(Anuj Shrestha / For The Times)
Plenty of musicians achieve big-screen immortality thanks to Oscar-acclaimed biopics, but unlike Elton John, James Brown, Judy Garland, Elvis Presley or Johnny Cash, Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan has inspired an entire body of filmic work honoring his songcraft and elusive persona. The latest comes from James Mangold, who previously directed the Cash biopic “Walk the Line.” “A Complete Unknown” follows young Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) from his arrival in Greenwich Village as a 19-year-old Woody Guthrie acolyte through an astonishing burst of creativity culminating in his infamous 1965 Newport Folk Festival appearance, when folk purists booed the artist for playing electric guitar with a rock band.
The “Dylan goes electric” incident marks one of many shape-shifting moments that fascinate fans and inspire filmmakers. Here are five other movies about the magisterial singer-songwriter whose life and lyrics have forever expanded the contours of American music.
Bob Dylan in a scene from Martin Scorsese’s “Rolling Thunder Revue.”
(Netflix)
“Rolling Thunder Revue” (2019)
Martin Scorsese combines archival footage with fresh interviews and tall tales to paint a mostly factual portrait of the carnivalesque tour launched by Bob Dylan in 1975.
Soundtrack gem: “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and “Hurricane,” about prizefighter Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, who was wrongly convicted of murder.
Entourage: Joan Baez, Sam Shepard, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Allen Ginsberg (via audio voice-over). Also, Joni Mitchell played “Coyote,” accompanied by Dylan, for spellbound band members at Gordon Lightfoot’s house.
Dylan speaks: “The tour was a catastrophe. It wasn’t a success — not if you measure success in terms of profit,” says the onscreen Dylan, who insisted on playing small venues to foster a spontaneous, anticorporate vibe. Regarding his famous duet partner, Dylan notes, “Joan Baez and me could sing together in our sleep.”
Style: Dylan performed in mime makeup and a broad-brimmed hat bedecked in flowers.
Tall tales: Dylan the trickster conspired with Scorsese to make up stuff according to whim. Contrary to the digitally altered photographs and contemporary interview footage, Sharon Stone never joined the tour as a starstruck teenager. Director “Stefan van Dorp,” credited with shooting the archival footage actually used for the Dylan-directed 1978 film “Renaldo and Clara,” is a fictional character played by Bette Midler’s husband, Martin von Haselberg.
Oscar Isaac stars as a struggling folk singer in “Inside Llewyn Davis.”
(Alison Rosa / CBS Films)
“Inside Llewyn Davis” (2013)
Dylan (portrayed by Benjamin Pike) appears briefly at the end of this period piece, when failing folk singer Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) notices a shadow-cloaked figure singing and playing harmonica onstage at the Gaslight Cafe.
Setting the scene: The Coen brothers expertly depict the early-’60s New York City folk scene as described by Dylan compadre Dave Van Ronk in his memoir “The Mayor of MacDougal Street.”
Defining track: “Farewell,” one of several traditional folk songs that formed much of Dylan’s early repertoire.
“I’m Not There” (2007)
To capture Dylan in all his multifarious splendor, writer-director Todd Haynes cast six actors to portray different aspects of the songwriter’s protean genius.
One artist, many stars: Cate Blanchett plays Jude Quinn, as the fame-averse rocker in sunglasses and polka-dot shirt; Christian Bale portrays civil rights activist-singer Jack Rollins and Pastor John, representing Dylan’s gospel music phase; Ben Whishaw channels Dylan’s surrealistic tendencies as poet Arthur Rimbaud; Richard Gere, bearded and reclusive, portrays Billy the Kid, a nod to Dylan’s cameo in 1973 western “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid”; Heath Ledger is actor Robbie Clark; and Marcus Carl Franklin plays young Black hobo Woody Guthrie, named after Dylan’s folk music hero.
Soundtrack gem: “All Along the Watchtower,” sung by Eddie Vedder
Dylan speaks: “All they want from me is finger-pointing songs. I only got 10 fingers!”
Bob Dylan and Angela Bassett in a scene from “Masked and Anonymous.”
(Lorey Sebastian / Sony Pictures)
“Masked and Anonymous” (2002)
Co-writer Dylan plays Jack Fate, a washed-up musician enlisted by John Goodman’s Uncle Sweetheart to join a motley crew of circus acts and con artists for a benefit concert.
Origin story: Director/co-writer Larry Charles (“Seinfeld,” “Borat”) told the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa that the musician “showed up for the meeting in full western villain regalia — black hat, black suit, black boots, black gloves, studded black shirt,” observing that “the project was him basically as a kind of Buster Keaton cipher type of character, very stone-faced, very detached, walking through this surreal comic landscape, essentially, and using reference points from songs. That was folded into what became the movie.”
Style: Pencil mustache, cowboy hat, Nashville-style leisure suit.
Entourage: Quirky characters played by Penélope Cruz, Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange rattle off most of the dialogue opposite taciturn Jack/Bob.
Soundtrack gem: “Cold Irons Bound” showcases Dylan and his gritty band in full boogie-rock mode.
The documentary “Don’t Look Back” from D.A. Pennebaker captures Dylan’s 1965 tour of England.
(Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)
“Dont Look Back” (1967)
Documentarian D.A. Pennebaker shot this black-and-white masterpiece on a handheld 16mm camera when he tagged along with Dylan and his witty companions on their 1965 whirlwind tour of England.
Style: Rail-thin in sunglasses, black suit and unruly pompadour; Dylan accouterments include acoustic guitar, harmonica and ever-present cigarette.
Entourage: Singer Joan Baez, manager Albert Grossman and sidekick-songwriter Bobby Neuwirth (who would later pen “Mercedes Benz” for Janis Joplin) hang out with Dylan in hotel rooms and crowded cars while feeding into the artist’s jittery energy.
Soundtrack gems: “The Times They Are A-Changin’” and “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)”
Dylan speaks: “I got nothin’ to say about these things I write, I just write ’em,” he tells a Time magazine reporter. “I could tell you I’m not a folk singer and explain to you why, but you wouldn’t really understand.”
