No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)

93% of critics liked it
(14 reviews)
94% of users liked it
(8,963 ratings)

Renowned director Martin Scorsese's documentary No Direction Home: Bob Dylan chronicles the career of the singer and songwriter during the tumultuous years between 1961 and 1966. Dylan allowed Scorsese to have access to hours of footage that had never before been made public, including a number of… More Renowned director Martin Scorsese's documentary No Direction Home: Bob Dylan chronicles the career of the singer and songwriter during the tumultuous years between 1961 and 1966. Dylan allowed Scorsese to have access to hours of footage that had never before been made public, including a number of live performances, and footage of Dylan in the recording studio creating some of his landmark albums from the period. Dylan sits for an extensive interview, as does a variety of people who worked with him during this time period, including Joan Baez and fellow songwriter Pete Seeger. The film debuted on PBS stations around the country on September 26, 2005. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: G, 3 hr. 27 min.
Directed By: Martin Scorsese
Genres: Musical & Performing Arts, Documentary

In Theaters: Jul 21, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Sep 20, 2005

Critic Reviews

Glenn Abel, Hollywood Reporter
As good as it gets in music documentaries.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Creates a portrait that is deep, sympathetic, perceptive and yet finally leaves Dylan shrouded in mystery, which is where he properly lives.
Phil Gallo, Variety
A document that will satiate Dylan fans over repeated viewings and should bring naysayers into the Dylan fold.
Ryan Cracknell, Movie Views
Framed by tons of rare footage, No Direction Home penetrates the soul of one of modern music's greatest icons - at least as much as Dylan will let us.
Gregory Weinkauf, ÜberCiné
A competent but fawning, focusless and utterly overlong tribute to a terribly mediocre entertainer who 'sings' like a bumblebee barfing. Bloated Boomers, feel free to be interred with a copy. Soon.
Kurt Loder, MTV
Anyone with more than a superficial interest in rock music and its possibilities should either see this film or own it.
Ethan Alter, NYC Film Critic
Robert Zimmerman achieved his dream of becoming a singer, but in doing so he surrendered the ability to define himself on his own terms.
Thomas Delapa, Boulder Weekly
Scorsese's superbly researched biography brings it all back home, confirming Dylan as the troubadour genius of sixties rock 'n' roll.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Scorsese assembles an impressive amount of footage and interviews -- many more candid that anyone could feasibly expect.
Michael Szymanski, International Press Academy
One of the best music documentaries ever of one of the most unusual musicians ever...
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Makes some cracks in Dylan's mystique without trying to do any more than letting his story come out as is.
David Yaffe, Slate
To narrate selected details from this journey from the Iron Range to Greenwich Village to Rock Star Babylon, we get generous, attention-span respecting clips of Dylan performances and reminiscences from carefully selected talking heads.
Bill Gibron, DVDTalk.com
No Direction Home ...becomes a portal back in time, a chance to relive some of...the most exciting years in the history of politics, personality and music.
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
Fans will be positively enthralled at the well-preserved nuggets, and neophytes will understand the fuss over the musician and the man.

Read all 14 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Graham J

Probably the best music documentary I've seen. This masterpiece focuses as much on the roots of Dylan as Dylan himself.
Lanning :

Great for what it covers, especially the actual Dylan interviews Scorsese carries on with him "now." There's nothing better than hearing Dylan talk about Dylan. Now if only Scorsese could do a documentary that brings us up to the present.
Christopher M

A compelling and essential documentary about arguably the greatest American singer/songwriter of all time. Directed by the comparably great Martin Scorsese, No Direction Home is essential viewing for both die hard and passive Dylan fans (and really, who isn't in some way a Bob… More
A compelling and essential documentary about arguably the greatest American singer/songwriter of all time. Directed by the comparably great Martin Scorsese, No Direction Home is essential viewing for both die hard and passive Dylan fans (and really, who isn't in some way a Bob Dylan fan?), as it details his career from its start until the late 60s; the most important part of his development as an artist, and the most interesting. I can most easily compare this film with Bukowski: Born Into This, which is an essential, brilliant doc about Charles Bukowski told largely from the perspective of the man himself. Here one particular Dylan interview is cut throughout the film and adds to and comments on the other perspectives at work. And also, like Born Into This used Buk's poetry to no small effect, No Direction Home is riddled with awesome footage of live performances and song recordings, many of which are studio takes which probably can't be heard anywhere else. I really can't recommend this enough. Its a brilliant, sprawling documentary about the most important American musician of all time, made by one of the most important American filmmakers of our time - now that should be plenty of incentive!
Michael G

The only Bob Dylan documentary you will ever need to see.
Mike T

Martin Scorsese is a legendary director for many reasons, all of which are visible in this epic documentary. Studying one of my favorite musicians, Scorsese demonstrates yet again how well he can craft a story and meld imagery and music. Although this is an expansive and extremely… More
Martin Scorsese is a legendary director for many reasons, all of which are visible in this epic documentary. Studying one of my favorite musicians, Scorsese demonstrates yet again how well he can craft a story and meld imagery and music. Although this is an expansive and extremely detailed film, Dylan's enigmatic status is maintained. Required viewing for fans of Bob Dylan or the director.
Jared H

Such a thorough and immersive documentary about not-so-arguably the greatest songwriter of all time. Clocking it at nearly 3 1/2 hours, you can't help but get so much insight into Dylan's thought life, personality, and his musical influences. The film is directed toward… More
Such a thorough and immersive documentary about not-so-arguably the greatest songwriter of all time. Clocking it at nearly 3 1/2 hours, you can't help but get so much insight into Dylan's thought life, personality, and his musical influences. The film is directed toward hardcore Bob Dylan fans, so it's not for everybody...only for everybody that matters ;)
Kit X

I like Bob Dylan