Awesome Movie

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

There are a few surprises in this series. None are really startling, but they make you understand more why you like this band in the first place. If you don't, hear them more. The Grateful Dead have all the goods: Joy, bravery, humanity, and musicianship. They're not without fault - see "humanity".This an excellent series for fans and, I hope, soon-to-be-fans. Advice: don't skip the credits. Their soundtracks are worth it.

The nature the phenomenon of, perhaps, the greatest truly American rock band of our era is also one of the most nuanced and difficult happenings in the history of music. The music itself is the greatest clue and even in and of itself it really doesn't reveal the singular reason for The Grateful Dead's "Long Strange Trip". If cornered I'd say it is something the music triggered inside of the listener which put in motion a revolution of sorts. This six-part documentary goes a long way in explaining everything else that was integral in this truly emotional journey of the band and it's fans.Since only those who were there along the way can best tell an insiders viewpoints it is fortunate the story is told with ample footage and interviews of the actual band members. Added to this is a number of the employees and record executives giving invaluable related insights. This is truly an insider's look into the journey. It's very sensibly put together and told using a, mostly, linear timeline. The interesting flow is quite enlightening and entertaining making a six-part series feel much more concise and compact. I watched it all in one setting without a break. That says a lot for the care and excellence in the telling of the story.This isn't suppose to be an examination of the actual songs and while we get some of that there should be no distress in what songs were, in part, included or not mentioned. It's more about the things going on around the music and I think, since the music speaks loudly for itself, this is perfect. This is, perhaps, the only band that played for four decades that never broke up and only took breaks to rest, regroup, and revitalize. That is a big thing of course. The bigger thing here becomes, in time, to be the phenomenon behind the phenomenon. Of course I'm referring to the most fervent music fans the world has ever seen...The Deadheads. Going back to what birthed the following behind the young band it was rooted in what emotionally happens inside each listener. Though that would be different for every individual what was universal was how it bound the fans together. It became a social brother and sisterhood no band had tapped. Though fruitless to objectively explain it you see how it grew and how the band received something equally intangible that kept it going. It was amazing and as good as this film is it can not replace being at even one Dead concert let alone the thousands the band logged. For film, however, it truly gives one a glimpse of something amazing no one truly understood.The Dead's production company and archivists did an impeccable job here. This is truly on the level this great music and singular band deserves. The platform and support of Amazon is to be applauded for making this available to a wide audience. Along with many books on Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead this documentary will be a integral piece of the preservation of a musical phenomenon that was and will remain never to be duplicated. Even the other undisputed greatest rock band, The Beatles, didn't birth the emotions and camaraderie which is "Long Strange Trip". Because of this I say even if you are not a fan you should see it...And, if you're a fan it's hard to see how one couldn't be amazed and pleased to have so much insight and information brought to the screen in one documentary.

I saw this at the Realto Elmwood Cinema in Berkeley. From the beginning, it was like going to a show. I couldn't even find the movie, listed on the website for the theater. Finally, I found it, buried, after a few clicks, but not displayed with the other movie showtimes. Then a glitch happened in the website and I was out before I could finish paying for tickets. Then I found it, listed with the other movies and was able to get tickets. When I arrived, over an hour early, there was already a line, waiting to get in (as expected). The take-home I had was that Gerry was always very careful about not becoming the leader. Probably that's not a spoiler to true Deadheads. It was sad to see the progression of Gerry, toward the end, particularly as told from his wife, who seemed to have a selective memory of the final turning point in their relationship. But the movie really captures the essence of what it was like, in the band and even with the roadies and followers, who felt it was imperative to attend every show they could. They discussed the origins of the Dead, the progression of the Wall of Sound that they carried around with them and much of the psychedelic, idiosyncratic and iconoclastic culture, enshrouded in mystery, which some might consider occult. But really, it was just a guy having fun with his friends of a similar mindset. And still is, as I see continued shows at various venues around the San Francisco Bay Area, with former members of the band, which are often not officially announced, with bands that have obfuscated or obscure names, so as to attract the curious wayward wanderers but not the average pop culture seekers.

I watched this masterpiece at the SF Film festival at the Castro Theater. It is now the "Holy Grail" of Rockumentaries. Amir has created a thoughtful, hilarious, heart-wrenching, amusing, entertaining, and thorough portrait of America's BEST rock and roll band. I was intimidated by the 4-hour length, but the time flew by. The way Bar Lev mixes and intertwines interviews, music, and tales of the band was incredible. The themes introduced at the beginning of the movie continue to reappear throughout and the entire story in connected anecdotes, sights, and sounds. In turn, we are connected. Not only with the band, but with their family and friends. We feel the emotion, music, joy, and sorrow. It was such an amazing experience. Thank you so much for making this movie and for premiering it in San Francisco. I can't wait to see it again and talk about it with other Dead Heads and fans of music. Whether or not you are a fan of the band, you need to see this movie. It is an American story as much as it is a tale of the Grateful Dead.