Press release from the Kabinet

Hi folks,

Wow, has it really been a whole month since we screened Robert Altman's
THIEVES LIKE US?! Our "American Outlaws" series just flew by. Thanks
to all of you who made it out to HQ during the month of April, and I
hope you enjoyed each film as much as I did.

We've got something completely different planned for May. Those of you
who know me know that I'm a bit of a Dylan freak. Well, believe it or
not, Bob the Bard turns 65 this month. That's right: the guy who once
epitomized the youth counterculture of the 60s is about to join AARP!
To wish him many happy returns, we're featuring a program this month
called "Happy Birthday, Bob!" presenting four films profiling the man
and his music...
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Sunday, May 7th @ 8pm
DON'T LOOK BACK
directed by D.A. Pennebaker, 1965
Okay, if you're not a Dylan fan, then you can be forgiven for missing
the rest of this month's screenings. But not tonight! DON'T LOOK BACK
is a groundbreaking piece of cinema verite, shot in stark black and
white by master documentarian D.A. Pennebaker (best known to
contemporary audiences as the co-director of THE WAR ROOM, the behind
the scenes account of Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign).
Here, in his first feature, Pennebaker trains his camera on Dylan at
the height of his popularity as a folk icon, as he travels England for
what was to be his final acoustic tour. The film's opening sequence --
in which Dylan stands in an alley, casting off cuecards with fragments
of the lyrics to "Subterranean Homesick Blues" while poet Allen
Ginsberg lingers in the background -- is justly revered. But the rest
of the film is every bit as eye-popping, showing Dylan at his best
(usually on stage) and most maddening...in interviews, and in a musical
pissing match with his British would-be counterpart Donovan...

Sunday, May 14th @ 8pm
EAT THE DOCUMENT
directed by D.A. Pennebaker, 1966
What a difference a year makes! Dylan is back in England, touring
while D.A. Pennebaker's cameras once again roll. But this time he's
brought "The Hawks" to back him up. Of course, today they're better
known simply as...The Band. But at the time, Dylan's mix of folk and
electric music was groundbreaking -- and roundly dismissed by many of
his fans. But the music isn't the only thing separating this film from
its predecessor. For one thing, it was shot in vivid color. More
importantly, although Pennebaker again shot and directed, the editing
was undertaken by Howard Alk...and none other than Dylan himself! The
result has moments of "ego trip," to be sure, but mostly it's an
impressively experimental view of what it was like to be "Bob Dylan" at
a time of great acclaim and scorn. If DON'T LOOK BACK was an
outside-looking-in account of Dylan's '65 tour, EAT THE DOCUMENT is an
inside-looking-out account of an artist at an essential crossroads.
Much of the footage shot for this film was featured in last year's
Scorcese-directed bio for PBS. If you're a fan of Dylan and/or The
Band, don't miss this ultra-rare chance to catch a less fleeting
glimpse of these artists at the height of their talents...

Sunday, May 21st @ 8pm
PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID
directed by Sam Peckinpah, 1973
If you enjoyed BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA last month, you'll
definitely want to check out this seminal revisionist Western by Sam
Peckinpah -- probably his most admired film after THE WILD BUNCH. Kris
Kristofferson plays Billy while James Coburn embodies Pat Garrett, out
to bring his old outlaw friend to justice. Where does Dylan fit in to
this improbable mix? Well, most importantly, he contributes a
soundtrack that offers a perfect aural accompaniment to Peckinpah's
evocation of the Old West in its last throes; "Knockin' on Heaven's
Door" is the best-known song from these sessions. He also (less
successfully, one might say...) portrays the bandit "Alias" --
thankfully a silent role, for the most part. But Dylan's amateur
acting chops really don't detract from what is one of the Last Great
Westerns...and his score does much to set the mood. So come on down to
Kabinet to hear Dylan at his best, and see him at his...well, just come
on down and see him, okay?
* And since this screening falls on Dylan's birthday, we hope to start
the evening early with some live performances of both well-known and
obscure Dylan tunes... (More info to come.)

Sunday, May 28th @ 8pm
RENALDO AND CLARA
directed by Bob Dylan, 1978
The late 60s and early 70s weren't so kind to Dylan. He went into
convalescence following a 1967 motorcycle crash. And by the mid 70s,
his marriage was on the rocks. But he came back with a vengeance in
1975 with the release of BLOOD ON THE TRACKS, followed quickly by
DESIRE. Dylan's eagerness to assert his relevance played itself out on
a series of stages in the Northeast, as he gathered a gaggle of friends
and fellow musicians -- including former paramour Joan Baez -- for The
Rolling Thunder Revue, probably the most impressive leg of his
"Neverending Tour." As if performing a three-hour concert each night
wasn't enough, Dylan decided that the show needed to be
documented...and that he himself was the ideal director! To supplement
the concert footage, he staged many elaborate, semi-improvised
sequences in which friends played "Bob and Sarah Dylan" while he and
his wife became, for the purpose of fiction, "Renaldo and Clara."
Folks like Ramblin' Jack Elliot and Roger McGuinn of The Byrds came
along for the ride. And he even made a pilgrimage to Jack Kerouac's
grave with (who else?) Allen Ginsberg. The result is as maddening --
and thrilling -- as you'd expect: a four-hour odyssey into the Dylan
mythos, filled with white hot performances and baffling narrative
tangents.
Needless to say, the film was met primarily with scratched heads and
rolled eyes when it premiered in 1978. It was quickly withdrawn, and
ultimately released in a two-hour version that focused primarily on the
performances. But the original "director's cut" -- almost impossible
to see today -- remains a fascinating glimpse of one of America's
greatest songwriters at the height of his performing powers...and in
personal crisis. The same year this film was released, Dylan also put
out an album called SLOW TRAIN COMING filled exclusively with religious
songs, and he announced his conversion to Christianity. But this is
the real "Dylan Gospel," as he reinvents classics like "A Hard Rain's
Gonna Fall" and debuts new masterpieces such as "Isis" -- all in
ghostly whiteface! All in all, it's the perfect end to our month-long
tribute to one of America's most important artists. Hope you'll join
us...
- - - - - - - - - -
So there you have it, folks. I hope you'll come out this month to
celebrate Bob's 65th. As always, we greatly appreciate your support of
Kabinet, and look forward to hearing from you about our programs...
And just in case you forgot...all of our screenings take place at:
HQ: Headquarters for the Arts
1719 25th Street
(Corner of 25th & R)
Midtown Sacramento
Take care,
J.
P.S. A heads-up: HQ will be celebrating its one-year anniversary (!!!)
on Saturday, May 20th. Keep watching the skies (and checking e-mails)
for more details about the event. But it's shaping up to be quite an
evening...