This 30-minute documentary offers a pretty nice and illuminating overview on the music documentaries made by D.A. Pennbaker as well as his earlier shorts that helped shape his style and perspective as a filmmaker. Pennebaker reveals that he prefers to do docs on musicians who are in it mostly for the music and just want to perform. Moreover, Pennebaker admits that he considers narration to be the death of theater and prefers to be more on an observer than a director who tries to dictate what happens. In addition, Pennebaker receives praise for his innovative use of the zoom lens and how he gets his hand-held camera to move like a person. In addition, we also learn that his short doc "Jane" was a template for "Don't Look Back" and that "Don't Look Back" might be Pennebaker's most important film because it captured a special moment in time in Bob Dylan's life and career. Recommended viewing for Pennebaker fans.
2 Reviews
Pennebaker Looking Back
Michael_Elliott22 February 2016
D.A. Pennebaker: A Look Back (2015)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
D.A. Pennebaker is the subject of this thirty minute documentary that can be found on the Criterion Collection's DON'T LOOK BACK release. Pennebaker talks about how he got started in the business and then he goes into details about not only the Dylan film but the shorts he did before it, which helped build his craft. Various interesting aspects are discussed by the director including why he thinks so many musicians came to him to be filmed. He talks about shooting the concert footage and why he didn't want to be far away from the stage and instead he wanted to get medium and close shots of the action. If you're a fan of Pennebaker then this is another must see as the director shares some terrific insights into the way he likes to shoot films and his general thoughts about music on film.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
D.A. Pennebaker is the subject of this thirty minute documentary that can be found on the Criterion Collection's DON'T LOOK BACK release. Pennebaker talks about how he got started in the business and then he goes into details about not only the Dylan film but the shorts he did before it, which helped build his craft. Various interesting aspects are discussed by the director including why he thinks so many musicians came to him to be filmed. He talks about shooting the concert footage and why he didn't want to be far away from the stage and instead he wanted to get medium and close shots of the action. If you're a fan of Pennebaker then this is another must see as the director shares some terrific insights into the way he likes to shoot films and his general thoughts about music on film.
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