Grateful Dawg (2000)

Grateful Dawg On-Target

Fantastic piece of history and music that will forever preserve these musical brothers amazing power as a duo. Worth every penny! November 11, 2008

Excellent Doc About Two Masterful Musicians

The early part of the film focuses on Grisman's and Garcia's early days as players in various bluegrass bands during the early 1960's. There is some great archival footage, including pics of both guys with short hair. They met at a Bill Monroe concert in 1964 and from there blossomed a friendship based on a shared love of music.

The doc moves forward with a mix of live performances, rehearsals and interviews with various friends, family members and fellow musicians. The first 45 minutes really flows smoothly and is great for both the music and its insights into the characters and personalities of its two extradordinarily talented men. But by the end it does begin to drag a bit with too much "home movie" type footage.

Some tighter editing could have made this doc even better. But still for fans of Garcia and Grisman, or just about anyone who can appreciate great music, this is a viewing and listening pleasure to be enjoyed. May 7, 2008

"Documentary" little more than compiled performance footage

The music here is excellent. If that's the focus of your interest, then by all means get yourself the soundtrack recording, which certainly shows a range of Grisman/Garcia collaboration (from the jazz-exotica of Arabia to the children's music of Jenny Jenkins and Freight Train to the bluegrass of Sunny Sunny South, etc.).

But why make a movie of it? Grisman/Garcia, while virtuosic musicians with great blend, are stultifyingly dull to watch. They stand largely stock still while playing or leaning into the mic to sing, and the acoustic performances shown here (even the lame B&W video of the blues classic "The Thrill is Gone") are utterly devoid of pyrotechnic eye-candy, facial close-ups of performer/audience to offer a narrative/emotional frisson, or even the barest focus on finger-technique. This is music to listen to, not to watch, and even the dull concert footage is routinely interrupted by interview material that fails to illuminate the proceedings.

In fact, the interviews represent a staggering loss of opportunity, considering the insiders (members of the band and producers), intimates (family), and experts (influenced and influential musicians like Bela Fleck) presented. We get little information aside from bland, repetitive hype. "These guys were really great musicians and Jerry Garcia was much more famous than Dave Grisman yet still hung out with him in the early 1970s and again throughout the '90s," about covers it. Moviegoers curious about how the music was constructed, the virtuosic technique employed, the lives of these individuals, and visual examples of the meaning and impact they might have had on one another, art, fans, anything will find this documentary to be a frustrating, hollow shell... and boring to boot. February 1, 2007

unsatisfying

I don't know much about David Grisman - he seems to be a talented and innovative musician. Plus, he was a friend of Jerry Garcia, which is always good. In fact, their musical talents combined are very exceptional. However, the great music was destroyed by the annoying interviews that permeated the whole footage. I would have enjoyed listening to a song all the way through without interruptions, but sadly, it was not to be. If you love music, skip this DVD, but if you love documentaries, this is the film for you. April 29, 2006

Awful release. Grisman's daughter is an idiot.

Grisman's daughter was in charge of this train-wreck. She focused 70 percent of the video on that worthless has been david grisman, and very little on Garcia. There was an awesome beginning to "Sitting here in Limbo", only to be STOPPED, and interrupted by stupid interviews. As if anyone lays awake at night wondering about Bela Fleck's opinion of Garcia and Grisman's collaboration. Worthless, DO NOT BUY! August 21, 2005

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