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I recommend that you read my entire review, but if you don't have the time make the time (or you can scroll to the bottom and read my short sentence summaries).
I have been a fan of Dylan's music for quite some time. I recently started to watch some of his performances from his 1966 European tour online. I later found out that those performances where featured in this DVD, So I bought it just for the footage from the 66 tour. I later realized that the footage from Dylan's 1966 tour only makes up a very small fraction of the feature presentation and I am very glad that it does because the rest of the of DVD is a very informative, interesting, and entertaining look at Bob Dylan's career. This Documentary is a must buy any person who wants to learn more about Bob Dylan and his musical career and I think it's so well made that it could easily appeal to any Person that's not a fan of bob Dylan's Music.
The feature presentation of this 2 disc DVD set is a three and a half hour long Documentary about Bob Dylan's career and the things that might have influenced it and the things it might have influenced. It starts off with Dylan's childhood and ends with Dylan's 1966 European tour. The documentary talks about way more than just Dylan's career. It also informs the viewer about Dylan's surrounding during this timeframe. If Dylan is talking about his childhood they will have old footage of his hometown to show you what it was like for him in the 1950s with period music to go along with it or if Dylan is talking about his time in New York, interviews and music will be used to inform you about what it was like to be in New York during time. The documentary is filled with rare photos, film footage, and audio of all kinds that inform , entertain and get the point across in a way that none of the interviews can. You can tell that they really dug deep when finding some of these forms of media. Many people besides Bob Dylan are interviewed and I got to admit Dylan's interviews are the least informative. Even if don't know who Joan Baez or Alan Ginsberg are their interviews will inform you more than and possibly entertain you more than Dylan's.
I can honestly say that I learned more about Dylan from other people's interviews, which I find interesting. What really makes this a great Documentary the way that everything connects and builds upon on each other. This is also the reason that I would recommend this DVD to non-Dylan fans. By doing this Director Martin Scorsese does a great job of informing the viewer while entertaining him as well. It's hard for me to explain but everything in this Presentation just fits together so well that it really keeps the viewer's attention. Nothing seems out of place or unnecessary. They might show you footage of the Million man march, a still picture of Dylan, a song from an artist of the time period, and then an interview of Bob Dylan's manger within five minutes of each other and you will be able to make connections. Dylan might say something about one of his songs, then another person does the same, and then that song is played. Things like this sound simple but when you see it happen during the documentary it teaches you something about Dylan, the time period ,or a certain event. Another thing that I really liked was the way that the interviews built upon each other with. For example Dylan might say something weird and shy away from the subject and then another person's interview would tell you what Dylan was trying not to talk about. This really amused me. Quite a bit of the Footage from Dylan's 1966 is used to begin, end, or transition between certain parts of this otherwise linear documentary. When this is done it usually contradicts whatever came before it or after it. For example a certain section might be about Dylan being praised and idolized at a particular time and then the footage from 66 comes after showing Dylan being booed and threatened by fans. It Needless to say when the Footage from 1966 is used in this way, it will want to make you keep watching just to see what caused such a change. If you're looking for a DVD filled with music you might be disappointed because while the feature pretention does included dozens of Dylan's song their all only snippets. Music is only a portion of what makes this Documentary entertaining, so there is not one song that is herd in its entirety. This Documentary uses music as more of a teaching tool than a means of entertainment which is way other artist's music also play a big part in this documentary. The only other thing that I could say about the Feature presentation of this two disc DVD set is that for what it is it is pretty much perfect for what it's trying to be. It will inform you about Bob Dylan's career and the time period while keeping you entertained. The only negative thing I can say is that I can see this documentary might be boring to some people because it is long and in certain sections it does get dry. This is not a problem for Dylan fans.
Now to talk about the other stuff. The box that the two DVDs come is a standard DVD case with a very unique and interesting picture on the front of Bob Dylan. Half of the main feature is on one disc while the other half is on the other. Of course things like subtitles and scene selection are included. The main menu annoyed me a little because one of the choices listed is "Dylan performances", buts these performances are really just the snippets taken from the Documentary, so like in the main feature their not showed in their entirety. I was really happy when I found out that there is full length Dylan Performances in the Special features in disc two. There are only about 10 but there all rare and very good. The main reason I bought this DVD is for one of Bob Dylan's performances of Like Rolling Stone during his 1966 tour and it was part of the list of full performances. To be honest if this DVD had nothing but the 10 full length Dylan Performances and the Footage from the 1966 tour I would have bought it, but that would be unfair to non Dylan fans. To be honest again, I have not checked out any of their other extras, ever since I found the list of full performances. I think they had people covering Dylan's music and stuff like that, but who cares the main reason I still pop in the DVD is to watch the full performances.
Summary
Main Feature
5/5 if you want a documentary that will teach you about Dylan's career than this is the perfect product or if you just want to see an entertaining documentary than this is the perfect product. It is a little boring at times but like Bob Dylan's career it will change and keep you entertained with new material.
The DVDs
5/5
Menus and Discs fit the style of the Main feature very well. Could have used way more FULL Dylan performances in the special features, I am a Dylan Fan after all, but these DVDS are meant to inform and entertain through multiple forms of media and the fact that they included quit a few FULL Dylan performances is just Icings n the cake.
You might not like this product if
* You're not a Dylan or Documentary fan. YOU WILL BE BORED
* Expect this to be a plethora of Bob Dylan music and performances. As I said before Music is only a portion of what makes this Documentary entertaining. If you want full length Dylan Performances comment and I will give you a Recommendation.
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