In 1965, filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker accompanied Bob Dylan to England to make a film about the singer/songwriter's British tour. At the time, no one could have known how fortuitous Pennebaker's timing would prove to be. Within a few months of this tour, Dylan would forsake his role as The Conscience of Folk Music to pick up a Fender Stratocaster and play rock and roll. Within a year, Dylan would suffer a motorcycle accident that would put him out of commission for nearly 18 months. Recording
several brilliant solo performances and capturing a wealth of fly-on-the-wall footage of Dylan's interactions with friends and strangers, Pennebaker caught Dylan on the cusp of a radical career change, and the man in this film seems to be thrashing about in his shackles, looking for some sort of escape route. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
An unforgettable all-access pass behind the scenes of Bob Dylan's '65 British tour, D.A. Pennebaker's landmark 1967 rock doc all but invented the form while presaging the music video.
Whether one is a member of the under-30 set that regards Mr. Dylan as a spokesman, or one of the vanishing Americans over that age, this look into the life of a folk hero is likely to be both entertaining and occasionally disturbing.
D.A. Pennebaker's 1967 film, which invented the rock documentary, is a time capsule from the period when Sgt. Pepper was steamrolling Mr. Tambourine Man.
It's unlikely that Don't Look Back will ever look better than it does on Docurama's Blu-ray release, making this two-disc package an essential purchase for rock-doc aficionados.
Unencumbered by voiceover or any sort of forced narrative, the result is an intimate and riveting look at Dylan unfiltered, a portrait of the artist as a 24-year-old superstar.
The film's greatest incidental pleasures are images of a time when outlaw musicians wore suit jackets and the craggy Dylan was a delicate, unconventionally handsome young man.
Amazing . . . My dear niece, who first invited me to join flixster actually, was working the bar at a London venue where Bob Dylan was playing. At some point she was sent backstage to deliver Dylan a beer. Like me, my niece is a big fan of his; we still are. Her report: He was not very pleasant. I'm sure Dylan is
not the only celebrity who may not come off well from time to time in public interaction. I know I'd never want to have a beer with Dylan, but I won't let his personality quirks color the power of his music for me. My niece and I do remain big fans. Note to self: You will never be famous. How do I know this? No one ever follows me around like this in my day-to-day routine with a camera.
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