The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #84959 Message #1571613
Posted By: WFDU - Ron Olesko
27-Sep-05 - 01:44 PM
Thread Name: DylanOnTube-PBS/ScorseseDocumentary
Subject: RE: DylanOnTube-PBS/ScorceseDocumentary
Don, this one is worth investing in the DVD! Not only will the quality be superior to your VHS dub from the broadcast, but there are a few nice extras. I really enjoyed the clips of the guest artists singing Dylan songs - especially Liam Clancy with "Girl From North Country". Maria Muldaur is also terrific.
I'm not sure if anyone else noticed, but No Direction Home featured a very rare clip of Woody Guthrie. The Guthrie family has numerous home movies shot of Woody while he was in the hospital, but they have been rarely shown in public - but they used a brief clip of Woody sitting on the ground and holding his guitar which clearly illustrated the battle he was facing with Huntington's. I do believe this is the first time that clip has ever been broadcast or used in a commercial venture like this. Back in the 1970's I interviewed Marjorie Guthrie and asked her why there wasn't film on Woody. She told me that there were only two clips that they located. She did not mention the home movies because she was holding onto them and did not wish to have people remember Woody in that state. Nora Guthrie now has a different view, and she has been showing excerpts from these films during lectures. It gives us a vivid idea of what Woody was going through, but more importantly it showed how Woody's family interacted with their father. You realised what a loving family he had, and how Huntington's was dealt with in a very real way.