Rolling Thunder.

I had never watched anything on Netflix before, but thanks to my nephew Dominic, last night I watched the new film by Martin Scorsese called The Rolling Thunder Revue which is the story of the show that Bob Dylan took on the road in America and Canada in 1975 & 76. It was the time the USA was celebrating its bi centennial. I found the film fascinating, but as with everything associated with Dylan, nothing is as it first appears to be.

At the beginning of the film Dylan claims not to remember the Rolling Thunder Revue, it was ‘before he was born and wasn’t about anything’. He comes out with a great quote, “Life isn’t about finding yourself; it’s about creating yourself”. Early in the film I was pleased to see Bob meeting a very young Patti Smith at a party and they both hit it off immediately, both being poetic kindred spirits. Patti shows him a photo of Rimbaud who was a big influence on the pair of them. I started to think the film wasn’t exactly the straightforward documentary I thought it was when this character called Stefan Van Dorp appears and claims to have filmed all the original footage. I had never heard of him and when I googled his name it turns out he was entirely fictitious. Maybe Dylan and Scorsese are making a point about us living in the age of fake news. We shouldn’t believe everything we see. Songs which would shortly appear on the Desire album are a large part of the film and there is a lot of footage and an interview with the violinist Scarlet Rivera who appears to be almost as enigmatic as Dylan himself. There are fabulous versions of One More Cup Of Coffee, Isis and Oh Sister from the Desire album.

When on stage Dylan wears white face paint throughout the film. When asked about that he said, “Everyone should wear a mask, a person wearing a mask tells you the truth”. This reminded me a little of David Bowie during his mime period and I wondered if that was where Bob got the idea, especially with Mick Ronson being in the band. Actress Sharon Stone appears and claims that she gave Dylan the idea when he saw her wearing a Kiss t-shirt. In reality Sharon Stone never saw Dylan on that tour and the whole interview with her is pure acting. By now I was beginning to think that all the interviews in the film were scripted, especially when a character claiming to be a Republican congressman said that Jimmy Carter phoned Bob to get him a ticket for a show.

Bob & Patti Smith.

One of my favourite people in the film was Allen Ginsberg who seemed like a voice of reason in all the craziness and a peacemaker. One of the best scenes is where Allen is reading his mad poetry to an audience of old ladies in a community hall. I also enjoyed the scenes of Dylan and Ginsberg visiting Jack Kerouac’s grave in Lowell and reading from Mexico City Blues. Beat poetess Anne Waldman also appears in the film. It is a very Beat film when you think about it.

Bob & Allen Ginsberg

Other scenes I enjoyed were when Joni Mitchell joined the tour and sang Coyote with Bob & Roger McGuinn. Also, when Dylan visited an Indian reservation and sang The Ballad Of Ira Hayes to an audience of Native Americans. That song was written by Pete La Farge. A very moving scene was Bob singing The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll and visiting Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter in the Clinton Correctional Institution. I should also mention the large contribution of Joan Baez to the film although now I’m not sure if all her interview is real or not either.

One thing you can’t doubt is the music which is fabulous and the genius of Dylan who remains a mystery shrouded within an enigma. It all ends in Montreal with Bob and McGuinn singing Knocking On Heaven’s Door. The film is over two hours long, but I was so engrossed in it that the time flew by. I highly recommend this film which is a must see for all Dylan fans.