J Besser Wow, what a movie. Not only is it filled with great music but it always is a great time capsule of the late '70s Dead scene. It's a movie that non-Dead fans will enjoy because it truly a movie that brings you to another place and time but it never feels dated in it's presentation. A timeless classic.

gatorone1000 Hadn't watched it in 15 years. When it came out on Blu-Ray I had to get it - marvelous transfer. Wish I could say that I had seen them during this time period around '77. I was part of the crowd that jumped on the Dead bandwagon in the mid '80s. I was sixteen in '86 when 'In the Dark Came out'. The Dead were really popular at the high schools that I went to (Bullis, then George C. Marshall, VA) so I had been listening to bootlegs during the '84-'85 period when Jerry was in a coma and the band wasn't touring. Man, the day that the Dead were on the cover of Rolling Stone in '86 and they announced the Spring tour was one of the most exciting moments of my young life. I saw them probably 15 times over the next few years..

rphillips-10 I accidentally found this movie in Atlanta the last night it was in town and was bowled over by it. So, I think, were the half dozen others in the theater. All these years later, I have the DVD, of course.No matter what anyone says about "The Last Waltz" being the best Rock Concert movie ever made, The Grateful Dead Movie is the best in the genre. It's a concert, it's a documentary with interviews, it uses all the gimmicks and techniques in the history of film from cartoons to flipping Fillmore posters like calendar pages in Citizen Kane(so it's a how-to-make-a-movie, movie too).Every time I look at my copy of Gutierrez's skeleton poster, I think of the movie and thank Ben Friedman for insisting I buy it at the Postermat those years ago.

harpua-3 Hey now,I think I have watched this movie about 200 times. Really. But it's not just because I'm a Deadhead. It's not just because the time filmed is during one of my favorite GD years, 1974. And it's not just because they have full versions of Morning Dew and GDTRFB on it.The reason I have watched this movie so many times is because it is food for your mind and soul. ( You can add body if you like to boogie during the film.) It weaves the many layers that make up a Dead show into a cohesive whole. Rather than just show concert footage, the movie dives into the hearts and lives of both the audience and the band members. We get to see pre, during, and post-show activities, as well as interesting insights from the band members.The film also does the best attempt of all released Dead videos of capturing "it" -- that unexplainable, natural force at work which can make the experience transcedent for those in attendance. The mixture of five different cameras and how close they get to the band help aid in their attempt to "explain the unexplainable."The highlight of the film is definitely the "Morning Dew", from 10-18-74, right out of a beautiful Dark Star. Jerry made a wonderful decision to have Morning Dew be shown in its entirety. To this day, I still get chills when listening to the climax of that piece.For Deadheads, this film is essential...but what makes it so respected is that the "uninformed" consumer can just as easily access this movie and see what life was like for a bunch of beatniks from San Francisco.Mike Hanley