By May, Amazon Video subscribers will get a chance to watch (or maybe more appropriately binge-watch) the nearly four hour documentary on the Grateful Dead, Long Strange Trip, which had its world premiere last night at the Sundance Film Festival.
There's a whole cottage industry of chronicling the Grateful Dead in print and film, and I'd forgive even the most hardcord Deadhead for being weary of re-treading the same story.
But this film has a different kind of pedigree, with Martin Scorcese producing and noted documentarian Amir Bar-Lev behind the lens, there was enough hope that this might not be your typical story.
Those in attendance last night appear to be confirming this, at least with their tweets.
From film reviewer Jordan Hoffman
The 1st 2 hrs of LONG STRANGE TRIP is a great rock doc. The next 2 are the most exuberant & heartbreaking profile of fame I've ever seen.
— Jordan Hoffman. (@jhoffman) January 24, 2017
Although at first, it appears to follow practices of a standard rock doc...
If curious, this is *mostly* a chronological telling. We're in 1973 (RIP Pigpen) at set break.
— Jordan Hoffman. (@jhoffman) January 24, 2017
If you were concerned that it would focus on the sweet, and not enough of the bitter, @mashable entertainment editor says "no".
LONG STRANGE TRIP is a beast. Could go 2 more hours; the Dead would deserve it. And wow does it not shy from Garcia's dark demise #sundance
— Josh L. Dickey (@JLDlite) January 24, 2017
More praise of the film's nuance from AVClub writer Noel Murray.
LONG STRANGE TRIP works both as an explication of The Grateful Dead and as another Amir Bar-Lev film about how hard it is to control a myth.
— Noel Murray (@NoelMu) January 24, 2017
Bob, Billy, Mickey, and Trixie joined Bar-Lev at a Q&A post show. Kreutzmann work his pussy hat.
So many 'heads here. Weir everywhere! Even #sundance. This thing really does not fade away pic.twitter.com/mFkyemndYW
— Josh L. Dickey (@JLDlite) January 24, 2017
Excited?
