Bob Dylan names his favourite movie of all time
A mutual respect between Bob Dylan and Martin Scorsese seems to have existed for over five decades now. Both masters of their craft, the legendary folk songwriter and the beloved director have overlapped on several projects during their illustrious careers, though they have barely spoken. Still, admiration between the two is profound.
In the mid-1970s, Scorsese took on the mammoth task of putting The Band’s farewell concert to screen with The Last Waltz. The live show featured a number of guest appearances, including one from Dylan, who almost derailed the entire film. Dylan made a last-minute decision that he didn’t want to appear in the movie, which caused issues for Scorsese, given that Warner Bros had funded the film based on Dylan’s presence.
Luckily, Dylan changed his mind and approved the use of two songs in the film. Almost three decades later, it seemed that there was no bad blood between the two as Scorsese directed No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, the first of two documentaries he would complete on the protest songwriter.
Scorsese’s admiration for Dylan is certainly not one-sided. In fact, Dylan once declared a Scorsese classic as his favourite movie of all time – the 1988 religious epic, The Last Temptation of Christ. Written by Paul Schrader, the film followed the life of Jesus Christ, played by Willem Dafoe, with a supporting cast featuring Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey and David Bowie.
During a show at the Beacon Theatre in New York City in 2016, at which it seems Scorsese was in attendance, Dylan shared his love for the film. “Martin Scorsese, he’s out there,” he began, “He’s one of probably the best directors, ever. My favourite movie, I told him before, is The Last Temptation of Christ.”
“I think he’s gonna make one for the first temptation one of these days,” he continued to joke, “Right, Marty? You just got to, for me.” Though Scorsese has revealed no plans to gift the folk legend with a The Last Temptation of Christ sequel just yet, he has since directed another Dylan documentary with Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese, released in 2019.
Despite Dylan’s love for his filmmaking and Scorsese’s cinematic musings on the folk songwriter, the two have had little contact throughout the years. In an interview surrounding the release of his second Dylan documentary, the director revealed, “Last time I saw Dylan was at a big dinner for Armani, 20 years ago. I met him a few times with Robbie Roberston. That’s about it.”
Folk fans and film lovers can only hope that the two might reunite on another project one day, combining their unparalleled musical and cinematic prowess.
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