D. A. Pennebaker Don T Look Back Analysis

Don’t Look Back by D.A. Pennebaker is a 1967 documentary which follows the young folk singer Bob Dylan, during his 1965 tour in the United Kingdom. The documentary is shot in the observational style known as ‘direct cinema’, which was invented between 1958 and 1962 in North America and focuses on the subject acting in their natural habitat as if there was no camera - made possible, through an agreement between the filmmaker and the subject. This form of documenting became possible due to the development of more mobile cameras and the evolution of smaller, lighter sound equipment. (reference erase?). This is dissimilar to cinéma vérité, invented by Jean Rouch, where the filmmaker interacts with the subject - to provoke the character thus triggering a reaction resulting in a storyline to the film.

A strength of filming in the documentary style of direct cinema, is the ease of editing. As the filmmakers focus on the ‘raw footage’, of filming, the structure of the film is essentially chronological. Manipulation of the film is still imposed as editors cut and compress clips, however, it is done in a very clever and articulate fashion by the director. For example, one scene sees Bob Dylan satirically joking about becoming insane, this is then cut abruptly into the next scene showing a close up of a newspaper, which shows Dylan, with his arms out
Although Bob Dylan is deemed to be in his natural form, he could in fact be acting for the camera in order to live up to the expectations of the masses. Evidence of this can even be found from the director of Don’t Look Back. In a 2003 interview, 36 years after the release of the documentary, D.A Pennebaker recalls Dylan’s behavior during his time with him. ‘’Being with Dylan was like being the inside of a tornado. We were in the middle of something, and us being there, filming