Are there any other Dylan fans out there who --like me-- rushed out to see "I'm Not There" within a day of its release?

I'm interested in hearing your impressions. I'm glad that I saw the film but it seemed like the filmmaker went to a lot of trouble with very little to show for it. Dylan's music floated teasingly in the background while the foreground was filled with silly images and pointless fictionalization of episodes in Dylan's life.

I am more eager than ever, however, to get my hands on the soundtrack.

The soundtrack is out - even on vinyl.
So the movie was no good ?

Well . . . it's not easy to dismiss it as good or praise it as successful. It certainly won't be as entertaining as the soundtrack.

Possible spoilers ahead:

There are parts of I'm Not There that I really liked. But seven Dylans are too much. The Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw and Richard Gere Dylans were the weakest links, and because the story is not told in a linear manner, those sequences step on the toes of the others.

The Christian Bale (Jack Rollins), Marcus Carl Franklin (Woody Guthrie, the black 11-year-old) and Cate Blanchett (Jude Quinn) Dylans are the strongest links, and the most distinct. Jack Rollins is seen during two phases of his life: the early folksinger days and the Christian re-birth. If Haynes had streamlined the script so it wasn't darting all over the place, I would have enjoyed the film much more. I don't think it's the viewer's role to make artistic decisions for the director, though.

There are a few remarkable performances in it: Jim James & Calexico doing Going to Acapulco and Christian Bale lip-synching to John Doe singing Pressing On.

I don't see Blanchett's performance as masterful as the rest of the world does. She makes Dylan come across as dependent and fragile, when that was the period when he may have been at his zenith. And I never once forgot that I was watching a famous actress playing a male musical legend.

My initial assessment of the film was harsh. That was last night. It's now the morning and bizarre as it may sound, I'll probably get around to seeing this film again over the next few months, maybe after the soundtrack gets under my skin. The soundtrack has a previously unreleased Dylan song on it, so it is a must for anyone who cares about Bob.

It's telling that the most powerful frames are the ones when Dylan himself is on the screen. There's just one sequence, at the end. No speaking or singing, just harmonica playing. That scene made me wonder: "What if Haynes had just made a documentary?"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-11-23 14:58 by Monkeylad.

Thanks Monkeylad, I'll seek it out.
Didn't expect it to be good in the first place, but it sounds interesting.

<<Are there any other Dylan fans out there who --like me-- rushed out to see "I'm Not There" within a day of its release? >>

Its premiere is tonight here where I live. I'm going to see it tomorrow.

I haven't seen any real good reviews of it yet, so I don't know what to expect.

You can listen to the tribute concert for a limited time at Wolfgang's Vault:

[concerts.wolfgangsvault.com]

Beacon Theatre
New York, NY
11/07/2007

PERFORMERS (in order of appearance):
Marcus Carl Franklin
Calexico
Jim James
Joe Henry
Mark Lanegan
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Mira Billotte with Lee Ranaldo
The Million Dollar Bashers
Gomez
Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks
Terry Adams
Yo La Tengo and Friends
My Morning Jacket
Mason Jennings
John Doe
Jimmy LaFave
Tift Merritt
Lee Ranaldo
J Mascis
The Roots
PRODUCED BY: Michael Dorf, Jim Dunbar, Randall Poster

Bob Dylan’s catalog is nothing if not immense, eclectic, magnificent and occasionally mystifying. The same is true for this show, featuring many of the soundtrack contributors to the new Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There.

Highlights abound, beginning with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James backed by Calexico on “Goin’ to Acapulco.” Ian Ball and Oily Peacock of Gomez give a compelling version of “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” and Tift Merritt is riveting on “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.”

Dylan himself reinvents his songs on a regular basis, and it’s interesting that, of the two top moments of the show, one is the straightest cover of a Dylan version played that night while the other is the most original reworking. The cover is My Morning Jacket’s take on “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You,” which is straight from Dylan’s version of the song he performed during his 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour. They absolutely smoke it, and the crowd responds immediately. In contrast, The Roots incredible version of “Masters of War,” replete with musical references to the “Star Spangled Banner” and Jimi Hendrix’ “Machine Gun,” is definitely not your father’s Dylan. They brought the house down.

The show features numerous collaborations, many of which include the amazing David Mansfield on fiddle, mandolin and pedal steel.

Wolfgang’s Vault was a major sponsor of this show, proceeds of which benefited 826 National, an educational nonprofit organization.


"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-11-23 21:59 by Deltics.

for some reason I'm hardly interested in this film. It seems to be more about the biopic film genre than about dylan and his music. Tonight, however, I'm going to a screening of The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan Live at Newport Folk Festival, 1963-1965, a compilation of Murray Lerner's concert footage seen excerpted in No Direction Home. This probably wouldn't have been completed or at least shown now if it hadn't been for the attention to I'm Not There, so I can't complain.

cc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This probably wouldn't have been
> completed or at least shown now if it hadn't been
> for the attention to I'm Not There, so I can't
> complain.


It may also have something to do with No Direction Home.

I've just watched the Newport DVD - and it's....Superb - of course

Yes, The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan Live at the Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965 is a masterpiece.

I saw it at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood on Nov. 1. Director Murray Lerner was present and participated in a Q&A following the film; got him to sign my copy of the DVD, which had just been released that week.

There's a scene in I'm Not There inspired by Dylan's '65 appearance at Newport; it was gratuitous and crass.

My friends and I were seemingly not as enthralled by this film as the people in the audience who applauded at the end of it. I found it all a bit weird and disjointed - but perhaps the film says more to mad Dylan fans. The soundtrack was great (well - it did include a lot of my favourite Dylan tracks) and Cate Blanchett was excellent - particularly singing at the piano. But overall it's not a film I would particularly recommend anyone other than a Dylan and/or music fan to go and see.

I was excited to go see the film, but at then end I was a little confused. I also agree with Monkelad's appraisal that Christian Bale (Jack Rollins), Marcus Carl Franklin (Woody Guthrie, the black 11-year-old) and Cate Blanchett (Jude Quinn) Dylans were the strongest. I particularly liked Cate Blanchett's Dylan but I think that is because that is my favorite era in Dylan's career.

It was disjointed and hard to follow. Maybe a little too "artsy" for me when I was hoping for more of a clear, cohesive story of Dylan and not something that had me wondering what was going on.

Maybe I'm not as smart as the other people in the theater who applauded at the end of the film but I would have preferred something more straightforward. I like to think that I know a lot about Dylan and I was at a loss to figure what was happening at some points of the film.

The music was excellent.

My experience with applause following the end of the movie is that it isn't always an indicator that the film was entertaining.

Sometimes the applause is just an audience's way of saying, "Hooray! Our two hours and 15 minutes in captivity are over! They're removing the heavy chains from the doors of the theater! Praise God almighty, we're FREE!"

Wahl, I just got around to watching "No Direction Home" on VH1 last night. That was really good. Accurate and packed w/details!

"The wonder of Jimi Hendrix was that he could stand up at all he was so pumped full of drugs." Patsy, Patsy Stone

>I haven't seen any real good reviews of it yet, so I don't know what to expect.

They're out there:

"I would not subtract a minute of this movie, or wish it any different." -- NY Times

[movies.nytimes.com]


"This isn't faint praise. It's a full-on rave." -- Newsweek

[www.newsweek.com]


"I'm Not There is the movie of the year." -- Village Voice

[www.villagevoice.com]


I've not seen it yet so I can't comment, beyond saying there's not another film I'm more interested in seeing this year.

OK.. I'll admit it. I loved it and I will see it over and over again.

If you want a "story line"..this movie isn't for you. You aren't gonna learn anything new about Dylan.

If you like artsy-fartsy, creative writing, and you consider yourself a Dylan expert you will enjoy it. Dylan lyrics, songs, and quotes were thrown in willy-nilly throughout the movie in the most unlikely places. A true pleasure. And the music is terrific!

My 2 cents...

I was lucky to find the soundtrack in the used bin at a CD store in Pasadena, Calif. on Sunday (two CDs for $13.99, a great deal). So I'll listen to the soundtrack over the next several weeks and then head back to the film to give it a second try. Thanks for posting your views, partydoll Meg.

Great review, partydoll Meg! If I fitted into the category you describe, I'm sure I'd have loved it equally as much. But even so, the soundtrack was great. And even I recognized the Dylan lines throughout the film (though probably far from all of them)!

A rave from Rolling Stone:

[www.rollingstone.com]#

I'm surprised no one mentioned the little part with Cate Blanchett (Jude Quinn) about Brian Jones and his "groovy cover band"

I finally saw it and loved it. I'm looking forward to seeing it again -- it begs for more than one viewing.