Dylan opens up to director Scorcese
Bob Dylan will give his first full interview about his influential early career in a BBC documentary directed by Martin Scorsese, it was announced today.
Oscar-nominated Scorsese has been granted full access to the media shy singer for the film which examines the cultural and political impact of his music.
The programme will follow Dylan’s career during the early sixties when he rose to fame with folk hits Blowin’ in the Wind and Like a Rolling Stone.
It concludes in 1966 when he shocked fans by starting to use an electric guitar and was in a motorbike crash that stopped him touring for eight years.
Dylan last gave a filmed interview in 1985 and has never spoken extensively about his early career.
Scorsese said he had long been a fan of the singer, who he featured in his 1978 rock documentary, The Last Waltz.
“For me, there is no other musical artist who weaves his influences so densely to create something so personal and unique,” the director told Variety.
“This project gives me a chance to explore one of the most exciting artists and icons of the past 50 years.”
Producer Nigel Sinclair, from Spitfire Pictures, said the documentary would include original footage, including Dylan’s first performance on the electric guitar.
He said: “Imagine the chance to have Bob looking back at those years, with an exhaustive catalogue of concert and other footage that has never been seen, and Martin Scorsese to interpret it and make it his authored story.”
