It's not a documentary. The opening image clearly lets you know that you're not watching a factual presentation of events. Dylan and Scorsese made artistic choices in how they presented the material. They never claimed to be giving you a factual presentation of a historic event. The facts have been written down before, many times, and, as you say, most of the video has been seen before as well. Why not put the whole thing together in a way that's entertaining and thematically centered around ideas like deception, lies, trickery, and the unreliability of memory.
I found it mesmerizing. Yeah, I could have done without Sharon Stone, but if Bob wants to write her into his story, who am I to tell him not to? The past is nothing but ashes anyway. The music is what endures, and it's maybe the best music Bob Dylan ever made. If you don't like the movie, try the soundtrack. It's pretty decent.
|