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Dont Look Back (1967)--****
2007 Deluxe Edition DVD Review
 Here’s
how film critic Roger Ebert starts out his 1998 review of Dont
Look Back: “What a jerk Bob Dylan was in 1965. What an immature,
self-important, inflated, cruel, shallow little creature, lacking
in empathy and contemptuous of anyone who was not himself or his
lackey. Did we actually once take this twirp (sic) as our folk
god?”
Now here’s a quote from a 1967 Newsweek review: “Dont Look
Back is really about fame and how it menaces art, about the
press and how it categorizes, bowdlerizes, sterilizes, universalizes
or conventionalizes an original like Dylan into something it can
dimly understand.
I believe the Newsweek reviewer was talking about people like
Roger Ebert, a journalist who in his 1968 review complained when
Dylan taunted and teased reporters who deserved what they got.
Of course, it would behoove any person who thinks like the Newsweek
critic to watch the Dont Look Back Deluxe Edition DVD extra
65 Revisited. Watching an hour's worth of clips edited
out of the original film, scenes of Dylan shopping and enjoying
his status as an idol, lie in contrast to what we see in Dont
Look Back.
You can’t blame director D.A. Pennebaker for his artistic editing.
When he followed Dylan, Joan Baez and the rest of Dylan’s gang
on the 1965 British tour, he produced the intimate portrait of
a young, deservingly-arrogant artist dealing with fame. Had the
"folk god" been seen as a bit of a prima donna, asking
for pink ties to match his shirt, the film wouldn’t have made
me want to exist in Dylan’s world. It also wouldn’t have made
the film the cinematic milestone it is today.
It’s not overstating it, to call the Subterranean Homesick
Blues video at the beginning of Dont Look Back iconic.
It’s an often imitated cultural landmark, one that exists only
if you see Dylan as an anti-pop star.
I believe it when I see Dylan act as if he would write music
even if no one listened. The scenes inside of hotel rooms with
his friends Alan Price, Baez and Bob Neuwirth are priceless insights
into the world of an artist. Dylan seems at home there. The scenes
of Dylan in the unnatural world of the concert hall are often
cut short because he doesn’t belong. I found myself wandering
when in 65 Revisited Dylan was shown performing complete
songs from his concerts. He was singing while he slaved and just
looked bored.
Regardless of what Ebert says, the scenes where Dylan is a twerp
are worthy of being glorified. I don’t think you could expect
someone living a life of fame at 24-years-old to act any other
way. Look at the equally famous young stars of today. If there’s
one thing we should complain about it’s not Dylan being a twerp;
it’s that the twerps we pay to entertain us today are nowhere
near as intelligent or iconic as Dylan.
Don’t Miss These Extras
65 Revisited documentary
Alternative take of Subterranean Homesick Blues video
Also included:
Dont Look Back screenplay and photo book
Subterranean Homesick Blues flip book
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