For my fourth “Present Tense” column at Film Comment (archive here, thus far), I wrote about the WONDER that is Martin Scorsese’s new documentary (or should I say “documentary”?) about Bob Dylan’s 1975 “Rolling Thunder Revue” tour.
Categories
Archives
-
-
-
Recent Posts
- “If you want to see the girl next door, go next door.” – Joan Crawford
- Review: Being Maria (2025)
- “Every choice I’ve ever made has been dictated by a formless hunch rather than by strict logic.” — Peter Brook
- March 2025 Supernatural Viewing Diary Season 11, working backwards
- “Reality is always extraordinary.” — Mary Ellen Mark
- “I think my cinema is minimalist because so is my gaze: I’m very interested in people.” — Joanna Hogg
- “I got my first guitar at age of 7 and never laid it down. Momma taught me G, C, and D. I was off to the races son!” — Jerry Reed
- “Can’t no man play like me.” — Sister Rosetta Tharpe
- “The worst enemy of truth and freedom in our society is the compact majority.” — Henrik Ibsen
- Happy Birthday, Rhode Island’s first poet laureate, Michael Harper
Recent Comments
- Lyrie on Review: Being Maria (2025)
- Lyrie on Don’t you DARE take Elvis away from me.
- sheila on Don’t you DARE take Elvis away from me.
- sheila on Don’t you DARE take Elvis away from me.
- Lyrie on Don’t you DARE take Elvis away from me.
- sheila on “Tennyson’s rank is too well fixed and we love him too much.” — Oscar Wilde
- sheila on “I think my cinema is minimalist because so is my gaze: I’m very interested in people.” — Joanna Hogg
- sheila on Review: Being Maria (2025)
- Kristen on Review: Being Maria (2025)
- Lee on “Tennyson’s rank is too well fixed and we love him too much.” — Oscar Wilde
- Maddy on “I think my cinema is minimalist because so is my gaze: I’m very interested in people.” — Joanna Hogg
- Michael James Cobb on The Books: “Master & Commander” (Patrick O’Brian)
- sheila on The Books: “Master & Commander” (Patrick O’Brian)
- sheila on The Books: “Master & Commander” (Patrick O’Brian)
- sheila on February 2025 Viewing Diary
- nighthawk bastard on The Books: “Master & Commander” (Patrick O’Brian)
- sheila on February 2025 Viewing Diary
- Lyrie on February 2025 Viewing Diary
- Lyrie on February 2025 Viewing Diary
- sheila on February 2025 Viewing Diary
-
If there was ever a movie that demonstrated the value of editing this is it. I can’t even imagine how many hours of footage it took, but the result looks great, and tells a coherent story.
Bill – I so agree. The editing was just a wonder.
Hey Sheila!
Fantastic review! You said it! Whitman and Dylan, two of our all time favorites.
A couple of negative things, but not really since we already watched it 3 times and it just came out yesterday, haha. It’s actually not really negative but interesting too watch people try to get close to Dylan. The people who don’t, straight arrow authentic Sam Shepard, and I love how he talks about Shakespeare, and what Dylan said about his plays, that he must be in commune with the dead to write them, Scarlet Rivera, so out there and yet so true and her music so at the heart of things and not at all pretentious unlike Patti Smith, (who I love always) but little too precious with her Rimbaud story and you can feel Dylan light years ahead of her anyway. Joan Baez’s boogaloo dance was a little oh no! stop! But pretty interesting what she said about after dressing like him she was even shocked how much people fell all over themselves for him. I did wish they had more from Renaldo and Clara, One of my favorite characters was the limo driver, so deep what he said and so on target! The only boring part is the Van Dorp guy, I for the life of me can’t understand the time spent on him. But your review gets to the heart of things, thank you!
Regina – I couldn’t believe my eyes when Joan Baez was dancing like that on the stage. Holy mackerel!
You know what’s interesting about her? I went back and watched No Direction Home, just as a refresher course. Her “folk” image was so pure, and that voice was so pure – and there was something humorless about her – which of course went along with the time (at least her experience of it). But when you see her interviews, she’s so different. With this big hearty laugh – and her Dylan imitation!! She’s kind of … very down to earth … and very sexy, I think.
Fascinating how she realized how Dylan was treated when she dressed up like him – and I love your observations about that, too. This, like, “court” around him, which has to be so annoying. It seems like it would be great, but yeah, not so much. So much of Dylan’s life – at least the career aspect of it – seems to be about shattering that “court” – and basically saying “You all think you know me, you don’t know me at all.” Or at least – …. I put up a link to this review on Facebook and Ted responded with something I thought really interesting:
“It seems to be the performative truth tellers who look for a way to mask their “real” persona, or “not be pinned down,” as you say. To not allow the audience to own them, but to retain ownership of themselves.”
I really like this.
Wasn’t that limo driver fantastic?? I almost couldn’t believe it was happening. In the press notes handed out at the screening, Scorsese talked about discovering that footage and he knew – Oh wow, this is precious, that’s a keeper.
and the footage of Sam Shepard’s interview just made me miss him so much!
Hi Sheila,
I just started reading you in Film Comment and I think your work is terrific. Is there a newsletter or other way I could receive your insights regularly? I don’t do social media.
All the best,
Frank Miceli
Frank – thank you so much – for reading, and for your interest. I do put out a newsletter once a month with links to stuff I’ve written – I added your email to the subscriber list. Thanks again!
Sheila
Oh. I’m reading other reviews now. As to not spoil for others who might not have i won’t say. But I get it now. I think it’s kind of lame. Oh well.
hahaha A lot of people are very irritated!! I thought it was great, obviously – and I did my best not to spoil it. I “got it” when I came home and Googled “Stefan van Dorp” and couldn’t find him anywhere. Then when I saw it again, it was like a whole new movie. Goofier! But I appreciated it!
Sheila
Haha! You did not spoil it! I was confused, Sharon Stone was there? Ironing Baez’s shirt?! I never knew that! haha! And Van Dorp. But I would rather have seen more of Dylan older, that was fascinating or more crazy Renaldo and Clara but I feel what you say. And It goes with Dylan really only doing this type of performance once.
Joan Baez always makes a mistake when she tries to “rock out” or act like Dylan and try to put out a fast clever line that he doesn’t have to think about. When they were getting ready to sing someone yelled out I think, “Nice Couple!’ She says “Don’t make myths” which feels cringe worthy to me. But Dylan mutters something so only she can hear, she laughs and repeats it “a couple of what?” Which first time viewing it I thought “Oh Joan came up with a good one.” only seeing later it was Dylan’s fast wit.
But it was pretty great and I will watch it again knowing this other crazy stuff!
You can see what connected them. They’re very very in sync – not identical (although Joan in male drag was something else) – but kind of moving and feeling in sync.
Last time I checked Renaldo and Clara is on Youtube!
Sheila
Interesting, Charles loves it, pretty much accepted it, after he knew.
He says it’s like one long poem.
Crazy things, real things, some things are funny.
I started thinking, amongst other things, wait a minute, is that true that he didn’t even
talk to the great Mick Ronson?! I thought that sounded weird!
But mixed up with real stuff, Peter Orlovsky is actually pushing luggage and Ratso is incredulous! “you are a great poet!” and that guy Kemp ruthlessly writing out and slashing Ginsburg’s name down to nothing,
Dylan talking through Van Dork, his comment on his film, wanting to show America, but also saying, “Van Dork ate 3 meals instead of 1” hahaha!
// But mixed up with real stuff, Peter Orlovsky is actually pushing luggage and Ratso is incredulous! “you are a great poet!” and that guy Kemp ruthlessly writing out and slashing Ginsburg’s name down to nothing, //
That scene with Ginsberg was brutal. It represents everything I DESPISE about our world, about America, about how the arts are viewed. because this guy had such contempt for Ginsberg and felt so SAFE in showing that contempt. Ugh.
I really loved this. The shots were beautiful, the concert footage was great. And it was just fun to try to figure out what was genuine, other than the music. I got a kick out of Dylan at the intro saying it all happened 40 years ago and he wasn’t even born then. I’m not sure if a Born Again joke was in that or not. Or if it was just part of the overall “don’t believe everything” vibe.
The Sharon Stone/kabuki/Kiss story was funny. And the “he wrote ‘Just Like A Woman’ for me” story.
I wonder if it was true that Peter Orlovsky and Allen Ginsberg were baggage handlers by the end of the tour – since I question everything in the movie except that there was a tour. That made me think of the story of Richard Feynman going to work for Danny Hillis at Thinking Machines and wanting to immediately contribute … so Hillis asked him to go out and get pencils and notepads since the company had none of those things on the first day. And Feynman went out and did it. Story here: https://www.webofstories.com/play/danny.hillis/106. Some geniuses just want to make the world better – in big or small ways.
I liked that they showed Dylan’s concert schedule from 1976 to the present at the end of the movie. The guy just has a monster work ethic.
I got a kick out of van Dorf’s “Dylan started holding cigarettes like me”story. And Ginsberg’s wish at the end.
This was fun if you knew that there weren’t any lies, just things that didn’t really happen. I don’t have anything particularly analytic to add, just that I enjoyed it so much.
And, as you and Regina said, the limo driver was very observant, very savvy.
// I liked that they showed Dylan’s concert schedule from 1976 to the present at the end of the movie. //
That was really really emotional.
Mutecypher
It is true about Orlovsky handling luggage. They have all that footage of Ratso speaking at that time in ’76 to Orlovsky about it where Orlovsky is just embarrassingly shrugging it off.
I do like that they put it in. Show it all!
I like how Scorsese and Dylan throw all those things in that Van Dorf says, making fun of Dylan in the end.
You do see things the more you watch it!
First time it was for me, Really? about a lot of things! then I hear its stuff made up and I’m all, I don’t feel like playing that game! then it gets interesting when you see it again how Dylan through Van Dorf is commenting on himself and a thousand other things.
“He’s gotta have an enemy” talking about Van Dorf. That sounds like Dylan making fun of himself.
I’m not sure about a lot of things though!
I don’t feel a great connection between Dylan and Baez. I don’t really even like it when they sing together either. Dylan is better alone. I still feel like he owes Baez more then anything. Does he really hear her voice in his sleep? hahaha! It just gets more crazy the more y9u see it.
I think Dylan connects more with Scarlett Rivera, I feel that more.
That’s me now making stuff up!
But I’m still not sure about Mick Ronson.!
And this was just one small moment in time and Dylan was on to other things.
Regina-
I’m not sure about the comment about Bob not talking to Mick. Here’s an interview with Mick where it seems like the tour was really a wonderful thing for him after David broke up The Spiders.
https://www.uncut.co.uk/blog/mick-ronson-on-david-bowie-and-bob-dylan-27202
Of course, it could have been wonderful whether Bob talked to him or not. Still, Bob spoke to him at the start.
// First time it was for me, Really? about a lot of things! then I hear its stuff made up and I’m all, I don’t feel like playing that game! then it gets interesting when you see it again how Dylan through Van Dorf is commenting on himself and a thousand other things.
“He’s gotta have an enemy” talking about Van Dorf. That sounds like Dylan making fun of himself. //
Regina – I am loving to hear your thought process – this hadn’t occurred to me but of course you’re right! also that van Dorp is played by … Bette Midler’s husband? Bette who is seen in that first coffee shop scene? It’s like a bunch of goofball friends playing practical jokes on the outsiders (i.e. us).
// Does he really hear her voice in his sleep? hahaha! It just gets more crazy the more y9u see it. //
Ha! Well that, yes, I believe.
But I agree that he was very connected to Scarlet – and I just love her presence onstage. She’s captivating.
and sitting in the back of the limo, in a black derby, being driven through … the countryside? like … where? what? why?
mutecypher! what a great detailed article! thanks! I really only knew Ronson was a great guitarist with Bowie! What a sensitive and truthful soul Ronson had. I love what he says about Dylan. After reading this that joke on Ronson makes sense too.
Oh, and P.S to Sheila too, I had to look up, The River is Wide. That really got to me. I didn’t know it was a centuries old fantastic Scottish tune! Baez and Dylan sing incredible here together. This is when I love Baez, she is just not a rocker to me. And I liked theirs the best out of all the renditions I listened to on youtube.
Mick referring to Allen Ginsberg as a “grand lad” was great!
// That really got to me. I didn’t know it was a centuries old fantastic Scottish tune! Baez and Dylan sing incredible here together. //
Yes, that was beautiful. James Taylor does a beautiful version of it too (in my opinion).
Finally got around to watching today. Loved that a certain congressman made an appearance.
And the moment with Joni Mitchell going over Coyote with Dylan, and Roger McGuinn. I didn’t catch that it was at Gordon Lightfoot’s house til I checked out Kim Morgan’s instagram. And I just remembered that song is about her relationship with Sam Shepard.
I don’t understand the irritated responses. I thought the whole thing had a playful spirit that kept it from feeling too self important.
That scene with Joni was so important I think. First of all, Scorsese allowed the whole scene to play out, which placed Joni on the level with Dylan, with Dylan playing support staff, following her. And I think it was Ratso’s comment about Joni “calling him out” on only listing male songwriters as his favorite. And he was open to what she said – he said something like “and we bonded on that.”
The atmosphere between men and women is so toxic now. it was refreshing to see an example of men and women being open to each other’s critiques.
I also loved how Joni insisted on playing only new songs in the tour. These people are artists!
// I don’t understand the irritated responses. I thought the whole thing had a playful spirit that kept it from feeling too self important. //
I totally agree! Owen Gleiberman’s review in Variety is inadvertently revealing – I think people don’t like feeling duped. Or being busted at having bought the bullshit. This is especially frightening for critics – imagine if you didn’t know it was bogus, and you wrote your review having taken it all at face value! You’d be laughed out of town. I like Owen G a lot, but his whole review was feeling irritated at having bought into it and then having to re-write his whole review. So I think that plays a lot into it.
Also I just feel like our culture right now is super literal and has almost zero tolerance for irony and satire.
But yeah … I loved its playfulness too (great way to put it) and it made me laugh, all the magic tricks they were pulling off.
When I came home and Googled “Martin von Dorp” and found literally no trace of him anywhere (no other reviews had come out) – I knew I had been “had.” And I hadn’t recognized him as Bette Midler’s husband! I think it’s hysterical.
Oh my gosh the congressman, right?? That’s the moment I knew the whole thing was potentially bogus. I had wondered up until then … but then I got confirmation. I totally bought Sharon Stone’s bullshit, by the way. Oscar-winning performance!!
I saw A Complete Unknown a few days ago. I loved it. There’s a scene where Bob and Sylvie make an impromptu decision to go into an old theater and watch Now, Voyager. And later in the movie Bob references it.
I can’t find anything in Dylan lore about the movie having any particular significance for him. I saw an interview with Elijah Wald, the author of the book the movie used as a reference. Wald said that he hadn’t found anything either, though Bob is a great fan of classic movies. So it made sense to Wald (and presumably James Mangold and Jay Cocks) that Bob could have seen it and could have done the two cigarettes thing. It would have been in character.
And that reminded me of this movie, where there weren’t any lies, just incidents that didn’t exactly happen. But would have been cool if they did happen.
Since Jay Cocks has written screenplays for Martin Scorsese, I imagine he’s familiar with the notion of helping Bob make myths. And fully bought into the old show biz saying of “between the truth and a good story, tell the story.” All that makes me sort of shake my head at people who critique the film’s historical accuracy. What Bob Dylan have they been listening to?
Perhaps we all get the Bob we deserve.
And I was prompted to watch Now, Voyager for the first time. What a wonderful movie. And it ties Bob with Walt Whitman and provides some sympathetic resonance with Tennessee Williams.
I had to share since all this gave me such a warm glow.
Now Voyager is a classic! (and inspirational for any woman who grew up nerdy and un-wanted and then found her own idiosyncratic path later on.)
I definitely think once you conceive of Bob Dylan as a trickster … you’re basically on the right path. This movie was so hilarious because it really did require you to have backstory in place – and you had to have a skeptical thinking cap on – which is a good way to approach anything, if only more people practiced it. Mitchell said to me that he immediately knew the whole thing was a troll when “Bette Midler’s husband” showed up as an interview subject, playing somebody else. That’s such a deep cut reference. Like who even knows who Bette Midler’s husband is? Mitchell! Or Michael Murphy. The second Michael Murphy showed up I knew!
I still think Sharon Stone should have gotten a Best Supporting Actress nom for her gloriously told bull shit. It was so good!
Speaking of this movie I don’t know if this came across your radar. Merrill Markoe – one-time girlfriend of David Letterman, and head writer on his show for a long time (among many other great gigs in a great career) – wrote a rather amazing piece on her Substack about this movie – and about Toshi, in particular:
https://merrillmarkoe.substack.com/p/a-complete-unknown-the-ballad-of
No, I had not seen that. I knew that Toshi was an accomplished person, but not to the extent that Merrill lets us know. Really an impressive person. One of the creators of the Newport Folk Festival, producer of Pete’s TV show… wow. And from the comments she sounds like a kind person. I wonder if she ever hit Pete over the head for his Stalin idolatry.
Thanks for pointing me to it. I’m a bit ashamed I missed her being marginalized. I remember wondering why she was in the TV scene with the blues singer who was a quick replacement for Bob. It would have been so easy to establish her “more than Pete’s helpmate” credentials with just a few lines.
I loved Merrill’s history and exegesis of Bob’s Christmas lights. Complete with charts and music notation.
Go Mitchell with the deep dive! I certainly would not have recognized Bette Midler’s husband.
And yes to Sharon Stone.
I thought she was wonderful to put up with all the crap from people calling her self-important for saying she inspired Bob to wear kabuki makeup when he told her about Kiss. She didn’t break character even during promotional interviews! It’s still a shock to discover intelligent (well, expensively educated) people who are so literal minded. Not a surprise, but a shock. *unhappy sigh*
Some critics were truly irritated by the movie because they spent so much time fact-checking it to make sure they didn’t make fools of themselves in their review. Honestly when I wrote about it I was as careful as I could be to not assert anything as 100% true – because who the hell knows. I could very well be being bamboozled and I had no idea. I have no idea who Bette Midler’s husband is. lol Michael Murphy for me was the “tell”. that’s when I knew to trust NOTHING.
it was so fun.
also some people said stuff like “scorsese should have just played it straight and let it be a regular concert film”.
but … why? Why is he obliged to do what YOU – a non-artist – think he should do?
Scorsese’s documentary on Dylan is essential. He already DID something like that. this is different.
Incidentally, I don’t know how I arrived there yesterday – but about 4 years ago Joe Rogan interviewed Edward Norton – he was there to talk about Motherless Brooklyn. but at one point, he talked about Bob Dylan for about 10 minutes. Maybe longer. They were talking about singular game-changing artists – it started with Brando. people who change other peoples’ ideas about what it means to be an actor – or a singer-songwriter/performer.
It was cool because this interview was years ago, and so it must have been so meaningful and cool for Norton to get to play such a crucial figure in the Bob Dylan story years later.
Norton’s Dylan monologue starts at 14:30:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUn1TbCINpk
Wow, that was a great conversation!
I loved the through line of Lenny Bruce, Brando, Hendrix, Dylan, Howard Stern, and the Brazilian judo guy all.
I wonder when Edward spoke with Marlon. I don’t think they acted together.
Thanks for pointing me to this!
Norton was in Brando’s last film in 2000 or 2001? The Score.
and yeah it was a good conversation! JR used to have those.
Aww crud. I was lazy and asked an AI.
I should have done the hard work of going to IMDB in my Culture tab on Safari and typing in either Brando or Norton.
Lesson learned.
AI needs to be chased out of the public square with flaming pitchforks.
I like that image.
Speaking of AI… from a recent Free Press article:
Consulting firm McKinsey estimates that 30 percent of the hours worked across the U.S. economy could be automated by 2030. Equally troubling is the fact that McKinsey, which once advised opioid companies to target “high abuse-risk patients,” is currently producing its own AI.
Nobody wants this shit. It’s all bad.