No Direction Home: Bob Dylan

by Erin H.
30 Sept. 2005

Directed by Martin Scorcese
Featuring: Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Allen Ginsberg, Al Kooper, Maria Muldaur, Pete Seeger and Dave Van Ronk
Runtime: 201 minutes
Released: 2005
Language: English

In recent years a three hour Martin Scorsese movie has seemed more like a death sentence rather than something to get excited about - be it 2002's atrocious "Gangs of New York" or 2004's highly overrated "The Aviator". In fact, the fact that Martin Scorsese's latest film doesn't involve Leonardo Dicaprio is reason enough to celebrate.

However, little would have indicated the level of greatness that his Documentary film "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan" would achieve. True, that it was more a matter of Scorsese getting out of the way than any great accomplishment of his own, we must acknowledge him for knowing to get out of the way. He is also the only man who would be able to not only get Bob Dylan to release years of extremely rare footage but also to sit down and give an in-depth interview on Mr. Dylan's least favorite subject. Himself. The most astonishing thing about this movie is simply Dylan's honesty and openness. He freely admits to fabricating an entire history simply to keep people from getting too close. The movie, which has no narrator, is instead told in a series of interviews with friends, former friends, and critics. The true gem here though is Dylan himself, Coming across as part sage, part joker, part liar, and ultimately confident, Dylan is a man who knows his accomplishments dwarf his contemporaries and feels no need to hide that.

Acknowledged by Every member of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Van Morrison, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Joe Strummer and just about every other musician who has made a positive impact on music as being their superior, Dylan still shows signs of weariness. The film, which goes chronologically, is intercut with indictments by fans who felt that he had sold out in 1965 when he stopped making music he had grown tired of and started making pop music. But, there was no pop music like this. John Lennon once claimed that it was his embarrassment in comparing his own music to Dylan's, which inspired him to change the Beatles music from little more than bubblegum to what it became in the late 60's.

The film which avoids some of the same mistakes of similar documentaries by only focusing in on an extremely small part of Dylan's life, going no further than a highly speculated about motorcycle accident in 1966, has a running undercurrent of this, with Scorsese obviously championing Dylan as a hero figure. This is perhaps the only criticism possible of this film, that Scorsese is so sure of Dylan's greatness that he turns a blind eye to some of Dylan's personal faults. But not much more can be expected from a movie about a man who has created a mythology around himself so broad that it is still unclear how many times he's been married, how many records he's recorded never to release, or even where he lives most of the time. Dylan aficionados who often spend thousands upon thousands of dollars collecting all officially and un-officially released works and reading through the hundreds of biographies written about him, will find no great revelations. Most of the story has been told before. But the manner in which it is told as well as the stunning live footage and behind the scenes footage of Dylan in the 60's is so engrossing that it all feels new. Dylan speaks of his predecessors like so many speak of him, with equal parts awe and adoration, but underneath there is always an undercurrent of egotist. He feels he has gone beyond where anyone else has gone or is likely to go. He is right. Despite his often-surprising candor, you also have the feeling that Dylan is tired of all the labels placed upon him from "Voice of his generation" to "folk singer" to "Poet."

These labels he seems to feel are not only needless categorization but also a way for others to steal even a little piece of a legacy, which now seems cemented in time. And, No Direction Home serves as a timeless testament to that legacy.

Erin H. is an employee of Le Video and apparently likes Bob Dylan. It's been rumored amongst the staff that he likes to hide behind the French Directors' section and enigmatically whisper "Claude", but we're never sure whether he means 'Chabrol' or 'Miller'. We like to tranq him when he does this, as we'd like to avoid hurting him before he's sent back out into the wild.