The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir
April. 20,2014Drop out of school to ride with the Merry Pranksters. Form America’s most enduring jam band. Become a family man and father. Never stop chasing the muse. Bob Weir took his own path to and through superstardom as rhythm guitarist for The Grateful Dead. Mike Fleiss re-imagines the whole wild journey in this magnetic rock doc and concert film, with memorable input from bandmates, contemporaries, followers, family, and, of course, the inimitable Bob Weir himself.
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Reviews
I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Blistering performances.
The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.
My 200th review here had to be about this fantastic band and this great musician who rocked the world during 30 years. Those who like the band enjoyed every little second of the movie. Those who still don't know Weir / GD have here a great chance to change this. Watch the film and listen to the band! PS: Once the film ended I researched more about Garcia and discovered today (1st August) would be his 76th brithday!!!
Band documentaries are tough, because you want to hear the music and see 30+ years of historical footage, but also hear the story telling and interviews. This documentary does a good job balancing, and doesn't tiptoe around the drugs and lifestyle.
I was not expecting to like this one. I'm a deadhead, seen 120+ shows, tons of tapes, but I don't salivate over everything that comes out with the Dead's name. I'm not a fan of Ratdog and many of Bobby's later tunes struck me wrong, at least initially (Victim, Picasso Moon, Easy Answers, Money, etc... ). I was expecting this to be a bit cheesy but boy was I wrong. A+ material. Well filmed, nice editing, excellent cinematography, extremely well produced. No, it's not The Last Waltz, but it's not a concert film. It really gave me good glimpse into Bob's head, if that's possible. I feel closer to him now (I can't believe I didn't know he was married!! I can't believe he didn't invite me to the wedding!). I **LOVED** it!! I just wish it was longer.I also wish I could buy this. Anyone know where I could purchase an legit copy?
I am a tragically uncool man....I admit it. So, when a new documentary about the Grateful Dead and their lead singer Bob Weir came out, I decided to see it with a friend--one who loves the Dead and could help fill in the gaps and explain things to me as we watched. I never really listened to their music, so this was a new experience--one that was surprisingly enjoyable and held my interest despite me not being a Dead-head or even a nearly Dead-head!While there have been other documentaries about this group, this one focuses mostly on Bob Weir and his contribution to the band. Additionally, the film talks quite a bit about Weir's best friend and mentor, Jerry Garcia. But, I should point out that if you want to learn a lot about other individual members of the band, this may not be the best film for you. This is NOT a complaint--more an observation about the scope of the film. What you get is mostly what you expect from this film--a lot of vintage footage of the band, a lot of interviews with band members and friends as well as interviews with Weir himself. However, what I really like is the access to Weir that the film gives you. He narrates much of the film and there is a lot of interesting insights and observations about himself that make this a most revealing film- -especially when he talks about his life since the Grateful Death broke up following the death of Garcia. It also, most importantly, is very interesting and their energy is infectious. I appreciated how Weir and his band mates didn't seem to do this for the money or fame but for a drive to perform--and Weir apparently has performed more than 6000 times on stage! So, for the uninitiated like me, it's very enjoyable and well worth seeing because of Weir and the Dead's love of what they do.As far as my buddy goes, he was ecstatic and thanked me for turning him on to this film. In his words "I loved the film...every minute of it". I think that pretty much says what a fan would likely think about the film. If you want to see it, the film just debuted this month on Netflix and can be streamed from your TV or computer.