Grateful Dawg |  | Director: Gillian Grisman
Actors: Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Joe Craven, Jim Kerwin, Vassar Clements
Category: DVD
Buy New: $2.35
New (4) Used (2) from $2.35
Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 275906
Format: Pal
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 2
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5035822294530
ASIN: B000096KHE
Theatrical Release Date: July 4, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Jerry Garcia was famous as the visionary behind the Grateful Dead, but his musical tastes were broad, and he found a rewarding partnership with mandolinist David Grisman, whose distinctive "Dawg" style fused jazz with bluegrass. At its best, Grateful Dawg celebrates the easy friendship and truly inspired musicianship of Garcia and Grisman through grainy home-movie footage with surprisingly crisp sound. As one of the film's commentators says, Grisman made Garcia tighter as a musician, while Garcia made Grisman looser, and where they met they created an infectious, rootsy style they called Grateful Dawg. The film's many highlights include instrumental versions of "Dawg Waltz," "Shady Grove," and "Arabia," as well as splendid footage from Garcia and Grisman's days in Old & in the Way. The talking heads inserted ham-handedly between and over performances, unfortunately, become repetitious and, finally, downright annoying. But Garcia and Grisman fans will still enjoy the glimpse at a rare musical alchemy. --Anne Hurley
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 Great Condition! December 21, 2009
T. Stover
My husband is a HUGE Grateful Dead fan and requested this DVD specifically for Christmas. It arrived in a very timely manner and in great condition.
Get it and enjoy!! November 24, 2008
Adelaide Corn (staten island, new york United States)
There is only one thing I will say about this DVD.
There are NOT ENOUGH stars to rate this one!
Peace to all....
Grateful Dawg On-Target November 11, 2008
S. E. Sterzing (Norfolk, VA)
Fantastic piece of history and music that will forever preserve these musical brothers amazing power as a duo. Worth every penny!
Excellent Doc About Two Masterful Musicians May 7, 2008
Chris Luallen (Nashville, Tennessee)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
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.
 "Documentary" little more than compiled performance footage February 1, 2007
Bruce Falk
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
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.
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