Dylan Revisited: Dont Look Back (1967)

Looking back at D.A. Pennebaker's groundbreaking feature documentary following Bob Dylan on his 1965 UK tour.

This is a series by DylanRevisited based on former Twitter threads, now available here in an easier to read and longer lasting format.

Dont Look Back – D.A. Pennebaker’s documentary about Bob Dylan’s 1965 UK tour – starts with the famous cue card promo for Subterranean Homesick Blues. The director wanted to “set the stage” for Dylan. Yet for the rest of film, his main character shares the spotlight.

In the film’s next scene, while Dylan is quietly rehearsing backstage, we briefly see his manager, Al Grossman. For anyone familiar with this pivotal but often enigmatic figure in Dylan’s story, this glimpse is thrilling.

Let’s start with his lush cardigan – Grossman’s a smart guy who knew how to dress for the English weather. And for the occasion: when later the tour arrives at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the manager has ditched his cardi for a smart three-piec…