An opening scene can sometimes be seen as a precursor to the rest of the film. Describe all of the information released in this beautifully constructed 2 min sequence edited by Thelma Schoonmaker that opens Martin Scorsese’s 2005 film, No Direction Home (Links to an external site.). What do you think Scorsese and Schoonmaker have told us about the rest of the film?
“No Direction Home” is a documentary by Martin Scorsese’s that illuminates the life of Dylan. At the beginning of the video, Scorsese has assembled a performance clip of Dylan with his electric guitar. Then, it suddenly became silent and the video slowly transitions from the concert of Dylan to a compilation of his old footages. A snowy transition with Dylan’s voice-over is a perfect way to bring back scenes from the protagonist’s childhood.
After that, a background music starts again and brings back the old memories from his past. I personally think the combination between the old footages his voice-over alongside his story was an interesting way to repurpose the past. Not only with the old footages but also Scorsese combined it with the recent Dylan interview, the music, and the sound effects which keeps audience’s interests throughout the clip. The black-and-white footage was an obvious match to the Dylan’s dreamlike memories and I would agree that Scorsese mixes together the perfect combination of mystery of his past and reality.
Also, I believe that Schoonmaker has picked up the most interesting and the important part of Scorsese’s documentary. Because it attracts me at this point and also it can be seen that this 2.52 minutes clip summaries briefly the beginning of Dylan’s journey. Although, there isn’t much deep inquiry into Dylan’s lives (since it’s only the beginning), it is an interesting look into the journey of Dylan. From there I think the rest of the documentary would bring me back to Dylan’s childhood and tells more about his career journey.
Veronica Onggoro 