The acclaimed rock documentary “Long Strange Trip: The Untold Story of the Grateful Dead” debuts as a multidisc deluxe set Nov. 9. The home video unveils a surround mix for the film.
The docu, directed by Amir Bar-Lev and overseen by Martin Scorsese, has been available on the Amazon Prime streaming service for well over a year. Amazon Studios bought the rights to the four-hour film at the Sundance Film Festival in early 2017, bypassing theatrical distribution.
The docu also will be available in regular editions with a single Blu-ray or double DVDs. The deluxe set comes on two DVDs or two Blu-rays. All versions include the film with a new 5.1 surround mix. Amazon Prime streams the film in stereo — that mix will be available on the home videos as well.
The deluxe edition, released by the band’s distributor Rhino, features almost two hours of bonus footage. That version of the home video is exclusive to dead.net at $31.
Previously unreleased material on the deluxe edition includes:
- A previously unreleased six-song performance from the band’s first overseas trip, recorded May 24, 1970, at the Hollywood Festival in England.
- Backstage footage from the band’s first trip to Europe. Scenes from a Warner Bros. Records party for the band in London.
- Two live numbers from 1989: “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and “Death Don’t Have No Mercy.”
Band archivist David Lemieux says he found the European footage on 16mm while winding through outtakes for “The Grateful Dead Movie.” “This is truly some of the most remarkable, candid, and interesting footage in existence of the Grateful Dead and we’re thrilled to be releasing the entirety of this wonderful historical document.”
Lemieux, who curates releases of the Dead’s massive backlog of live recordings, was in charge of music for the original film.
“Stranger than fiction — a user’s guide for an impossible journey,” drummer Hart said of the documentary project.
Bar-Lev made the acclaimed 2007 documentary “My Kids Could Paint That” as well as 2010’s “Tillman.” He was attached to an ill-fated Jerry Garcia biopic with the working title “Dark Star” back in 2010.
Executive producer Scorsese said: “I’ve always admired the spirit and creativity of the Grateful Dead. They are revolutionary artists who forever changed the world of touring and recording live music.”
Scorsese, of course, has long made films displaying his love of rock music. His film and TV projects include “The Last Waltz,” “George Harrison: Living in the Material World” and “No Direction Home: Bob Dylan.”
In other Rhino release news, Jethro Tull’s 1968 debut album, “This Was,” returns Nov. 9 in a multidisc book set with stereo and surround mixes by Steven Wilson. Includes live BBC sessions from that year. “This Was” is prized by underground music fans who aren’t necessarily Tull devotees: the music is far more blues-based than what was to come as Ian Anderson took over the outfit. It marks the only Tull album with guitarist Mick Abrahams. From Rhino/Parlophone.