8.1 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
When acclaimed documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker filmed Bob Dylan during a three-week concert tour of England in the spring of 1965, he had no idea he was about to lens one of the 1960s most iconic feature films. Wanting to make more than just a concert film, Pennebaker decided to seek out both the public and private Bob Dylan. With unobtrusive equipment and rare access to the elusive performer, he achieved a fly-on-the-wall view of one of the most influential musicians of any era -- and redefined filmmaking along the way.
Starring: Bob Dylan, Albert Grossman, Joan Baez, Allen Ginsberg, DonovanMusic | 100% |
Documentary | 84% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
D.A. Pennebaker's "Dont Look Back" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; archival audio commentary by director D.A. Pennebaker and artist Bob Neuwirth; exclusive new video interview with musician Patti Smith; filmed conversation between music journalist and cultural critic Greil Marcus and director D.A. Pennebaker; never-before-seen outtakes; additional performances recorded by Robert Van Dyke during Bob Dylan's 1965 tour; and a lot more. The release also arrives with a 38-page illustrated booklet featuring critic and poet Robert Polito's essay "Everybody Loves You For Your Black Eye", archival stills and photographs, and technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1m, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, D.A. Pennebaker's Dont Look Back arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner from the 16mm A/B original negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, noise management, jitter, and flicker. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the original quarter-inch magnetic masters. Clicks, thumps, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD, AudioCube's integrated workstation, and iZotope RX4.
Transfer supervisors: D.A. Pennebaker/Chris Hegedus, Lee Kline, Frazer Pennebaker.
Colorist: Jason Crump/Metropolis Post, New York."
If you have seen the previous Blu-ray release of this excellent film, there are two very big upgrades that you should notice now. The first is the improved density. The high-quality scan has ensured that grain is much better defined and exposed, and the larger your screen is, the easier it will be for you to see that depth and definition are superior. (Compare screencapture #14 and screencapture #8 from the review of the first release). The second is the improved and much better balanced grayscale. Indeed, on the previous release the blacks routinely appear elevated, giving the entire film a stronger contrasty appearance, but the effect has also produced some obvious crushing. On this release the overall image balance is unquestionably superior and there are many sequences where you should actually see more details. Fluidity is excellent, though the film obviously has a very unique raw documentary qualities that support some native fluctuations. For example, light could be over/underexposed, and as a result it can instantly impact grain exposure and have an effect on the highlights. There are no stability issues. Finally, all age-related imperfections have been carefully removed. The encoding is very good, though in a few areas some minor optimizations could have been made. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The film has a very fluid sound design -- there are some minor dynamic and clarity fluctuations during some of the group sequences, natural sounds and noises are left unfiltered, and minor balance fluctuations during the live performances can be spotted. However, secondary age-related imperfections have been fully eliminated. Also, there are no digital imperfections, such as audio dropouts or distortions.
This classic film from acclaimed American documentarian D.A. Pennebaker was initially released on Blu-ray by Docurama Films. Criterion's Blu-ray release of the film is sourced from a recent and very good 4K restoration and offers an extensive collection of new and archival supplemental features. Frankly, even if Criterion would have released only the bonus content on a separate disc, it would have been a must-own release for anyone interested in Bob Dylan and his legacy. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Remastered
1968
Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition
2005
1970
2019
1978
1986-1987
1999
One Plus One / The Rolling Stones
1968
1974
2022
2014
1959
1984
2014
2002
1988
1982
2015
2017
1967