I must confess, I was one of the two people who stood up and gave this film a standing ovation during the closing credits. Looking back on it I'm not sure why I did that exactly. I even remember that while I was watching it I cringed a more then a few times.
Great actors paraded across the scene giving performances that kept getting worse and worse. The dialogue (was it improvised?) was tangential and trite, the acting (where there any second takes?)seemed totally unrehearsed. However, the bottom line is that in the few places it worked it REALLY worked.
My guess is that films star, was more involved with the project then I was led to believe. It really plays like a Dylan concert or album, off the cuff, spontaneous, running on instinct. I've seen Bob perform many times over the years, and no matter how bad he may be on a given night. has never failed to do something brilliant, and he is NEVER boring.In fact the secret to Dylan's Artistic longevity (In my opinion) is his willingness to let it all hang out ,the good along with the bad. He makes no apologies for it and he never has. For an artist what's perceived by the public as "brilliant", is usually a byproduct of what is thought of as " incomprehensible crap" (or vice versa, I'm not sure)
At any rate, last time I saw Bob Dylan play live he was doing Grateful dead covers on a keyboard, and the first time I saw him play when I was 13 he hid behind his backup singers the whole time so no one could look at him; and both times I stood up and cheered my ass off when it was over, and I did it again after Masked and Anonymous.
What can I say, No one makes excruciating art better then Bob.
Great actors paraded across the scene giving performances that kept getting worse and worse. The dialogue (was it improvised?) was tangential and trite, the acting (where there any second takes?)seemed totally unrehearsed. However, the bottom line is that in the few places it worked it REALLY worked.
My guess is that films star, was more involved with the project then I was led to believe. It really plays like a Dylan concert or album, off the cuff, spontaneous, running on instinct. I've seen Bob perform many times over the years, and no matter how bad he may be on a given night. has never failed to do something brilliant, and he is NEVER boring.In fact the secret to Dylan's Artistic longevity (In my opinion) is his willingness to let it all hang out ,the good along with the bad. He makes no apologies for it and he never has. For an artist what's perceived by the public as "brilliant", is usually a byproduct of what is thought of as " incomprehensible crap" (or vice versa, I'm not sure)
At any rate, last time I saw Bob Dylan play live he was doing Grateful dead covers on a keyboard, and the first time I saw him play when I was 13 he hid behind his backup singers the whole time so no one could look at him; and both times I stood up and cheered my ass off when it was over, and I did it again after Masked and Anonymous.
What can I say, No one makes excruciating art better then Bob.