No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (No Direction Home) is a 2005 documentary film directed by Martin Scorsese that traces the life of Bob Dylan up to the motorcycle accident that occurred in 1966 and his impact on American music and culture.
The film focuses primarily on the period between Dylan's arrival in New York in January 1961 and his temporary retirement from the stage in 1966. This period encompasses Dylan's rise to success as a folk singer-songwriter and the controversy generated by his transition to rock music. The title is taken from a verse of the song Like a Rolling Stone, contained in the album Highway 61 Revisited.
The film project began in 1995 when Dylan's manager, Jeff Rosen, began scheduling interviews with friends and people connected to Dylan. Among those interviewed were the poet Allen Ginsberg and the folk musician Dave Van Ronk, both of whom died before the film was finished. Suze Rotolo, an old girlfriend of Dylan's, also gave a rare interview, and later told Rolling Stone she was happy with the final result. Dylan himself held a ten-hour conversation with Rosen in 2000 who cited among the many musicians who influenced him: John Jacob Niles, Odetta, Woody Guthrie, The Clancy Brothers, Joan Baez, Allen Ginsberg, Pete Seeger, Dave Van Ronk , Webb Pierce, Hank Williams and Johnny Cash.
According to Rolling Stone, a mysterious source close to the project stated that Dylan was not involved in the project except for the interview, saying that "Dylan wasn't interested... Bob really isn't looking back." However, Dylan was working on the first volume of his autobiography and the two productions overlapped, but it is unclear whether and how much Cronichles had an influence on No Direction Home.
Having collected the raw material for the project, Rosen thought of Martin Scorsese to make a quality documentary and to have a more direct approach to the project. Scorsese accepted the offer and joined the project in 2001.
At the same time, Dylan's entourage collected thousands of hours of footage from the period the film deals with. This material includes a recording of Dylan's rock band from high school, a 1965 Andy Warhol screen test, and footage from May 17, 1966 at the Manchester Lesser Free trade Hall, in which an angry John Cordewell called Dylan "Judas" just before he started Like a Rolling Stone. Filmed by D. A. Pennebaker, the film was found in 2004 together with other footage ruined by water.
The cover photo, taken by Barry Feinstein, portrays Dylan in front of Aust Ferry station in Gloucestershire, England, in May 1966.
Source Wikipedia.