Few musicians in the history of pop music have managed to capture the popular imagination in quite the same way that Bob Dylan has. Dylan is an enigma, and he’s worked hard to maintain an image of unknowability in spite of his massive fame.
That may be why so many movies have been made about the folk musician, a combination of documentary and fiction films that stretches from the 1960s all the way to today. In honor of A Complete Unknown, which is out now in theaters nationwide, we’ve pulled together something of a syllabus of other essential Dylan movies. Without further ado, here they are.
We also have guides to the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
I’m Not There (2007)
Todd Haynes’ Bob Dylan movie is as hard to latch onto as Dylan himself often is. Haynes recruited an entire cast of actors to play Dylan at different points in his career, emphasizing the way Dylan seemed to transform his personality every few years.
Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, and Cate Blanchett are among the actors tapped to play the role, often assuming other names to further highlight the ways they are all distinct personalities. I’m Not There is a movie designed to be watched over and over again. Just when you think you understand it, it’ll slip out of your fingers again.
You can watch I’m Not There on Amazon Prime Video.
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese (2019)
Documentaries are, generally speaking, designed to tell at least some version of the truth. One of the miracles of Rolling Thunder Revue, though, is that it almost effortlessly mixes fact and fiction, chronicling Dylan’s 1975 tour across America at a time when the country was dealing with incredible levels of tumult.
While the tour itself happened, many of the fanciful stories told by the celebrities and others on the tour are entirely made up, a reminder that Dylan cares much more about propagating myths than about what actually happened to him.
You can watch Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese on Netflix.
Don’t Look Back (1967)
One of the first significant looks at the life of Bob Dylan, D.A. Pennebaker’s Don’t Look Back is an intimate portrait of Dylan when his stardom was still new. The film chronicles many of the same events that are dramatized in A Complete Unknown, following Dylan as he performs, has conversations in hotel rooms, and is on the verge of breaking up with Joan Baez.
The movie, fundamentally, is about a Dylan on the verge of complete transformation, and it offers unprecedented access to who Dylan was at that time.
You can watch Don’t Look Back on Max.
No Direction Home (2005)
This PBS documentary uses a new interview with Dylan as an excuse to reexamine the most pivotal period of his career through the 1960s. By combining archival footage of concerts and press conferences with this new interview, we get a unique understand of the way Dylan’s own perception of his image has evolved over time.
While Dylan has never been the most reliable narrator of his own life, part of the joy of No Direction Home comes from understanding all the ways he is a difficult documentary subject, which is part of what makes him so enticing.
You can watch No Direction Home on PBS.
Festival (1967)
This documentary is not solely focused on Dylan, but he is undeniably a significant part of it. The movie was filmed over the course of four separate Newport Folk Festivals from 1963 to 1966, and as such, it chronicles the evolution of folk over that period.
In addition to Dylan, the movie also features Joan Baez, Howlin’ Wolf, Pete Seeger, and dozens of other acts. Crucially, though, the movie also includes footage of Dylan’s 1965 electric set, the moment that remains the most pivotal event of his career, and the one that many at the time saw as a total betrayal of his folk music origins.
You can watch Festival on The Criterion Channel.
