A Complete Unknownquickly garnered praise from critics and audiences alike, receiving eight Oscar nominations.
I’ve watched the content, andA Complete Unknowns directors commentary revealsmany fascinating, behind-the-scenes details worth dissecting.
However, none is more interesting than James Mangolds belief about Bob Dylans song lyrics.
He said that he discovered this while going through Bob Dylans catalogue, preparing for the movie.
Some Dylanologists have even dedicated their entire academic lives to the study of the musicians songs.
In 1971, Dylan did a couple of interviews with his old friend Tony Glover that were never released.
Custom Image by Dani Kessel Odom
However, Glover held onto the trapes and annotated transcripts, which resurfaced in 2020 after his death.
During the interview,Glover asked whether Dylans songs reflected his perspective, and he vehemently denied it.
His annotations say this (viaCome Writers and Critics):
That’s what the song says.
That’s what the character in the song feels.
Pete Seeger sings a lot of songs, right?
And they express lots of different points of view.
Do you think Johnny Cash shot a man in Reno?
Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for viewers, he didnt succeed in fully breaking down that image.
A few moments inA Complete Unknownprovide vulnerability; however, most of it keeps viewers at arm’s length.
This man managed to revolutionize music and gained the title of the voice of a generation.
Its time we all stopped fighting that, including James Mangold.
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