The Grateful Dead Movie (DVD, 2004, 2-Disc Set, Special Edition)

Funny how different it is when you watch it straight. I seemed to remember there being FAR more animation than just that opening scene. But I still loved this movie! Watching it brought me right back to all the Dead shows I'd been to in my younger years (not that I'm old, but face it - the Dead as we once knew them ceased to be many years ago. This is real live concert footage - not precorded music set to still photos and video clips - although there are some of those mixed in. There's little interviews and quotes. The quality is excellent - and you really should buy the DVD, althought the tape is good if that's all you can play. Every Deadhead should own this movie. And if you've never been to a Dead show but always wished you had, this is as close to the real thing you could have. It does a good job of portraying the atmosphere. And MAN were concerts different back then!! Don't think about it, just buy the movie.

I had seen this film years ago but kind of dismissed it since then, thinking that it had been overdone and did not show the band at what I had always considered their peak, which was '68 - '70. It was a very nice surprise to find that I enjoyed this DVD as much as I did. The band really was playing well, if not as experimentally as five years earlier, and compared to how they sounded ten years later, this is far better, IMO.

The bonus features are a very nice addition, showing some great tunes in their entirety, rather than interjecting clips of fans or backstage scenes, as they do in the main film. I actually enjoyed the bonus tracks more, since I found that the scenes of the Dead Heads are far less interesting today than in '74, when they were something of a new phenomenon.

The music is still the star, and it really sounds great. The choice of the original theatrical mix or the new remix designed for home theater is a nice feature, too. Watch this movie on a good A/V system with high quality audio, and you'll get a real treat.

I own two other Dead DVD's, "Dead Ahead" and "Closing of Winterland". Even though both other DVD's are more recent, "The Grateful Dead Movie" has better sound and camera angles on the bonus disc. The main movie is also in a great layout, the movie transitions from a live show to the background life and culture of the dead. This is the DVD you want. When you buy it, check out the China Cat > I know you rider on the second disc, the boys have a crazzzy jam in the transition and the sound will blow you away (if you have a decent surround sound system).

Buy it, you will not regret it.

I enjoyed the DVD of the movie featuring shots of the Band, their fans and their crew. The music was pretty good especially the surround sound remixes. Still they had already gotten to the stage where thy would play most songs way too long and never sound nearly as good as they did on "American Beauty" and "Workingman's Dead" or even their first album. The second disc had more of what I didn't like and it is understandable why this music was not included in the movie. The narration by the editors was interesting and made clear Jerry's involvement with the making of the movie.

I actually purchased two copies of this movie on vhs and found both to have very poor sound. I don't know if this was just a coincidence but hearing the remastered dvd version was like night and day. I havn't had time to watch the bonus part of the film but just watching the original again was great. The only distortion I noticed was during Eyes Of The World (which is one of my favorite songs by them). It sure is nice to see Jerry on stage as well! With a nice selection of songs and fan interaction it's about as close as you'll get to reliving concert experiences, thank God for flashbacks!