Bob Dylan live at the Newport folk festival (TV Movie 2007)

Bob Dylan live at the Newport folk festival (TV Movie 2007). 1h 23m | Not Rated

“For any Bob Dylan fan this is a must. One gets to see his progression from the new darling of the folk scene (elevated to the point of ultimate pretension by the line u0026quot;He has his finger on the pulse of a generationu0026quot;) to breaking out the electric guitar for Maggieu0026#39;s Farm in 1965. It definitely helps to know what the circumstances were with Dylanu0026#39;s presence at the Newport Folk Festival over those three years when watching the film; if you go into it expecting the director Murray Lerner to spoon-feed multitudes of facts then youu0026#39;re bound to be let down. Only Joan Baez has a scene with some comments on Bob Dylan at the festival – the rest is just concert footage, with some sporadic bits for the announcer and shots and sounds of the audience or Dylan in a car surrounded by fans.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs for the songs themselves, they are what they are: itu0026#39;s Dylan in both his prime as a strong storyteller and folk singer and as a burgeoning rock star that got a lot of u0026quot;pureu0026quot; fans very angry. The argument can be made both ways with 1965: taken out of context the performance of Maggieu0026#39;s Farm is one of the most highly charged live rock songs ever recorded, taken in context it wasnu0026#39;t exactly the right time with such a picky crowd. It took guts on Dylanu0026#39;s end though, which is something that does come through consistently in the documentary. I mean this by what he sings about: his range is incredible when it comes to writing lyrics and relaying his stories and ideas, from Medgar Evers to his World War 3 Dream to Blowinu0026#39; in the Wind, and then on to something traditional but powerful like Chimes of Freedom… leading all the way up to what many consider his masterpiece, Like a Rolling Stone. If nothing else, the performances are essential, even if the film overall works better alongside Scorseseu0026#39;s No Direction Home, which is, of course, the definitive Dylan doc.”