the tour, and it’s speculated that very little that she says is true.

But what does that really matter when there’s so many great musical moments. Dylan, mostly in whiteface makeup, performs incredibly passionate versions of some of his greatest songs like “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” “Hurricane,” “Simple Twist of Fate,” “One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below),” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” (featuring a great bug-eyed duet with Roget McQuinn of the Byrds). But one real showstopper that stands out is an absolutely scorching version of “Isis” from Dylan’s album Desire, which was released after the first leg of tour.

When the mind-blowingly powerful performance concluded, many people in the audience at the screening I attended applauded like it was a real concert. I’m not normally a fan of folks clapping at the movies, but this felt seriously justified.

Despite the odd fictional elements, ROLLING THUNDER appears to grandly capture the highlights of one of Dylan’s most vital, and essential tours. With its epic length, it may be too much for casual Dylan fans, but hardcore fans will wish that it never ended.

More later...

A Day In The Company Of A Musical Expeditionary

Although it is officially releasing tomorrow, a local record shop had a copy of the new highly anticipated (at least by me) Martin Scorsese documentary DVD - NO DIRECTION HOME * on their shelf this morning. The store was breaking the street date (which is actually illegal) but I wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. I purchased it and went home to spend the day with Dylan.

A trailer which made the internet rounds a few months back had made my mouth water with snatches of never seen before footage and promises of absorbing insights about one of the most fascinating performers ever when they were most on fire. From the kick-off - beautiful technicolor film of Dylan with his hair glowing in the stage-lights howling "Like A Rolling Stone" with the blazing Band (then called the Hawks) on fire behind him in Newcastle, England on the infamous '66 tour it was more than obvious I was in for a treat.

The film is in two parts over two DVDs with a smattering of extras - roughly four hours of amazing stuff! It's airing on PBS next week I think too. It is largely in traditional chronological structure but does cut ahead to the '66 tour footage heavily implying that that is the meat of the matter but also maybe because Scorsese couldn't wait to give us hints of the climax. A recent interview with Bob as well as comments from other key era players (Dave Von Ronk, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Pete Yarrow, etc) forms the narration as the film takes us from Hibbing, Minnesota through Greenwich Village to the controversial electric debut at Newport then lands us onto a hostile British stage where the showdown between artist and fan reached its zenith.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story - basically this: a kid who considers himself a "musical expeditionary" achieves fame and fortune as a folk singer but betrays the movement to become a rock 'n roll star. Audiences booed, critics cooed, and music and the times were changed incredibly. Then he got into a motorcycle accident and it was all over. Dylan didn't tour again for 8 years and while he created lasting work the break in momentum appeared to do some notable damage. Okay, that's a simplistic as Hell telling of the tale granted but it is still the basics as I see 'em.

NO DIRECTION HOME is an emotional experience and as cheesy as it may sound it really left me feeling like I had been on a visceral journey. Many segments I'm not ashamed to say made me cry - Dylan's performance at the March on Washington in 1963, Baez's portrayal of her relationship with him, and the many many comments about the intensity of the Man's talent like:

"God, instead of touching him on the shoulder kicked him in the ass! Really! He can't help what he's doing. He's got the holy spirit about him. You can tell that by looking at him." - Bob Jonhston (producer of "Highway 61 Revisited")

What really adds to the entertainment factor is how funny this film is as well - young baby faced Bob blatantly lying about his background ("I was raised in Gallup, New Mexico"), his stealing hundreds of rare record albums from his peers, his continious baiting and press conference put-ons:

Reporter: "do you think of yourself as a singer or as a poet?" Dylan: "I think of myself as a song and dance man." With its stunning footage and powerful narrative progression this is without a doubt one of the greatest documentaries made about a performer that I've ever seen. Unlike the Beatles Anthology there are no unnecessary stylistic touches like people's images disappearing from photographs, no flashy polishes - just the footage and comments alone and the flowing approach to the material is intoxicating. This is a documentary that I know I'll come back to again and again for decades. No direction home maybe but fortunately road-maps for the soul like this are available. 

More later...