Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese

For my money, Bob Dylan peaked during that strange time during the mid-70s when he hit the road with a traveling circus of his musical and poetry friends, covered his face with white makeup and delivered some of the rawest, most straightforward rocking performances of his career. Martin Scorsese, for the second time, goes the documentary route with the musical icon, combining archival concert footage and interviews (most notably, a new one with Dylan himself) to tell the story of the most interesting tour of the man’s career. Dylan had just finished touring stadiums with The Band and wanted to play more intimate venues. So he did, and he brought the likes of Joni Mitchell, Allen Ginsburg and Joan Baez along with him. The concert footage shows Dylan in focused, driving and sometime very funny form as he delivers some new music along with his already classic songbook. New songs like “Isis” and “Hurricane” destroy alongside transformed versions of “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Mr. Tambourine Man.” Watching these concert moments, it’s immediately clear that anybody who was present for the shows was witnessing vital music history. The interviews flesh out the “story” in what amounts to another triumph for Scorsese, who has given himself a nice side gig doing rock documentaries. (Streaming on Netflix.)