Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

Description

In 1975, in an America defined by both the self-mythologizing pomp of the upcoming bicentennial and ongoing sociopolitical turmoil, Bob Dylan and a band of troubadours—including luminaries such as Joan Baez, Allen Ginsberg, and Joni Mitchell—embarked on a now-legendary tour known as the Rolling Thunder Revue, a freewheeling variety show that was part traveling counterculture carnival, part spiritual pilgrimage. Director Martin Scorsese blends behind-the-scenes archival footage, interviews, and narrative mischief, with a magician’s sleight of hand, into a zeitgeist-defining cultural record that is as much a concert “documentary” as it is a slippery, chimerical investigation into memory, time, truth, and illusion. At the center of it all is the magnetic Dylan, a sphinxlike philosopher-poet singing, with electrifying conviction, to the soul of an anxious nation. DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • New 4K digital transfer, approved by director Martin Scorsese, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack • New interviews with Scorsese, editor David Tedeschi, and writer Larry “Ratso” Sloman • Restored footage of never-before-seen Rolling Thunder Revue performances of “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You” and “Romance in Durango,” and of a never-before-seen cut of “Tangled Up in Blue” • Trailer • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing • PLUS: An essay by novelist Dana Spiotta and writing from the Rolling Thunder Revue tour by author Sam Shepard and poets Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman Review: Almost mythic - Martin Scorsese’s Rolling Thunder Revue on Blu-ray is an absolute treasure trove for any Dylan devotee or music documentary enthusiast. This isn’t just a concert film—it’s a surreal, evocative fever dream of 1975 America, captured through the lens of one of our greatest living filmmakers and set to the soundtrack of Dylan at his most free, raw, and theatrical. The Blu-ray presentation is stunning. Visually, the transfer preserves the grain and texture of the original film footage while offering remarkable clarity for something so rooted in the past. The audio is especially notable: the live performances—“Isis,” “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” “One More Cup of Coffee,” and “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” among others—are crisp, dynamic, and emotionally immersive. Every note and nuance is preserved with warmth and depth. Scorsese’s film is part documentary, part mythmaking, and entirely self-aware. It gleefully mixes fact and fiction, interviews and dramatizations, crafting a narrative as elusive and layered as Dylan himself. Sharon Stone and “Stefan Van Dorp” may or may not have been part of the tour—but their inclusion adds to the performance-art feel of the whole thing. It’s Dylan’s career turned inside out: not a straightforward biography, but a meditation on reinvention, illusion, and artistic freedom. Bonus features are limited but well-selected, including extended performances that are worth the price alone. These aren’t just outtakes—they’re visceral, searing documents of a once-in-a-lifetime tour that brought Dylan and his ragtag troupe to small theaters and town halls, playing with a kind of unhinged intensity not often seen on big stages. If Don’t Look Back was the cool, cerebral Dylan of the ’60s, Rolling Thunder Revue captures the mystical, mercurial Dylan of the mid-’70s. This Blu-ray is an essential addition to any Dylan fan’s collection, offering a brilliant restoration of one of the most artistically audacious tours in rock history—and a haunting portrait of a moment in time that now feels almost mythic. Review: Good - A really good documentary from the 75/76's shows. I like these shows.