by Allan Fish
(USA 1967 96m) DVD1/2
Subterranean Homesick Blues
p John Court, Albert Grossman d/w/ph/ed D.E.Pennebaker m/ly Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan, Albert Grossman, Joan Baez, Alan Price, Donovan, Bob Neuwirth,
To call this legendary film the greatest concert film in existence could be interpreted as either gross understatement or misleading. There have been other fine concert films, of course, from Gimme Shelter to Woodstock to The Last Waltz, and yet they somehow fall short of Pennebaker’s achievement. Where to even think of beginning…
Don’t Look Back is, in essence, a fly-on-the-wall insight into Bob Dylan as he undertook his 1965 tour of England. Pennebaker’s camera sees him not only in concert, but backstage, in hotel rooms, taxis and trains. It’s as up close and personal a portrait as one could ever wish to see. Yet this is one of those films that operate on so many levels sometimes you don’t really grasp the clarity of vision you’re being exposed to. There’s a seemingly throwaway piece – in fact anything but, anything Pennebaker included in the film from 20 hours of raw footage is there for a reason – early in the piece where a reporter is dictating his piece to the paper on the phone. He says that Dylan “is not so much singing as sermonising“, adding that people are only interested in the song and not the sermon. There’s nothing especially wrong with that, and Dylan would be the first to agree, and yet in terms of the documentary separated from the music, it also illustrates the paradox. Dylan’s fans come to hear Dylan, his music, his thoughts, his ramblings, the whole kit and caboodle. Pennebaker offers a lot more; there’s the contractual politics with Granada and the BBC over appearance money, the clashes with local press and the very notion of a phenomenon and their entourage. Finally, and most fascinatingly of all, is Pennebaker’s shots of industrial England in the mid sixties; Liverpool, Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester et al, whether seen in the form of whip pans away from Dylan to his surroundings to shots of terraced houses through moving trains.
Now we live in a time where insider peeks into the world of celebrities are ten a penny, where fanatics resort to Hello magazine or the like to get their fix. Yet this was the age of music artists, of the Stones, the Beatles and, of course, of Dylan. He seems a man on the verge, jittering nervously under the influence of amphetamines, a poet like so many before him one expected to burn brightly and die out. Yet he’s still around, over forty years later, having reinvented himself more often than one can count, flirting on the edge of movies, his songs illustrating everything from Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, in which he even appeared, to Wonder Boys, for which he won an Oscar.
The concert footage we get, of everywhere from Town Halls to the Albert Hall, is as magnetic as one expects, and yet it’s in the intimate details that it proves most fascinating, as Pennebaker’s camera picks up so much that might otherwise have been missed. Dylan’s handling of the media is especially intriguing; a mixture of evasion and self-deprecation, trying to show the world that he is, when push comes to shove, “just a guitar player, that’s all.” And he does so with such insouciance that one almost believes him. There are obscure answers, if you can call them that, to questions put, such as when asked what his message is replying “keep a clear head and always carry a light bulb.” In one such piece of verbal fencing he arraigns against the necessity of Time magazine, and through the inevitable substance-fuelled pretension, one still glimpses the honesty and poetry beneath, like headlights in the fog. It’s a time capsule essentially, and a unique insight into the man and his music in a time he was born for and in a place he seems at home in. It’s also impossible to watch without thinking of Cate Blanchett’s astonishing portrayal of Dylan in this exact period in I’m Not There. Dylan always had a faintly androgynous appearance, but Blanchett was, like Pennebaker’s film, worthy of the man himself. Finally, look at Donovan’s listening to Dylan sing after singing himself. The face of a man who knows, however good he may be, he’ll never hit the same heights. For that brief moment, Donovan speaks for all of us by not speaking.
Hi! Allan Fish,
Nice review of Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues, but to be quite honest
with you, I’am not familiar with his music.
I must admit that I’am more familiar with his (Dylan) son Jakob Dylan’s music.
Speaking of, Jakob, his first cd Bringing Down The Horse with his band The Wallflowers was the ultimate cd, (As far, as I’am concerned that is….) not “one” beat was missing.
(Translation: Every song on Jakob’s first cd was a “hit!”…as a matter of fact, I think his (Dylan junior) cd snagged the Grammy@ for best album of the year.) 😕
Anyways, I may seek this dvd out!…in order to give Jakob’s dad a viewing!
Tks,
Deedee 😉
Superlative essay on Dylan and Pennebaker, Allan. One slight quibble: let’s not forget that “Don’t Look Back” can also be retrospectively assessed considering the titular crossroads Dylan was at, poised to plunge into the nascent electric-folk-rock hybrid he helped spawn with the album “Bringing it All Back Home,” released shortly before this tour. The future would hold Highway 61, motor accidents, fans screaming “Judas,” Pete Seeger threatening to take an ax to power supplies, the inimitable sound of not only The Band but Bloomfield/Kooper, and finally, a soft landing into pillowy country steel guitars before the decade was done (“Nashville Skyline”). Pennebaker captures Dylan at arguably his most mercurial: in his final hour as an unchallenged cultural godhead, ready to gnaw on the hand that had fed him.
Finally, I actually think the finest words ever written on Dylan were ironically penned by Andrew Sarris in the Village Voice, reviewing “Don’t Look Back”:
Dylan projects a unified personality as a performer. He is what he sings — warts, obscurities, and all. He is certainly not a great musician, and it can be argued that he is not a great performer. The value of his lyrics as literature is still debatable, as are the facile shock effects of electronic noise for its own sake [Jon’s note: Bear in mind this is before folk-rock was embraced wholesale as “art” — I like it, but “Maggie’s Farm” can too easily be dismissed as facile since its primary achievement is an unprecedented display of disruptive energy, so I see Sarris’ point here.]. What makes Dylan electrifying is that his art is connected to the wholeness of his personality. What makes Dylan modern or even ahead of his time is the lack of coquettishness in his despair. What makes him truly admirable is the absence of self-ridicule in his arrogance.
Also, Deedee, have you heard Jakob Dylan’s acoustic album “Seeing Things”? It’s fantastic, and quite “Dylan-esque” — ha!
That’s a fair enough quibble, Jon.
Allan’s a man of many words.
Sarris’s assessment is quite on the money there Jon! That closing appraisal especially:
“What makes Dylan electrifying is that his art is connected to the wholeness of his personality. What makes Dylan modern or even ahead of his time is the lack of coquettishness in his despair. What makes him truly admirable is the absence of self-ridicule in his arrogance.
And your own take is equally superlative:
“Pennebaker captures Dylan at arguably his most mercurial: in his final hour as an unchallenged cultural godhead, ready to gnaw on the hand that had fed him.”
I haven’t listened yet to “Seeing Things” and unlike Dee Dee, the son’s work is largely unknown (or ignored by me) Must rectify that.
Jon, this was (again) and A plus contribution here. What else is new?
Dee Dee, you must check out the father here!
I don’t think Dylan ever exposed himself more than he did in “Don’t Look Back”, showing himself at times to be conceited and nasty then again there were times he was engaging, and always magnetic. A brilliant piece of film of a remarkable time captured by Pennebaker, and an excellent review Allan.
Excellent contention John.
Thanks again for stopping by.
Many thanks, Sam. The review was inspiring.
That’s a fair enough quibble, Jon.
Perhaps “quibble” is not quite the appropriate word. Being a Dylan fan I view the film more from the (admittedly erroneous) viewpoint of the musician’s auteurism rather than from Pennebaker’s. The latter is the appealing slant of this review (Sarris’ seminal essay combines the two perspectives, and quite masterfully). I think an understanding of Dylan’s trajectory may enrich the experience of this document, but it’s by no means necessary — “Don’t Look Back” is as much about a specific time, place, and movement as it is a nebulous crystal ball forecasting Zimmy’s near future. The marginalized Allan Ginsberg in the screenshot above says a great deal.
Hi! Jon,
Jon said, “Also, Deedee, have you heard Jakob Dylan’s acoustic album “Seeing Things”? It’s fantastic, and quite “Dylan-esque”
Oh! yes, I just checked it out!…for the first time over there at amazon.com and I must admit he do sound “eerily” like his dad, but yet on the other hand, he have his on singing style.
Btw, an amazon.com poster, commenting on Jakob Dylan’s cds “Seeing Things” said,
“However, like his father, Jakob could use some variety. Even John Mellencamp, on his “Life Death Love and Freedom” album, snuck the poppish “Oh My Sweet Love” into the mix to break things up. I kept hoping for something to pick up the pace and the mood, also like Mellencamp’s album, “Seeing Things” has a pretty dour outlook…. “
I guess that I agree with this poster to an certain extent. Because his first cds did offer a variety of sounds. (with different tempo’s etc, etc, etc…) and even though this poster, had this one minor problem with his (Dylan) cds she still gave his cds 3 1/2 or 4 stars and recommended throwing it in your cart.
Did I take her advice and “throw” his (Dylan’s son) cds into my
cart? You betcha! 😉
Deedee
Btw….
….Was Dylan, as in Bob not Jakob, the first person to do that with the cards? I’am so sorry, but I can’t count on one hand how many times that I have seen that “shtick.” performed.
I thought the people at “Longtail” created that “shtick!” 😕
Deedee 😉
Btw….
….Was Dylan, as in Bob not Jakob, the first person to do that with the cards? I’am so sorry, but I can’t count on one hand how many times that I have seen that “shtick.” performed.
I thought the people at “Longtail” created that “shtick!” 😕
Deedee 😉
As far as I know, Zimmy was the first to popularize the technique, and he claims that he came up with it. Then again, he also credits himself with writing “Rollin’ and Tumblin'” on his last album.
There’s actually a promotional website where you can send “greetings” in the Subterranean Homesick Blues Style.
Great stuff there Jon!
Hi! Jon,
Thanks, for the information about the “card throwing technique” and where that “technique” may have originated, but what I like to know is who is Zimmy? 😕
Deedee 😉
Bob Dylan’s real name is Robert Zimmerman — “Zimmy” is an often used diminutive. 🙂
Well, I love this movie though more for its fly-on-the-wall perceptions of Dylan the man than its concert footage of Dylan the performer. Is it just me, or does he come off as a real jerk in this movie? (Rhetorical; it isn’t just me, because Ebert had the same view in his ’67 review and in one he wrote decades later, which inspired him to run back to his earlier analysis in a panic, relieved only after he discovered that in his callow youth he had lodged the same complaints).
He tends to bully those less hip than he and his cohorts, and even occasionally needle the hipsters in his entourage too, just to show them who’s boss (watch him diss the fellow from The Animals, who has just left the band). Allen, your observation about Donovan is well-put.
I was lucky enough to be at a screening a couple years ago where Pennebaker presented the film and took questions afterward. I asked him how he saw Donovan’s presence in the film, and if the humiliation so many read into that scene was perceived at the time, and intentional on Dylan’s and the filmmaker’s part. Pennebaker more or less demurred at first, asking me what I thought (I said that my own view was colored by having heard that reading before seeing the movie), and eventually denied any malign intent, sharing a humorous anecdote in the process. He said that years after making the movie, he caught up with Donovan in California, and asked him if he thought they’d been mocking him. No, Donovan said, actually I thought I’d been taking the piss out of you guys…
I just had a surreal moment reading this comments (perhaps I’ve just spent too much of the day in the blogosphere). Jon, that Sarris review you quote is one I just read mere hours ago for the first time (in a book I mentioned on another thread mere minutes ago). Far out…
I just had a surreal moment reading this comments (perhaps I’ve just spent too much of the day in the blogosphere). Jon, that Sarris review you quote is one I just read mere hours ago for the first time (in a book I mentioned on another thread mere minutes ago). Far out…
Indeed, despite being a card-carrying Paulette myself, I am quite enamored with “Confessions of a Cultist,” in my view Sarris’ best collection of writing (and I’ve read nearly his entire output). Interesting anecdotes: “CoAC” is also a favorite of critic Phillip Lopate — I know this because he told me once at a book signing/lecture, and he also mentions it in his essay “The Gallant Andrew Sarris”. And who am I to argue with Phil, whose personal and film essays have been a tremendous influence on me?
Another interesting anecdote: I purchased “Confessions of a Cultist” for the exorbitant fee of one American dollar in a secondhand bookstore during the ignorance of my youth, not realizing what it was. My paperback copy thus has a great deal of sentimental value.
And, finally — I think if you read between the lines, Sarris more or less feels as though Dylan came off like a cad in the film as well. This is particularly evident in the quote I chose — note the phrase “What makes him truly admirable is the absence of self-ridicule in his arrogance”.
Sorry if this is a bit jagged…been hitting the Cabernet this eve…
I can’t possibly say anything more to enhance what Movie Man and Jon have written here. It’s fabulous stuff.
Movie Man? How many hours did you spend at Wonders in the Dark last night?
Unbelievable. You deserve a salary for this.