‘Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story’ Mixes Fact, Fiction And Fiery Performances

In 1965, Bob Dylan sat down in front of the cameras at a press conference in advance of a five-night stand in San Francisco. When asked if he considered himself a singer or a poet, the bushy-haired 24-year-old often lauded as the voice of his generation replied, “I think of myself more as a song and dance man.” It was perhaps the first public display of his wit and penchant for subverting the lofty expectations of his audience. It’s always been my contention that Dylan is more prankster than prophet, a trickster who sometimes tells the truth. And for all his skills as a songwriter and musician, he’s a pretty good comedian, too. These talents are on full display in the new tour “documentary,” Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese, which premiered on Netflix earlier this week.

I say “documentary” using scare quotes because the film, which chronicles Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue tours of the mid ’70s, is part concert film, part documentary and part fiction. U.S. history is cut up and rearranged in service to the narrative as talking heads appear on screen who either weren’t there or don’t exist. They’re actors playing made up characters or actual industry professionals who had absolutely nothing to do with the tour. Dylan himself is in on the joke, going back and forth between insights about art and America and utter lies, like saying the make-up he wore on tour was inspired by shock rockers Kiss.

What’s true; in 1975 Dylan was back in New York City. The previous year he had embarked on his first extensive tour in eight years, filling stadiums with The Band. He made a lot of money but hadn’t particularly enjoyed himself. His marriage was falling apart and he had just released his best album in years, Blood On The Tracks. Soon after completing its follow-up, Desire, he put together a carnival-esque tour featuring old friends and new collaborators passing the mic around and playing offbeat venues. Like many of Dylan’s artistic forays, it seemed mostly done for his own amusement, and also saw some of his most inspired performances.

The Rolling Thunder Revue kicked off on the day before Halloween, 1975, in Plymouth, Massachusetts, symbolically chosen due to its place in American history, if the documentary is to be believed. Along for the ride were a diverse cast of characters which included Dylan’s former-girlfriend Joan Baez, former-Byrd Roger McGuinn, former David Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson and legendary Beat poet Allen Ginsburg. A film crew was there to capture it all and also shoot footage for Renaldo and Clara, Dylan’s 1978 film, which mixed performances from the tour with staged scenes, either improvised or written with playwright and actor Sam Shepard.

This new telling of events tips its hand early, literally beginning with a magic trick. Dylan later tells us, “When somebody’s wearing a mask he’s going to tell you the truth, when he’s not wearing a mask, it’s highly unlikely.” While some of the road stories are obviously true, others are entirely made up, including Dylan’s alleged affair with a teenage Sharon Stone. The alleged tour promoter did not actually promote the tour and the filmmaker did not make the film, actor Martin Von Haselberg portraying director Stefan Van Dorp who utters excellent one-liners like, “Does the cockroach cause problems for the house?,” and of whom Dylan says, “He ate more than he was supposed to.” In between such silliness are impassioned performances as Ronson’s wailing guitar transforms once pensive acoustic numbers into jubilant rockers and the usually placid Dylan cavorts about the stage in pancake makeup and a doofy hat.

Honestly, I’m still not sure what to think about Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese. The live performances are excellent, and as I was replaying it all in my head, I laughed out loud at the absurdity of making a fake documentary about an event that actually happened. However, it’s also frustrating because the tour itself deserves a thorough accounting of its successes and failures. As his contemporaries were falling into complacency and irrelevance, Dylan’s true sleight of hand was reimagining himself as the ringmaster of a gypsy folk-punk circus that celebrated both where he’d been and where he’d go. The film starts with Dylan saying, “It happened so long ago I wasn’t even born,” and ends with the next 40+ years’ worth of tour dates flashing on the screen, drawing a direct line between the Rolling Thunder Revue and his so-called “Never Ending Tour,” which continues to this day.

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician. Follow him on Twitter:@BHSmithNYC.

Stream Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story on Netflix