5/5 Interesting and Worthwhile Dylan DVD!
  by hasselaar (Belgie)
True, there is not that much music on this DVD. But- many Dylan fans have more than enough Dylan music and enjoy the different commentaries and remarks available on this DVD. I would not expect to see this type of DVD filled with music, it is not concert footage so one should not feel disturbed by this more "chatty" Dylan DVD. As a Dylan fan, I thoroughly enjoyed much of the new information available here.

1/5 Bob Dylan both ends of the rainbow
  by Betty L. Wagner (Bradenton, Fl United States)
Received the item quickly, not what I really expected. Too, much talking and not much Dylan.

4/5 Bob Dylan's Mid-Career Crisis, 1978-89
  by Alfred Johnson (boston, ma)
Okay, I have sung paeans to the youthful career of Bob Dylan, who was among the influences of my own youth. And rightfully so. His litany of modern folk/rock songs like "Blowin' In The Wind", "Desoaltion Row", "Visions Of Johanna" , "Sad-eyed Lady Of The Lowlands and so on, will stand the test of time. I have also paid an inordinate amount of respect to the various, bootleg, garage, basement and every other nook and cranny tapes that have surfaced over the past decade or more. There are plenty of songs in that lot that will stand the test of time as well. Furthermore, I have spent some time on the "resurrection" of Mr. Dylan's career over the past decade or so. Some of that material will also stand up and be listened to by future generations. What, to be very generous, will not stand up is most of the work that Dylan recorded between 1978 or so, when he began to serious espouse his form of Christian fundamentalism that crept its into his music and 1989 when he broke out of his slump with the then well-received although now somewhat overwrought "Oh, Mercy" album. With a few exceptions, most notably "Brownsville Girl" and, maybe, "Grain Of Sand" this period will draw a pass.

Not so, however, for the mainly British commentators, authors and music critics who spend two hours dissecting Brother Dylan's obviously fallow period. Recently I made a comment, in reviewing and panning a similarly formatted review of a DVD about the mid-career work of Tom Waits, that not all musical film documentaries are created equal. That proposition gets tested here in the positive. This is an exceptionally informative film with some of the same British academic and professional music critics who I couldn't abide in the Waits effort redeeming themselves here. Moreover, with the exception of sometimes beating a subject like Dylan's haphazard and controversial conversion to Christian fundamentalism in the early 1980s, this film moves along well. And here is the best part. Now that Bob Dylan has created such a large body of work over a long career all, except the inevitable diehard aficionados, will be able after viewing this DVD to skip this period of his career and concentrate on the good stuff like the early "Highway 61" and "Blonde on Blonde" or the late "Time Out Of Mind" album. Thanks, guys.



3/5 One end of the rainbow.
  by Gary L. Brendel (Leesport, Pa. U.S.A.)
Both Ends Of The Rainbow is a well done documentary as I am just now watching documentaries concentrating on this time period. The points I didnt like was the anti-Christian bigotry displayed by too many of the venomous critics. It is true, and I do believe that only those who are born-again are going to understand the lyrical content of these albums. As the book says, to those who are saved, it is the fragrance of life. To those who are not, it is the steanch of death. And that is very evident on this documentary.
I also was frustrated how they would take an entire album, take the hokiest song from that album, and that song alone, and play it over and over as if to say the whole album is just like this. Nothing could be farther from the truth as Dylan fans know, these are some of the most creative and sincere of his career. Lets face it, if the lyrics would have been secular, the critics would have been applauding.
Finally, after listening to the arm-chair generals knock the Live Aid performance, there was a brief cut from Farm Aid with Tom Petty. I felt this deserved more attention. That night was pivitol for Dylan. He was rejuvinated and his performance was nothing less than phenominal.
All in all I would still recommend this dvd as long as you can get by the one sided points of view.
One more thing, I liked the "Shot Of Love" cover.

5/5 Bob Dylan both Ends of the Rainbow
  by Mrs. Gail Duncan (Australia)
Bob Dylan: 1978-1989 - Both Ends of the Rainbow Great item. I feel the best period of his time. He keeps getting better with age. Very informative mixture of documentary discussions and live performances.