Customer Reviews

The Grateful Dead: The End of the Road - The Final Tour '95

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The final tour of the Grateful Dead was fated in many ways. It was a dark tour that forshadowed The End. This documentary accurately captures that mood of the final tour. There were some great moments, but overall, it was very sad because it focuses on probably the most negative period of the Dead's 30 year trip. The movie left me depressed. Personally, I'm glad I saw it but would rather spend my time watching some of the better moments of the Dead, like the new Grateful Dead Movie DVD that has some amazing bonus song footage. Many of us like to celebrate the Dead and the final tour does not have much for us to celebrate. On the other hand, it accurately follows what has become history and there are many great moments. My favorite part was the bonus footage of the Jerry Garcia Memorial Service. That, alone, makes this a worthy purchase for a Deadhead. But if you are unfamiliar with the Grateful Dead, this is not a good place to start.

The summer tour that this film captures was filled with many problems. I saw shows during this tour and unfortunately, there were harmful elements that I witnessed that had encroached into the community that followed the Grateful Dead. I commend the filmmaker for showing an honest perspective without sanitizing the negatives. I appreciated that the film also avoided sensationalizing events such as when unruly fans crashed through the fence at Deer Creek Amphitheatre. This could have been easily exploited with a drawn out examination for dramatic effect but instead it lasted less than two minutes. In the next scene, the film presents a very inspiring sequence where older Deadheads take accountability for not properly educating the new generation of fans. The determination of those interviewed to confront the problems on tour was very uplifting. Tragically, their vision was never realized as life following the Grateful Dead ended with Jerry's untimely death. Without a doubt, the closing scenes of fans gathered to celebrate Jerry's life makes this film worth purchasing. I highly recommend this film not only for Deadheads but more importantly for younger fans who have adopted the nomadic lifestyle of following the next generation of bands. There are lessons in this film to be learned, gathered and passed on.

This video may be worth renting, once. I saw shows on the 1995 summer tour, and it was just sad. Their were very few positive things happening, and SO MANY bad things happening. If you REALLY need to see that, watch this video. (If you're looking for Band Shots/Concert Footage - don't bother.) Don't expect much in the way of cinematography. This is NOT a high-quality Montery Video release. This is someone who had alot of parking lot video cam footage cashing in on it.

I just watched this with a friend and it's just sad. Just before Brent died things were getting bad on tour. And after Brent died, there is not one Dead show that it worth viewing or listening too. I would have thought they would have put out something better than this as their next release after the Buffalo shows which were pretty good. They have SO many hours and hours of Great footage and music. Why they chose this is beyond me. If you are a true die hard Dead Head, don't bother buying this one. All around... just bad. I would encourage you to write to them and ask for better stuff. Great footage is around from late 70's to early 90's. Let's get it out there!

Unfortunately there is very little good and a whole lot of bad and a freaking raft of ugly. This documentary concerns itself with the Deadheads only, and then only the most road damaged tour rats at that. Little of the band, in fact none of the band or its music is shown or played, instead you are treated to a walk through the wilderness of Shakedown Street, ie the vendor, hard core tour parasite, parking lot scene and it is not pretty. Call it an adventure in extreme hippiedom if you will, if rambling, loaded halfwits could be considered hippies. This is the dark side of the counterculture, the self serving and drug addled side. The living in the park with no money side. Most of these folks interviewed seem to be there for the party and not the music. This is not complete story of the Grateful Dead fans and the scene, rather it is a depressing view of the dregs of the worst tour of the Dead's worst year: 1995. We see the deterioration of the scene, the gate crashing at Deer Creek, the righteous indignation of some older deadheads and a lot of chaos. The movie ends on the very sad note of Jerry's memorial at Golden Gate Park where Bill, Mickey, Bobby and Phil give short eulogies for their fallen comrade coupled with some more interviews with fans. Many of these interviews are quite moving, and articulate, for example Merl Saunders' interview is touching and the interview with a young man whose face is obscured by his hat and monstrous beard is a thoughtful reflection on some of the best of the Deadhead culture. Other interviews touch on the sense of loss at Jerry's death and the changed nature of the Grateful Dead fan base. I suppose this section was for me the highlight. Or low light cause its really a bummer.

One could enjoy this movie as a biased view in cultural anthropology of a unique sub-culture. Just don't expect to get more than 10 percent of the whole picture because this movie only shows you a small slice of the pie during the worst year in the band's long long history. This was not my experience of the Grateful Dead. This movie is all about the surface and not the substance and never explains what made the Grateful Dead a compelling band to its fans. Then again this movie isn't about the band but the most stereotypical of its followers.

This was quite a bit different than what I was expecting. And I must say I was pretty disappointed. The film puts the vast majority of focus not on the band or tour itself, but on the people whom I feel were least about the music when it came to the Dead scene. The film's major focus is on the lifers, the fringe element forever on the road following the band........not because of the band or the music itself, but because it was their only real means of existence. These people rarely (if ever) actually attended the shows and rarely (if ever) went on the road with the intention of getting into the venues to hear the music. These are the people who spent 99% of their Dead road trip experience in the parking lots getting high in their vans. These were the people who probably couldn't name 10 or 15 Dead songs if pressed and had a very rudimentary and sugar-coated view of the band as some sort of spiritual sages. Basically, this film purports to portray the real Dead scene and IMO falls far short. In actuality this film portrays the fringe element that the Dead were actually trying to cut away from the scene.....the ones who never had tickets, never tried to get tickets, and who were a liability when it came to booking the band. In short, this film takes the stereotypical burnout "Dead Head" and portrays that as representative of the scene or people who actually loved the Grateful Dead's music when the reality was far from it. Neat that the vid has the memorial ceremony, but it's still not worth it. This dvd went straight from my dvd player right into the garbage. Not even worth keeping. Not even worth the shipping charge of sending and selling it to someone else.

It was sad to see how the brats and wanna-be hippies destroyed the Deadhead scene. I think Jerry died of a broken heart seeing what these selfish gen X'ers did to his "family". Our family.

Reviewers who are disappointed seem to have expected that this would have the music of The Grateful Dead and involve interviews with the band. That's not what it is. It's about recording the feel of following the Band that last year - not as some hotshot near-friend of the band members and not as some polished camera crew out to make some money by manufacturing some story. So if real life isn't what you came for, then don't buy it. But for a piece of the experience of the now lost Deadhead scene, it's unique.

End of the Road is an odd documentary that starts with an account of The Grateful Dead's final tour in summer 1995. Then the filmmakers abruptly shift tack. The film ends with a 20-minute segment on Jerry Garcia's death and the ceremonies that were held in his honor afterward.

I liked the first part of the film. The filmmakers had no access to concert footage or to the Dead's songs. So, they focused on the Deadheads who followed the band around the country. The filmmaking is amateurish, but the `heads entertained me by explaining why they felt connected to the band and what it is like to live in on the road.

Several reviewers have complained that the film focuses "hardcore" hippies and not typical `heads. I think that is a fair criticism. Most of the interviewees are "way out." I think, however, that hardcore hippies have some great stories to tell.

Unfortunately, the film unravels with Jerry's death. The last 20 minutes are slow and uninteresting. We get the usual platitudes about Jerry, but little insight.

End of the Road is mildly entertaining, but I don't recommend it.

Did I miss something? Why such a narrowly focused, superficial and mostly negative portrayal of deadheads? I think the producers of this dvd, missed the boat "The End of Road" tour didn't begin to capture what was the dominant, the most valuable and enduring scene and essence of the long journey for the band and the multitudes of deadheads. Yes, there were drugs, used and abused... and things got out of hand.. . especially in 1995, but, and it's a big BUT...

In general, if that's what one thinks of, when mention of the "dead" surfaces, then, you have missed the true essence, the singularly unique experience, the synchroncity, the powerful, often magical, energy interchange. You have categorically forgotten the "message," and indeed, there was a message, many messages, all good, which, as Robert Hunter and Jerry said: is to learn, and love and grow."

You have undervalued the more deeply, inherent, expressed and experienced love and loyalty, and the unrestrained joy and sadness, which often surprisingly, surfaced. You have ignored the amazing tolerance which nurtured an invaluable trust, a trust that vanished away fear..and paved the way for a life time opportunity presented to walk your talk ...

You have failed to capture the energy connection, primed, infused , elaborated and funneled by the music and the "scene" thus fostered. In sum, you have left out the deeply and enduring personal and spiritual significance which will continue to ripple forth.

Can that be captured in a documentary? I for one, would like to see such an attempt to capture that esssence and meaning in its true form as played out over time. Somehow, I don't believe any documentary could do it justice; words and video help, but finally, that phrase, so common to deadheads, is very true: "you had to be there."

And by the way... that was not the "end of the road" tour... merely one arc of a much, much larger circle and cycle.