Pennebaker Hegedus Films

Dont Look Back is about the Sixties and the man who got a lot of us through them. Bob Dylan is more than the folk singer touted by the record industry, more than the song writer whose poetry is the only kind many of us remember, more than the Kerouac-kid who haunts our best writing. He is the force that blew us out of one era and into another. His words are ambiguous, his style constantly changing and his avoidance of publicity obsessive, yet he remains the influential voice of our times. DONT LOOK BACK was filmed during a three week concert tour of England in the Spring of 1965. More than a view of an extraordinary concert tour, Dont Look Back is an intimate portrait of one of the most influential songwriters of our times.

Pennebaker on DONT LOOK BACK:
“As far as I’m concerned, it was never meant to be a documentary. I don’t like them much. To my mind, the most interesting filmmaker that I ever knew about was Robert Flaherty, who made NANOOK OF THE NORTH. It was about this Eskimo, and Flaherty didn’t try to tell you everything there was about the life of an Eskimo. He just wanted to show you what it was like to be with an Eskimo for little bit. And that’s the feeling I tried to put across.

I was never interested in educating people about Dylan. First of all, I don’t know enough about him. Who does? Besides, that’s Dylan’s business. If he wanted to educate people, I’m sure he knows how to do it. What I wanted to do was just be present when Dylan enacted his whole life and show you what he deals with and what interests him. 

It may not be so much about Dylan because Dylan is sort of acting throughout the film. And that’s his right. He needs some protection in a sense against that process. But I think what you do find out a little bit is the extraordinary pressure of having to go out and be absolutely perfect on call. That is, he had to fill a house. It wasn’t just enough that he had every seat booked, he had to have standees. He had to be extraordinary where most of us settle for just being adequate.”

A film by D A PENNEBAKER
1967, 95 min., b&w
Full Credits

View Movie Clip

BOB DYLAN: DONT LOOK BACK/65 TOUR DELUXE EDITION DVD

Recently released on DVD with an enlightening running commentary by filmmaker D A Pennebaker and Dylan’s road manager, Bob Neuwirth. This new release of DONT LOOK BACK also includes 65 REVISITED, an hour-long documentary Pennebaker culled from over 20 hours of unused footage from DONT LOOK BACK. 65 REVISITED includes a performance of “To Ramona” and an optional second commentary track by D A Pennebaker and many uncut Dylan performances.

Buy from Amazon:
DONT LOOK BACK/65 TOUR DELUXE EDITION DVD


Also available from Amazon, the single-disc Remastered Edition DVD




Dont Look Back Theatrical Release Poster - $50
*These posters are in excellent condition and may have slight smudges or wrinkles. Please contact us if your poster arrives torn.

dont look back (1967) Photo Gallery