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Has anybody else seen this? I'm a little late to the party (I think this was released in June), but I gotta say...if ever there was a band that would be hard to sum up in a 4-hour movie, it is Grateful Dead. Yet, the film really does the band justice. Every facet of the music, the band, and the scene is covered. The clips are stunning. The music, which sounds remastered and is crisp and clear, is well chosen and brilliantly integrated into the narrative. Any Deadhead ought to be pleased with it.
I was curious about whether or not you had to be a Deadhead to get through the film, so I tested it out on my 84-year-old dad (whose Amazon Prime meant he could watch it for free). He was too old in the 60's to be much of a rock fan, and he knew absolutely nothing about Grateful Dead at all really, except that they consumed acid and had followers roaming the country with them. He had never heard their music before.
Not sure if it would work on just any non-Deadhead, but it worked great on dad. Now he's asking me which albums to get... (Not an easy question to answer, incidentally)
One thing he pointed out that I agree with is that the film really has a very real story arc to it, an extremely compelling story about a man who became a tragic figure by the end as much as it is about the band. The band, and the assembled talking heads, is intelligent and insightful in their interviews. The movie is worth it alone for tour manager Sam Cutler's droll and blunt commentary. The segment of the film that deals with Jerry Garcia's decline and death is both beautifully handled but also bonechilling. The parts dealing with the band's formation and evolution really do shine some light on what it means to make music, and what makes music meaningful. The film raises a myriad of philosophical dilemmas, most of which are not at all what you would expect in a rock film. It is also very funny in a lot of places.
Deadheads can quibble about what was left out...there could be a second 8-hour movie with all the stories that couldn't fit into this 4-hour one, for the hardcore fans. But if anyone misses the Dead and has a free afternoon to kill, this is not to be missed. And if you're a Deadhead, try it out on a friend who has resisted so far. It might work...
Big thumbs up, and I am usually very cynical about rock documentaries.
Martin Scorsese is one of the executive producers.
i saw it. i loved it and didn't (although i certainly didn't hate it). it really was a story about jerry and not so much about the band. but i suppose you could say jerry was the band in a way. there wasn't enough, in my mind, exploration of the rest of the band as human beings/personalities.
i appreciated it for the insights and footage i've not seen before and for what it was. and despite what i saw as some shortcomings in some respects i've watched it twice.
i saw it. i loved it and didn't (although i certainly didn't hate it). it really was a story about jerry and not so much about the band. but i suppose you could say jerry was the band in a way. there wasn't enough, in my mind, exploration of the rest of the band as human beings/personalities.
i appreciated it for the insights and footage i've not seen before and for what it was. and despite what i saw as some shortcomings in some respects i've watched it twice.
Yeah, I suppose there could still be a movie made about Grateful Dead-as-a-band. Jerry was the band's beating heart though, and one of the only major characters of the 60's whose story is still largely unfamiliar to the great masses. His story also needed to be told, and I thought this really captured the right essence. I was hoping for a film that could tell his story (and the band's) in a way that would be accessible to neophytes, and I think this does the trick.
For the people already well familiar with the band, there were omissions that would probably work in another film (I hope someone else takes a crack at one). Nothing was mentioned of Vince Welnick or Bruce Hornsby, and Keith's ultimate fate was never mentioned. There's some speculation about Jerry's relationship with Brent, but Brent really doesn't get much mention beyond that. Woodstock isn't even mentioned except for a Sam Cutler aside, the late 70's are compressed, more could have been said about the band dynamics, and the others' style of playing... Legendary stories of the Dead in the studio and on the road weren't mentioned. The feud with Warner Brothers has some pretty funny incidents associated to it that weren't mentioned. There's certainly more to be said.
But Long Strange Trip manages to tell a story that I think is compelling in itself. And it is a good way to have a document for future generations. Look how familiar the people are with the Beatles or the Stones or Hendrix or Dylan. Even casual listeners know the basic facts of each. The Dead deserve to be in the same pantheon. They never will be, but at least this film will preserve enough of them that some individual viewers might start thinking of them that way. Probably not thousands or millions, but at least some.
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