The Grateful Dead

This captures the GD in their prime and in front of a loving, hometown audience in 1974. There is concert footage mixed with some trippy animation, but the real time capsule is all the footage of their fans that is included. You get to see a lot of Deadheads grooving to the music, goofing around, dancing, and verbally expressing themselves. Apparently the post-production and editing were very expensive, time-consuming, and stressful. I don't think it was a big hit in the movie theatres, but like most of their music, it stands the test of time very well. There would be plenty more live GD videos in the years to come. The same group of shows also led to their "Steal Your Face" live album and its famous logo.

Songs captured during a series of October 1974 performances by The Grateful Dead at Winterland in San Francisco. The Grateful Dead: Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzman, Donna Jean Godchaux, Keith Godchaux, Mickey Hart. Songs include: US Blues, One More Saturday Night, Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad, Truckin', Sugar Magnolia, The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion), Playin' In the Band, Stella Blue, Casey Jones, Morning Dew, Johnny B Goode.

The Grateful Dead were famous for their live concerts, a reputation that endured as long as the band existed. Rather than performing within the confines of a strict setlist and a maximum time per song, songs would often develop into long free-flowing jams. Calling these jams does them a disservice as the songs were more than that: wonderfully layered, expression-filled and virtuosic. These sessions involved all sorts of music, from rock, to folk, to country, to blues, to jazz. Amazingly it seemed like every player was doing their own thing yet was in perfect synch with the remainder of the band. Loose and tight, all at the same time.

This video perfectly captures that spirit, talent and artistry, not just showing the band and individuals within it doing their thing, but the effect on the audience too. The whole experience is beyond a musical one (though there may have been some substances involved to help that vibe!).

It's not just driven by the vibe. The music is great too, the tone just makes it even better.

Not perfect though: I could have done without the hippy trippy imagery and some cutaways. Still, this was the trippy 70s and this is The Grateful Dead so not too surprising.

Hey now,

I think I have watched this movie about 200 times. Really. But it's not just because I'm a Deadhead. It's not just because the time filmed is during one of my favorite GD years, 1974. And it's not just because they have full versions of Morning Dew and GDTRFB on it.

The reason I have watched this movie so many times is because it is food for your mind and soul. ( You can add body if you like to boogie during the film.) It weaves the many layers that make up a Dead show into a cohesive whole. Rather than just show concert footage, the movie dives into the hearts and lives of both the audience and the band members. We get to see pre, during, and post-show activities, as well as interesting insights from the band members.

The film also does the best attempt of all released Dead videos of capturing "it" -- that unexplainable, natural force at work which can make the experience transcedent for those in attendance. The mixture of five different cameras and how close they get to the band help aid in their attempt to "explain the unexplainable."

The highlight of the film is definitely the "Morning Dew", from 10-18-74, right out of a beautiful Dark Star. Jerry made a wonderful decision to have Morning Dew be shown in its entirety. To this day, I still get chills when listening to the climax of that piece.

For Deadheads, this film is essential...but what makes it so respected is that the "uninformed" consumer can just as easily access this movie and see what life was like for a bunch of beatniks from San Francisco.

Mike Hanley

I am and was a big fan of the dead but too young to have been a fan when this film was made. The film chronicles the 1974 4 night stint at the historic winterland in san francisco. at the time there were some that did not know whether or not the band would tour again. of course they did decide to hit the road again and the rest is history.

the movie shows the essence of the grateful dead experience from the fans to the crew to the band. it is a trip to look in on the scene as it truly was in 1974. i could think of no better way to show future generations what the early 70's rock scene and particularly the dead scence was like. the band footage is pretty good and is mixed in with great shots of the fans. additionally you get a look at the "wall of sound" which was the set up the band employed during the 1974 tour. donna jean describes the film as the good, the bad and the ugly of the dead experience. i think that is accurate.

the rest of the features on the DVD are great. the extra songs are awesome although they completely lack any flow. they could have formatted them in the same order as they were done. instead they are very random. the interviews are great and lend some light on the tremendous amount of work that has to go into bringing the extra material to the public.

if you like the dead and have been to a show (or 2 or 20) this is a must see. if you are younger and just want to see what all the fuss was about you should also get the movie.

Wow, what a movie. Not only is it filled with great music but it also is a great time capsule of the late '70s Dead scene. It's a movie that non-Dead fans will enjoy because it's truly a movie that brings you to another place and time but it never feels dated in it's presentation. A timeless classic. (Just for the record, I saw this movie in the theater. It was a midnight movie screening somewhere on Long Island, NY. I was in high school at the time. I'm guessing 1980.)