Shot in black and white with a handheld camera, Don't Look Back (1967) has been called a "fly on the wall" about Bob Dylan. It was filmed in 1965 by famous filmmaker DA Pennemaker, who later made documentaries about John Lennon and David Bowie. In a way, the film is intended to give audiences an up-close and personal view of Dylan, just as he begins to gain popularity during his first UK tour. However, it is less a traditional documentary than an “impressionist cinematic portrait”. (Farrell, 2006). There is no voiceover narration or coherent narrative. Most of the footage consists of clips of Dylan hanging out, often in crowded hotel rooms, with other musicians, occasionally playing his signature songs, such as "The Times They Are A-Changing." There is also plenty of footage of Dylan answering “serious” questions from journalists about the content of his music and its influence. Invariably, Dylan's responses are witty and ironic – or just plain frivolous. This interplay between Dylan, the "serious" folk musician, and Dylan, the comical, self-deprecating pop idol who riffs on the very media culture of which he is now uncomfortably a part, is evident in the opening sequence of Don't Look Back. The sequence lasts a little over two minutes (2:18) and actually stands out from the rest of the film, serving as a sort of formal introduction. In it, Dylan appears standing in the foreground of the frame, the obvious “star.” It sits at the entrance to what appears to be an alley or small dirt road, a symbol that functions on several levels. This is the “road” in the musical sense of the term, the path of mass public representation on which Dylan has just embarked. But it's also a symbol of a larger journey unfolding before you...... in the middle of the diary...... "I'm just a guitar player, really," he says to a journalist, without a touch of irony. Or maybe just a man writing his own cue cards, but forgetting, in the end, to read them.ReferencesDon't Look Back (1967) Film. Directed by DA Pennemaker. United States: Leacock/Pennemaker. Hilburn, Robert. (2004, April 4). Rock's enigmatic poet opens a long-private door. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com.Mamacampos. (November 19, 2013). Newport Bob Dylan Festival. [YouTube video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbn_rKAW28U. Retrieved March 24, 2014. O'Farrel, Tim. (2006). No Direction Home: Looking Forward from "Don't Look Back". Sense of cinema. 38. Retrieved from http://sensesofcinema.com.Shelton, Robert. (2003). No Direction at Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan, New York: Da Capo Press.