The Grateful Dead Movie
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Movie Reviews of The Grateful Dead Movie
Movie Review: This is IT!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is IT! Really, Really, REALLY! THIS IS IT! The only way to really be there again these days. Not just a time capsule---it's a time machine.Movie Review: Dead Head's movie
Summary: 5 Stars
We watched this and thought it was great to see all the dead head's from back in the day jamming out. Really cool.Movie Review: only for Deadheads
Summary: 5 Stars
If you ARE a Deadhead, you MUST get this movie. If you are NOT a Deadhead, skip it.Movie Review: ILLUMINATING LOOK AT THE BAND, FANS & PA
Summary: 4 Stars
The Grateful Dead movie came out in 1977 but consists of footage shot during an October 1974 series of concerts at the Winterland, the last to use the "wall of Sound" system, and the shows preceeded a break from touring but by the time it came out, they had already resumed performing. It is as much about the fans, the sound crew, the "wall of sound" PA, and promoter Bill Graham as about the band. When I saw it back when it came out and a couple times at local high school auditoriums over the next few years, I was always left with the feeling that it was a little short on uninterupted concert footage. The film tries to cover so much ground the music performances suffer. The other place I felt it was lacking was the sound mix. This new DVD release basically fixes my two main gripes about the original release. It has a second bonus disc of extra song performances, and it has been remixed- it now sounds alot better (but for those who want the original mix, you can play it that way too for the movie portion). There is also some extra interview footage. The transfer of the film has been well done. The dead always had good people working for them, whether it was Betty Cantor, Dan Healy, Steve Parish or Ron Wickersham- and now Jeffrey Norman and David Lemeieux, the keepers of the vault. They have done some excellent work with this release and "The Closing of Winterland" DVD....both come from a period many consider to be their best. Now we can have our own virtual Dead concert. If you like this DVD, I'd also recommend the 5 CD "Movie soundtrack" set which is one of the best audio releases.Movie Review: GD Movie DVD
Summary: 4 Stars
While most reviews here deal with the original movie only, a few things to note about the release as a whole - the sound of the original movie is, for whatever reason, not stellar and they do not alter Jerry's original mix for the DVD release. I have always been puzzled over this. I had a VHS copy and had always thought that the sound quality was a little poor, and the sound of the audio tapes and "Steal Your Face" are about the same. The vocals are kind of crappy, as is the drum sound. There is the option of choosing an updated 5.1 mix, which is much better than the original.
The bonus material has also been updated and remixed and the results are quite stellar. The only complaint about the bonus footage is that there is not enough of it! As someone less interested in all of the fan footage from the movie, the second DVD is a gem. The version of Scarlet Begonias is incredible, as is the China Cat>Rider. The more "out" material is predictably fantastic, but the cuts in and out of the Dark Star and Other One are kind of harsh. Nevertheless, it's truly worth it, and the extra interview footage and documentaries are nice too. Nice to hear what Donna Jean has to say after all these years. The Other One is really interesting as they flow through the jams, particularly what came to be known as the Mind Left Body jam - the onstage communication is fascinating.