Search - Bob Dylan - World Tours 1966-1974: Through The Camera Of Barry Feinstein on DVD

Tedious

C. S. Junker | Burien, WA USA | 08/26/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I'll be honest --- I sat through about 45 minutes of this documentary [...]. It's not that the photos aren't interesting; but I'd rather have them in a coffee table book so I could look at them at my leisure.



What I saw of this film is mostly zooming in and out of Barry Feinstein's photographs. Not only is there no footage of Dylan performing, but there are almost no photos of Dylan performing, either. In fact, Feinstein states that he was only interested in photographing Bob's personal side, and that if you want to see performances, you should go to a show. So you see a lot of pictures of Bob talking to kids in the street in England, and so on.



Interviewing is an art, and the director who interviews Feinstein doesn't have the talent. His style is leaden and ponderous and Feinstein seems a very dull interview subject. A skilled interviewer might have drawn out more interesting stories, but Feinstein talks about himself and his views on photography and has very little to say about Bob Dylan.



This disc is for hard, hard-core Dylan fans only. In my opinion, you're better off buying one of the numerous biographies or checking out "Don't Look Back" or several of the other videos that actually have musical performances.



A book of these photographs would be much more interesting [...].



"

Maybe worth it for hard core fans

Clio's Daughter | Portland, OR | 12/26/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"My two star rating is primarily because of the deliberately deceptive packaging, which is shameless and inexcuseable. Some of the content is actually better than I thought it would be. My Mom bought this for me, expecting it to be concert footage. SHE felt ripped off! However, I had already read these reviews, so I knew what to expect when I played it. The presentation is amatuerish, the motorcycle accident "recreation" is ridiculous, the Bob Dylan "act" I find rather pathetic. Given that, I actually enjoyed the interviews and found them fairly informative. It seems that Feinstein, Pennebaker and Aronowitz all happily participated. One wonders why--does that give Gilbert more credibility?--I don't know. Of course, all them play it pretty close to the vest and are clearly protective of Dylan's privacy.(Of course, I would have loved to have heard more about the nubile female "poets" zooming in on Bob during his '66 tour--he was already married then--but we get no juicy details.) I actually liked hearing Feinstein's explantions about how he composed shots, what equipment he used, why Dylan made such a great photographic subject, etc. The pictures are great, some of the best ever taken of Dylan. But many of them have been published, (some have not). I enjoyed seeing Dylan's Woodstock homes, Big Pink, etc. The A.J. Weberman interview really brings home the craziness that Dylan had to contend with. I give Gilbert some credit for giving him a hard time, yet you hate to see the guy get screen time also.

So I would call this a minor guilty pleasure for a hard core Dylan fan like myself. I doubt that I would have bought it for myself, yet I'll probably go through the picture galleries from time to time."

Not an official Bob Dylan release...

James C. Darling | Burbank, CA | 09/01/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A friend of mine works for a music publication, and had this sent to her (to review, perhaps). So, she gave me this DVD. I was about to eBay it, but figured I'd have a look.



There is NO Bob Dylan music, nor any live concert footage. This is NOT an "official" Bob Dylan release. One must read the fine print on the back of the DVD case to learn this. So, buying online MIGHT fool some people... if they purchase going on the DVD's title alone.



The Director, Joel Gilbert - who happens to be the "Bob Dylan" in the tribute band "Highway 61 Revisited" - does an ok job on this DVD. He's a good guy who knows his stuff on Dylan. Although I've never met him in-person, I've e-mailed him back and forth a couple times regarding Bob Dylan's guitars. No, he may not be the world's premiere interviewer, but just watching him interacting with old-timers and former hippies living in Woodstock and in Manhattan is amusing.



This IS for the Dylan fan who must have everything. It's like a half-step above a film school student's final project. But, there is some entertainment value in it.



So, having watched it once, I'm off to sell on eBay! If anyone wants a cheap copy of this DVD, head on over!"

What a shocker

Douglass Kean | Sydney , Australia | 09/08/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Some great pic from Barry. Joel Gilbert lets the team down big time.

If you want some good pictures of Bob than this is ok.[...]"