Don't Look Back

Monday night I went to see a new 35mm print of Don't Look Back, the Bob Dylan documentary from 1965. We arrived a half an hour early in order to get good seats, but even at that time there was a line out the door and down the block.

For those who haven't see it, the film is a cinema verite profile of the 1965 Dylan tour of England. At that time Dylan was being treated in the way that teenyboppers treat Justin Timberlake or Hannah Montanna. The difference being that Dylan was singing intensely poetic lyrics laden with social/political meaning.

Throughout the film the mainstream press swarmed around Dylan, often plying him with inane questions. Dylan usually reacted with humor, but at times became combative. There is a painfully uncomfortable scene with a clueless, and somewhat frightened looking Time Magazine reporter that incites nervous laughter from the audience.

On the lighter side Dylan and his entourage try to laugh their way through the boredom and chaos of touring life. Among the entourage are folk singer Joan Baez. In one scene she is seen wearing a too-small cowboy hat and nonchalantly eating a banana as she sings one of Dylan's hits while inserting the word "banana" into the lyrics.

After the film the director D.A. Pennebaker came out for a Q&A session with the audience. Although he usually never quite answered the question put to him, he always had an interesting perspective on filmmaking and his experiences. I believe the event was webcast, but I'm not sure where.