Bob Dylan’s 10 Best Performances In Film

The freewheelin’ troubadour has long been considered as one of the greatest musicians that the world has ever known. Be that as it may, his long line of cinematic contributions still takes a huge chunk on the list of his artistic legacy. Take a look at the best performances coming from the one and only, Bob Dylan.

 

Masked and Anonymous (2003)

The 2003 film stars Dylan as a former rock legend who must save the disintegrating Society of North America. It’s a star-studded cast that shows Luke Wilson, Penélope Cruz, and Jeff Bridges among others.

Hearts of Fire  (1987)

This 1987 musical drama exploited more on Bob Dylan’s fame, rather than creating a masterpiece. Such a notion would eventually backfire since the movie was a commercial flop, and Dylan regretted becoming a part of it.

Eat the Document (1972)

The documentary that Dylan both starred and directed featured his 1966 tour in the UK and Ireland. Though it was deemed by the ABC as “too complex” for the audience, it played an important role in Dylan’s creative approach to cinema.

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Aside from composing the film’s musical score wherein his song “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” first became a hit, he also starred in the movie as Alias, who killed someone using a knife. The revisionist Western film of Sam Peckinpah became an instant classic.

The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival (2007)

The documentary features the likes of Bob Dylan and the growing emergence of his varying style throughout his career. Murray Lerner, the director, believed that Dylan had achieved greatness with prominent poets like T.S Eliot and Ezra Pound who caught the hearts and attention of the masses.

The Concert For Bangladesh (1972)

Saul Swimmer’s documentary for the benefit concert that both Ravi Shankar and George Harrison arranged was dedicated to the refugees that were ousted during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Among the contributors to the said concert were Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, and many more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufbHfGU7WxA

Renaldo and Clara (1978)

Perhaps the most famous film that Dylan directed and starred in his four-hour 1978 movie Renaldo and Clara. The singer had since cited Marcel Carné’s 1945 Children of Paradise as the inspiration for its storytelling and narrative structures of the movie.

The Last Waltz (1978)

Martin Scorsese’s concert movie The Last Waltz is notoriously labeled as one the best. The Band’s “farewell concert” shows Dylan performing two of his songs: “Forever Young” and “Baby Let Me Follow You Down”.

Don’t Look Back (1967)

D.A Pennebaker’s initial thought was that he was hired to capture promotional footage of Bob Dylan’s career, but when given full artistic control, he then manages to create this fine piece of cinematic art. Pennebaker aims to capture Dylan’s evolving spirit as a legendary musician, and he did it with cinematic justice.

No Direction Home (2005)

Considered by many as the “definitive” documentary of Bob Dylan, Martin Scorsese aims to show the pivotal moments of the singer’s career, including the problems he experienced during the motorcycle incident back in 1966.