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Reviews
Spend an Evening with Saddle Creek (2005)
A film that never should have been made
As a fan of much of the music that has come out of Omaha in the past 15 years, I was very disappointed at this shoddy excuse for a documentary. The filmmakers should have engaged in a bit of genre research and watched a film like 'No Direction Home', where Scorcese traces the evolution of Dylan's music with the breakdown of social order in 1960s America. As it is, 'An Evening With Saddle-Creek' makes no effort to connect the music, bands or community with the world outside Omaha. The viewer is left to remark, "who cares?," no matter how much they may or may not like the music. Of course, it may be argued this little music community doesn't actually have any connection or relevance to anyone that isn't immersed in the indie-pop music scene. Even if this were the case (and I tend to agree that it is) an interesting film could still have been made. It would have been a wise move to focus on one or two especially interesting characters and turned the film into a character study a la 'Don't Look Back'. Instead, 'An Evening' tries to pretend that every band on the label is equally compelling, so it stitches together a series of mini-documentaries (some a mere 5 minutes long) on each petty project that each peripheral friend of the label is engaged in. Big boring mistake. Let's face it, all people want to see is Conor anyways.
Dont Look Back (1967)
Pure and Utter Genius
Follows Dylan through England as he rises to the peak of his powers. The Holy Spirit surrounding him oozes out of the screen and can be tasted if you pay attention. Dylan dominates his surroundings, on stage and off, with lightning in his pocket and angels in his prose. Sure he's smug and arrogant, but why shouldn't he be? His genius comes through here bare-bones and free of the ornaments and apologies Scorsese recently felt obliged to cushion him with. Dylan will be the first to admit he doesn't have the ability to channel the Divine like he was when this film was made, which makes it all the more important that we have it. Prophets still grace our presence, and it's up to us to pay attention. Watch this film. Pay attention.