(Anuj Shrestha / For The Occasions)
Loads of musicians obtain big-screen immortality due to Oscar-acclaimed biopics, however in contrast to Elton John, James Brown, Judy Garland, Elvis Presley or Johnny Money, Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan has impressed a whole physique of filmic work honoring his songcraft and elusive persona. The newest comes from James Mangold, who beforehand directed the Money biopic “Walk the Line.” “A Complete Unknown” follows younger Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) from his arrival in Greenwich Village as a 19-year-old Woody Guthrie acolyte by way of an astonishing burst of creativity culminating in his notorious 1965 Newport Folks Pageant look, when people purists booed the artist for enjoying electrical guitar with a rock band.
The “Dylan goes electric” incident marks considered one of many shape-shifting moments that fascinate followers and encourage filmmakers. Listed here are 5 different films concerning the magisterial singer-songwriter whose life and lyrics have eternally expanded the contours of American music.
Bob Dylan in a scene from Martin Scorsese’s “Rolling Thunder Revue.”
(Netflix)
“Rolling Thunder Revue” (2019)
Martin Scorsese combines archival footage with recent interviews and tall tales to color a largely factual portrait of the carnivalesque tour launched by Bob Dylan in 1975.
Soundtrack gem: “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and “Hurricane,” about prizefighter Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, who was wrongly convicted of homicide.
Entourage: Joan Baez, Sam Shepard, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Allen Ginsberg (by way of audio voice-over). Additionally, Joni Mitchell performed “Coyote,” accompanied by Dylan, for spellbound band members at Gordon Lightfoot’s home.
Dylan speaks: “The tour was a catastrophe. It wasn’t a success — not if you measure success in terms of profit,” says the onscreen Dylan, who insisted on enjoying small venues to foster a spontaneous, anticorporate vibe. Concerning his well-known duet associate, Dylan notes, “Joan Baez and me could sing together in our sleep.”
Fashion: Dylan carried out in mime make-up and a broad-brimmed hat bedecked in flowers.
Tall tales: Dylan the trickster conspired with Scorsese to make up stuff in accordance with whim. Opposite to the digitally altered images and modern interview footage, Sharon Stone by no means joined the tour as a starstruck teenager. Director “Stefan van Dorp,” credited with capturing the archival footage truly used for the Dylan-directed 1978 movie “Renaldo and Clara,” is a fictional character performed by Bette Midler’s husband, Martin von Haselberg.
Oscar Isaac stars as a struggling people singer in “Inside Llewyn Davis.”
(Alison Rosa / CBS Movies)
“Inside Llewyn Davis” (2013)
Dylan (portrayed by Benjamin Pike) seems briefly on the finish of this era piece, when failing people singer Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) notices a shadow-cloaked determine singing and enjoying harmonica onstage on the Gaslight Cafe.
Setting the scene: The Coen brothers expertly depict the early-’60s New York Metropolis people scene as described by Dylan compadre Dave Van Ronk in his memoir “The Mayor of MacDougal Street.”
Defining observe: “Farewell,” considered one of a number of conventional people songs that fashioned a lot of Dylan’s early repertoire.
“I’m Not There” (2007)
To seize Dylan in all his multifarious splendor, writer-director Todd Haynes solid six actors to painting completely different points of the songwriter’s protean genius.
One artist, many stars: Cate Blanchett performs Jude Quinn, because the fame-averse rocker in sun shades and polka-dot shirt; Christian Bale portrays civil rights activist-singer Jack Rollins and Pastor John, representing Dylan’s gospel music section; Ben Whishaw channels Dylan’s surrealistic tendencies as poet Arthur Rimbaud; Richard Gere, bearded and reclusive, portrays Billy the Child, a nod to Dylan’s cameo in 1973 western “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid”; Heath Ledger is actor Robbie Clark; and Marcus Carl Franklin performs younger Black hobo Woody Guthrie, named after Dylan’s people music hero.
Soundtrack gem: “All Along the Watchtower,” sung by Eddie Vedder
Dylan speaks: “All they want from me is finger-pointing songs. I only got 10 fingers!”
Bob Dylan and Angela Bassett in a scene from “Masked and Anonymous.”
(Lorey Sebastian / Sony Photos)
“Masked and Anonymous” (2002)
Co-writer Dylan performs Jack Destiny, a washed-up musician enlisted by John Goodman’s Uncle Sweetheart to hitch a motley crew of circus acts and con artists for a profit live performance.
Origin story: Director/co-writer Larry Charles (“Seinfeld,” “Borat”) instructed the Bob Dylan Middle in Tulsa that the musician “showed up for the meeting in full western villain regalia — black hat, black suit, black boots, black gloves, studded black shirt,” observing that “the project was him basically as a kind of Buster Keaton cipher type of character, very stone-faced, very detached, walking through this surreal comic landscape, essentially, and using reference points from songs. That was folded into what became the movie.”
Fashion: Pencil mustache, cowboy hat, Nashville-style leisure go well with.
Entourage: Quirky characters performed by Penélope Cruz, Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange rattle off many of the dialogue reverse taciturn Jack/Bob.
Soundtrack gem: “Cold Irons Bound” showcases Dylan and his gritty band in full boogie-rock mode.
The documentary “Don’t Look Back” from D.A. Pennebaker captures Dylan’s 1965 tour of England.
(Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Pictures)
“Dont Look Back” (1967)
Documentarian D.A. Pennebaker shot this black-and-white masterpiece on a handheld 16mm digicam when he tagged together with Dylan and his witty companions on their 1965 whirlwind tour of England.
Fashion: Rail-thin in sun shades, black go well with and unruly pompadour; Dylan accouterments embody acoustic guitar, harmonica and ever-present cigarette.
Entourage: Singer Joan Baez, supervisor Albert Grossman and sidekick-songwriter Bobby Neuwirth (who would later pen “Mercedes Benz” for Janis Joplin) hang around with Dylan in lodge rooms and crowded vehicles whereas feeding into the artist’s jittery vitality.
Soundtrack gems: “The Times They Are A-Changin’” and “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)”
Dylan speaks: “I got nothin’ to say about these things I write, I just write ’em,” he tells a Time journal reporter. “I could tell you I’m not a folk singer and explain to you why, but you wouldn’t really understand.”
