Bob Dylan’s film “Renaldo And Clara” was released January 25th, 1978. directed by Bob Dylan and starring Bob Dylan, Sara Dylan, and Joan Baez. Written by Dylan and Sam Shepard, the film incorporates three distinct film genres: concert footage, documentary interviews, and dramatic fictional vignettes reflective of Dylan’s song lyrics and life.
Filmed in the fall of 1975 prior to and during Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue tour, the film features appearances and performances by Ronee Blakley, T-Bone Burnett, Jack Elliott, Allen Ginsberg, Arlo Guthrie, Ronnie Hawkins, Roger McGuinn, Joni Mitchell, Mick Ronson, Arlen Roth, Sam Shepard, and Harry Dean Stanton. “Renaldo and Clara” was released in its original four-hour form on January 25th, 1978 in the United States. Its limited release in theaters in New York City, Los Angeles, and other cities was discontinued after a few weeks following widespread negative reviews.
This nearly four-hour surrealist odyssey (232 m.) is written, directed and starring Bob Dylan himself.
There is a myth about this film, it is considered to be incoherent and confusing, well, it isn’t. Every time I see it, it strikes me as a unified vision, one man’s vision, where he puts different kind of film stocks and styles together to create an entertaining and, yes, demanding movie. The film is a mixture of fantastic concert footage, documentary style film (dealing with the Hurricane Carter case), and fictional, seemingly improvised footage.
Drawing structural and thematic influences from the classic film Les Enfants du Paradis, Dylan infuses Renaldo and Clara with lots of shifting styles, tones, and narrative ideas. Similarities between the two films include the use of whiteface , the recurring flower, the woman in white (Baez), the on-stage and backstage scenes, and the dialogue of both films’ climactic scenes.
Also evident is the Cubist approach of the two films, allowing us to see the main characters from the different perspectives of various lovers. This also echoes some of the songs from this Dylan period (Simple twist of faith and Tangled up in blue coming to mind). Running time is also relatively similar. The film also contains the last known footage of Singer Songwriter Phil Ochs , who is shown preparing to take the stage at Folk City in October 1975; he committed suicide six months later. The film also features an appearance from another ill-fated musician, David Blue, who gives some insight into the 1960s New York City folk music scene while playing an extended game of pinball .
It’s a free associating epic that feels pulled straight from Bob Dylan’s brain, Renaldo and Clara is a work of misunderstood genius. Filmed during his legendary 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue Tour and features an eclectic cast of characters (Allen Ginsberg, Sam Shepard, Arlo Gunthrie, Ronnie Hawkins, Harry Dean Stanton, etc) Bob Dylan plays the role of the guitarist Renaldo and his then-wife Sara plays his companion Clara. Joan Baez enters the picture and a love triangle ensues, effectively mirroring Dylan’s own real-life drama. To me it seems to be a fairly accurate description of Dylan’s complicated relationships with women. It simply rings true.
Disheartened by confused critics who didn’t understand the film at the time of its release, Dylan withdrew it from circulation and has kept it locked away in a vault for over 30 years. The only parts of the movie to be released for consumers are the excerpts found on the bonus DVD accompanying the initial release of Dylan’s The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue. Footage from the film also appeared in the music video of Dylan’s 1991 song Series of Dreams. A few years back there were rumors of an official release, but it has yet to happen. It would be so great to get a HD release this year, it is now 36 years since it was officially released at the cinema!
Songs featured in the movie
- “When I Paint My Masterpiece” performed by Bob Dylan, War Memorial Coliseum, Plymouth, MA, October 31, 1975
- “Mississippi Blues” performed by Bob Dylan, Gas Station, Augusta, ME, November 25, 1975
- “Kaw-Liga” performed by Bob Dylan, Studio Instrumental Rentals, NYC, October 1975
- “Isis” performed by Bob Dylan, Montreal Forum, December 4, 1975
- “Ballad in Plain D” performed by Gordon Lightfoot, Studio Instrumental Rentals, NYC, October 1975
- “In the Pines” performed by Ronnie Hawkins
- “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” performed by Bob Dylan, Montreal Forum, December 4, 1975
- “Nurse’s Song” performed by Allen Ginsberg, Gerdes Folk City, NYC, October 23, 1975
- “People Get Ready” performed by Bob Dylan, Studio Instrumental Rentals, NYC, October 1975
- “I Want You” performed by Bob Dylan, Studio Instrumental Rentals, NYC, October 1975
- “Need a New Sun Rising” performed by Ronee Blakely
- “Mama’s Lament” performed by Mama Maria Frasca, Dreamaway Lounge, Becket, MA,November 7, 1975
- “God and Mama” performed by Mama Maria Frasca, Dreamaway Lounge, Becket, MA,November 7, 1975
- “Salt Pork, West Virginia” performed by Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Seacrest Motel, Falmouth, MA October 29, 1975
- “Mule Skinner Blues” performed by Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Seacrest Motel, Falmouth, MA October 29, 1975
- “What Will You Do When Jesus Comes” performed by Bob Dylan, Studio Instrumental Rentals, NYC, October 1975
- “Little Moses” performed by Bob Dylan, Studio Instrumental Rentals, NYC, October 1975
- “It Ain’t Me Babe” performed by Bob Dylan, Harvard Square Theater, Cambridge, MA, November 20, 1975
- “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” performed by Bob Dylan, Clinton Correctional Facility, Clinton, NJ, December 7, 1975
- “Hurricane” performed by Bob Dylan, Studio Instrumental Rentals, NYC, October 1975
- “She Belongs to Me” performed by Bob Dylan, Studio Instrumental Rentals, NYC, October 1975
- “Catfish” performed by Rob Stoner
- “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry” performed by Bob Dylan, Boston Music Hall, November 21, 1975 (evening show)
- “Longheno de Castro” performed by Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Gerdes Folk City, NYC, October 23, 1975
- “Diamonds & Rust” performed by Joan Baez
- “If You See Her, Say Hello” performed by Bob Dylan, Studio Instrumental Rentals, NYC, October 1975
- “Romance in Durango” performed by Bob Dylan, Montreal Forum, December 4, 1975
- “One Too Many Mornings” performed by Bob Dylan, Studio Instrumental Rentals, NYC, October 1975
- “The House of the Rising Sun” performed by Bob Dylan and Rob Stoner, Hotel Room, Quebec, November 28, 1975
- “One More Cup of Coffee” performed by Bob Dylan, Montreal Forum, December 4, 1975
- “Eight Miles High” performed by Roger McGuinn
- “Chestnut Mare” performed by Roger McGuinn
- “Sara” performed by Bob Dylan, Montreal Forum, December 4, 1975
- “The Water Is Wide” performed by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, Palace Theater, Waterbury, CT, November 11, 1975
- “Patty’s Gone to Laredo” performed by Bob Dylan, Studio Instrumental Rentals, NYC, October 1975
- “Suzanne” performed by Joan Baez
- “Never Let Me Go” performed by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, Montreal Forum, December 4, 1975
- “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” performed by Bob Dylan, Studio Instrumental Rentals, NYC, October 1975
- “Tangled Up in Blue” performed by Bob Dylan, Boston Music Hall, November 21, 1975 (evening show)
- “Just Like a Woman” performed by Bob Dylan, Harvard Square Theater, Cambridge, MA, November 20, 1975
- “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” performed by Bob Dylan, Harvard Square Theater, Cambridge, MA, November 20, 1975
- “In the Morning” performed by Hal Frazier, Seacrest Motel, Falmouth, MA, October 29, 1975
The Fat Angel Sings 