Bob Dylan Movies

Although the infamous case of the West Memphis Three has already been the subject of three first-class documentaries from director Joe Berlinger, Amy Berg's West of Memphis again explores the oft-documented incarceration of three teenagers for a triple homicide that many believe they never committed. Co-produced by one of the three supposedly falsely convicted men, West of Memphis lays out the case for their innocence and details how a number of high-profile figures -- including Eddie Vedder, Johnny Depp, and Natalie Maines -- helped raise money and awareness in order to free the trio. West of Memphis played at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Lymelife writer/co-director Derick Martini adapts Andrea Portes' 2007 coming-of-age novel about a young Nebraska girl who runs away from home, and learns that life on the road has its fair share of danger. Luli (Chloe Moretz) has just turned 13. Bestowed a Smith & Wesson .45 at her birthday party in a local watering hole, the young girl quickly decides that she has had enough of her volatile parents' drinking and bickering, and decides it's high time to strike out on her own. Soon offered a lift by Eddie (Eddie Redmayne), a young cowboy with a prominent limp and a full tank of gas, Luli quickly finds herself back on the side of the road after their conversation turns combative. Shortly thereafter, the young traveler has a chance run-in with Glenda (Blake Lively), a pretty con artist who talks Luli into helping her rob a gas station, and takes her under her wing en route to meet Lloyd (Ray McKinnon), a respected local contractor but volatile alcoholic. Though a subsequent brush with Eddie finds Luli's journey taking an unexpectedly dark turn, the resilient adolescent still holds out hope that there's a better life for her somewhere out there on the open road. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Filmmaker Alma Har'el profiles the people and places of Bombay Beach, the small community on the edge of California's Salton Sea. Back in the 1950s, the Salton Sea was the premiere vacation destination for folks looking to have some fun in the sun, and in the water. From the working class to the Hollywood elite, people from all across the country flocked to this scenic rift lake, and it didn't take long for local entrepreneurs to recognize the potential for profit. As restaurants sprung up and nightclubs overflowed with wealthy clientele, the community thrived. Now, at the turn of the 21st Century, flooding and poor water flow has rendered the Salton Sea a virtual ghost town - the death of the American dream personified. But within this dusty former boomtown, life still flourishes. For young bipolar Benny Parish, it's a place to let his vivid imagination run wild, and for aspiring football player CeeJay Thompson, it's a refuge from the Los Angeles gang violence that claimed the life of his beloved cousin. Meanwhile, former oil field worker Red subsists on whiskey and nicotine. Choreographed dance sequences in which the subjects of the documentary dance to the music of Beruit and Bob Dylan lend Bombay Beach a unique feeling unlike any documentary you've ever experienced before. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This documentary charts a twenty year section of Bob Dylan's illustrious career that begins in 1978 when he began to embrace Christianity, to 1999's album Oh Mercy, which many considered to be an artistic reawakening. The program intersperses archival footage of Dylan with interviews given by people who knew him and worked with him during this period. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Bob Dylan: The Other Side of the Mirror -- Live at Newport captures different performances the legendary musician gave at the annual event, including extensive footage from his infamous appearance where he used electric guitars and a rock band backing him. This decision caused a great deal of outrage among many within the folk community. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

The Best of the Johnny Cash Show captures a number of memorable performances from the variety show hosted by the country music legend. This collection includes performances by Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Neil Young, Ray Charles, Pete Seeger, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich turns to the documentary form for the first time with this lengthy profile of one of rock and roll's enduring talents. Tom Petty: Running Down A Dream presents an in-depth look at Petty's life and career and his work with his long-time band the Heartbreakers, ranging from Petty's earliest musical influences (which includes meeting Elvis Presley when the King came to Florida to shoot a movie when Petty was just eleven years old) to the critical and commercial success of his 2006 album Highway Companion. Along the way, the film offers glimpses of Petty's early bands (including the Sundowners and Mudcrutch), his battles with record companies over royalties, record prices and control of his music, his collaborations with other artists (among them George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks and Roger McGuinn), his relationship with his fellow Heartbreakers, and of course his music, with plenty of footage of Petty and the Heartbreakers strutting their stuff on stage. Produced as a special event for The Sundance Channel, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Running Down A Dream enjoyed a brief theatrical release before its debut on cable television. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An all-star cast of gospel singers transforms legendary singer/songwriter Bob Dylan's gospel compositions into the Grammy-nominated 2003 album Gotta Serve Somebody, and cameras are there to catch all the musical magic as it happens. As a group of dedicated gospel musicians step into the studio to record brand new interpretations of such Dylan classics as "Pressing On" and "When He Returns," interviews with the artists and live performance footage offer an intimate look at the hard work and dedication that went into this landmark production. Commentary by Dylan contemporaries Jim Keltner and Regina McCrary, producer Jerry Wexler, and music journalists Alan Light and Paul Williams offer even greater insight into the creative force that drove Dylan's gospel period, with additional performance footage of Dylan singing "When He Returns" in 1980 offering fans a firsthand look at one of the songs that inspired the Gotta Serve Somebody album. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A teenage boy tries to hold his family together while the girl of his dreams drives him to distraction in this coming-of-age comedy drama. It's 1978, and Henry Nearing (Gregory Smith) and his family are in a state of flux. Henry's mother has died, and now his father, Shep (David Morse), is trying to find himself by quitting his job, buying a motorcycle, and growing out his hair. Henry's brother, Blair (David Moscow), is similarly trying to expand his boundaries by dating a free-spirited girl and experimenting with drugs. Henry, meanwhile, is just trying to get through high school, but a certain girl is making that difficult for him. Grace Chance (Jordana Brewster) is a pretty girl in Henry's class who enjoys wrapping boys around her little finger; it doesn't take long for her to notice he's smitten with her, and she begins flirting with him and getting him to do whatever she wants, even though she already has a boyfriend whom she has no intention of leaving. Meanwhile, Merna (Ashley Johnson), a cute girl who lives nearby, has a crush on Henry and is clearly a better match for him, but she can't get him to notice her, even after she starts dating an older boy to make him jealous. Nearing Grace received its world premiere at the 2005 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Duncan (Joshua Jackson), a depressed twentysomething living in a rundown section of Minneapolis, has just lost another job. He has another source of income, letting his brother use his apartment for extramarital trysts. On a rare visit to his grandparents, Ronald (Donald Sutherland) and Ruth (Louise Fletcher), Duncan meets Kate (Juliette Lewis), Ronald's spirited home health-care worker. Later, when Duncan learns that there's an opening for a handyman in the building, he takes the job. He begins to spend more time with his grandparents, hanging out with Ronald, who, among his many health problems, suffers from Parkinson's disease. He also has occasion to see Kate, and the two cautiously begin a romantic relationship. Kate is "one of those people," as Duncan puts it, who moved to Minneapolis because of the Replacements. Unlike Duncan, who has never left Minneapolis, Kate has never stayed in any one place for too long. She's anxious to get out and explore the world, while Duncan seems immobilized. Yet they connect, if only for a time. As Duncan reconnects with his grandparents and grows more intimate with Kate, he begins to deal with his grief over the sudden death of his father. Meanwhile, with his health deteriorating, Ronald begins to think of ending his life, and turns to his grandson for help. Aurora Borealis was directed by James Burke from an original screenplay by Brent Boyd. The film had its world premiere at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

In 1965, Bob Dylan was the reigning king of the new folk music boom, but while he had earned a large and loyal audience playing earnest and elliptical songs of social protest and romantic puzzlement accompanied by his acoustic guitar, he was eager to strike out into new territory, and he shocked fans at that year's Newport Folk Festival by showing up with an electric guitar and a thrown-together rock & roll band. Later that year, Dylan took his joyous outrage on the road, with a tight, but hard-hitting, rock & roll combo, the Hawks, joining him for a series of shows in which the singer and his band (who would later rename themselves the Band) were often confronted by puzzled and vocally angry crowds. Hawks drummer Levon Helm, unhappy with the unfriendly reception, dropped out after a few dates, and after substitute timekeepers Bobby Gregg and Sandy Konikoff both vacated the drummer's seat, Mickey Jones -- a Texan transplanted to Los Angeles who had enjoyed successful gigs with Trini Lopez and Johnny Rivers -- landed the job of joining Dylan and the Hawks for a tour of Europe. A photography buff, Jones brought his home movie camera along with him, and Bob Dylan: World Tour 1966 -- The Home Movies compiles Jones' amateur footage of life on the road and off-stage with Dylan and the Hawks. In addition, Jones shares his memories of the tour, discusses his career before and after working with Dylan, and offers his own observations on what Dylan's music meant to him and to music fans everywhere. The Home Movies includes no musical performances from Bob Dylan; accompaniment for Jones' silent footage is provided by Highway 61 Revisited, a Bob Dylan tribute band. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

For about a year after the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969, it seemed as though everyone wanted to stage a rock festival. However, The Rolling Stones' disastrous Altamont free concert (documented in the film Gimme Shelter) forever tarnished the image of the rock festival in the U.S., while in Europe, the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival was fortunately less deadly than Altamont, but nearly as controversial. Staged by two men with greater ambitions than practical experience (not unlike Woodstock), the festival was held on a small island off the British coast, where some of the finest rock talent of the day -- Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Who, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Donovan, Jethro Tull, Joan Baez, Leonard Cohen, and Kris Kristofferson, among many others -- were scheduled to play over the course of five days. But while at Woodstock no one had given much thought about keeping gatecrashers out, at the Isle of Wight those without tickets were greeted with corrugated steel fences that sealed off the festival grounds. Huge numbers of visitors simply camped on hills surrounding the grounds, while others broke down the fences by force after refusing to pay the three pounds admission. This led to heated conflicts between the promoters (who railed bitterly against the audience from the stage), the festival's security staff (who had to deal with the many gatecrashers), the concert-goers (who were upset with both the admission price and the site's facilities, one spectator calling it "a psychedelic concentration camp"), and the performers (who had to deal with unruly audiences and the prospect of not being paid). It was estimated that 600,000 people attended the festival, but less than 50,000 actually paid to get in, spelling financial ruin for the promoters. American documentary filmmaker Murray Lerner brought a crew to record the festival on film, but thanks to the festival's bad publicity and uneven reviews, he was not able to obtain completion funds for the project until 1995, hence the presence of many musicians who had since passed away, such as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Miles Davis. Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival examines the concert both on-stage and behind-the-scenes, capturing performances from many of the artists who appeared. We see Joni Mitchell and Kris Kristofferson angrily confronting the rowdy crowd, and The Who at the peak of their form (their full set was released as a separate film), alongside the numerous catastrophes and conflicts that dominated the festival's five days. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In the 1960s, the sound of rock & roll music became more amplified and electric. Part of the ten-volume series The History of Rock 'N' Roll, this installment chronicles the development of the electric sound. Highlights include interviews and archival and concert film footage of various rock icons, including Bob Dylan at Newport in 1965, the Beach Boys, the Beatles, Peter Noone and Herman's Hermits, the Mamas and the Papas, the Byrds, Pete Townsend and the Who, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix.

~ Steve Blackburn, Rovi