Dont Look Back

BFI Film Classics

by Keith Beattie

The award-winning film Dont Look Back (1967) captures Bob Dylan on tour and on the cusp of change in 1965. Dylan was rapidly shedding his image as a folk musician and being reborn as a rock persona – and D. A. Pennebaker was there to record this fascinating transformation.

This insightful book charts the ways in which Pennebaker revised aspects of observational 'direct cinema', a style of film-making that he helped to pioneer, in order to represent in innovative ways Dylan's onstage performances and backstage actions. Keith Beattie's perceptive and nuanced analysis explains the relationship between 'pose' and the performative presentation of 'persona',
which forms the basis of the film's portrayal, and explores Pennebaker's relationship with Dylan in the film-making process. In doing so, the book highlights many remarkable moments from Dont Look Back and demonstrates how this landmark film eschewed the informationalism of the documentary form, revealing a captivating portrait of its beguiling subject.

Genres: Film

88 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2016

Reviews

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, fascinating look at Bob Dylan during a precise moment in his life, and at the film that helped form his image.

[Cameron K]

Paperback from the British Film Institute