Review of Bob Dylan – Don't Look Back (1967) by Michael S — 24 Nov 2007

My first introduction to D. A. Pennebakerâ??s seminal music documentary, â??Donâ??t Look Backâ?? came as a result of my one academic endeavour into Film Studies, when a short clip from the film was used to hammer home the meaning of cinéma vérité. The clip (which I have included below from YouTube) pertains to the hilarious pot-induced debate over who threw a glass in the street after Dylanâ??s concert, culminating in a line I never tire of referencing when found in similar predicaments: â??you are a big noiseâ??. To be honest there is a lot to quote from this film, it is rich in the beatnik mythology of Bob Dylan at what many consider one of the landmarks (if not â??theâ?? landmark) of his career, namely his 1965 tour with Joan Baez. The documentary focuses on the British leg of the tour, and captures, as cinéma vérité would suggest, the fly on the wall perception of Dylanâ??s life as a young talent immersed in a culture and a cult of celebrity that was still fairly alien to him. What transpires from Pennebakerâ??s fortuitous gaze is a candid account of Dylan and his entourage as they naively go about their business, comprised largely of drinking, smoking, writing, rehearsing, and making jabs at Donovan. The documentary is as poignant as it is funny, and I cannot stress enough the monumental fortuitousness of Pennebakerâ??s footage â?? he did not merely capture a few lucky shots to fill a trailer, the entire documentary is a bounty of voyeuristic pleasures the likes of which I have never seen before in this genre, it truly is the standard by which all music documentaries should be measured. I have included several clips here for those of you who have not seen this film, to get a taste of what I am talking about, but I assure you there is so much more than this in â??Donâ??t Look Backâ??.

Unfortunately there is no YouTube clip for one of my favorite moments in the film, what I like to call the â??folk-offâ?? between Donovan and Bob Dylan. Let me try to paint the scene in words: Dylan and Donovan, finally meeting after so much talk throughout the film, sit on separate sides of a hotel room while a straggly group of friends and admirers are spread out around them. Inevitably, with this sort of musical talent in the room, a guitar is brought out and Donovan is the first to strum out a song for the amusement of the group. Up until this point Dylan had only heard of Donovan secondhand as some kind of messiah of folk in England so there was a lot to prove in this hotel room. When the song was done everybody showed their appreciation, and almost unspoken, it became Dylanâ??s turn to take up the guitar and demonstrate his craft. Now this is going to be hard to explain because it is something one feels rather then sees, but from the first strum of the guitar Dylan owns the room as only a great musician can, and he has the incredible composure considering how intoxicated he likely was to pull out a solid rendition of his then new song, â??Itâ??s All Over Now, Baby Blueâ??. There is a sly shot of Donovanâ??s face during the song and his expression says it all: Dylan is king.