'Don't Look Back': It's Back!
D. A. Pennebaker's Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back, which documents the songwriter's 1965 tour of England, is a thoroughly American masterpiece combining talent and serendipity. Shot in cluttered cars and hotel rooms in slightly dingy natural light, Pennebaker's film captures a theatrical collision of cultures.
Was Dylan, then an elfin 23, in his prime? It's hard to say. Dylan nearly always seems to be in his prime. In any case, Dylan was particularly spunky and confrontational as he and his entourage (which included Allen Ginsberg, Joan Baez, and a beleaguered Donovan) deal with an amusing assortment of enthusiastic fans, clueless reporters, and annoyed hotel employees. The film's supporting cast - the Science Student ("When you meet somebody, what is your attitude towards them?" He asks. "I don't like them!" Dylan returns), the High Sheriff's Lady (and her three boys: David, Steven, and Steven), and a reporter from Life magazine ("I'm just as good a singer as Caruso," Dylan informs him) - are as vivid as Monty Python characters.
And of course there's the music. ("I'm just a guitar player, that's all.") Dylan was just about to upend the musical world with his first electric album, Bringing It All Back Home. This was his final solo acoustic tour, and Dylan performs with utter authority yet restive spirit. The deluxe new package includes the paperback book containing photos and a transcript of the movie. A second disc, Bob Dylan 65 Revisited, offers a lot more of the same, and Pennebaker and Dylan friend-road manager-songwriter Bob Neuwirth provide intermittently illuminating commentary to both films.
Dylan looks back over and over again in the video for "Thunder on the Mountain" from last year's Modern Times.