Grateful Dawg
Grateful Dawg
| 14 October 2000 (USA)
Grateful Dawg Trailers

Jerry Garcia, legendary lead guitarist for the Grateful Dead and David Grisman, virtuoso mandolinist and founder of "Dawg" music… Now, for the first time ever, the musical matrimony and extraordinary friendship of Garcia and Grisman is traced in the award-winning documentary Grateful Dawg.

Reviews
NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!
YouHeart I gave it a 7.5 out of 10
Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.
Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Martin Lewison (milst1) I just wanted to say that this is a very nice film for fans of Jerry Garcia and David Grisman. There's great music and a very nice portrayal of the long personal and musical friendship of the two great musicians. But great documentary filmmaking...it's not.
rjkramer A great simple movie about the side many Deadheads did not follow. I was so impressed with the music that I bought two new CD's today! Any music lover will truly appreciate two friends expressing themselves through their playing. I will see this movie again!
KSCfilmstudent Back in June at the Newport Film Festival (Newport RI) I stumbled across this film between two other shows I had been planning on seeing. It turns out that this was the first showing of the film. This documentary was a very pleasing suprise to me. This film uses interviews and such as do most documentaries. What sets this apart is the intimate "home movie" footage that is present in a lot of the film. This shows Grisiam and Garcia simply playing for the family. After the showing of the film we were lucky enough for Gillian Grisiam to be there and to discuss the film. Much of the footage actual was home movies where a camera was "just set on the TV and turned on." Thank you much for this wonderful documentary.
paedra2 To quote a line from the movie " Jerry was the king of the DeadHeads", and David Grisman's house was a place where he could just get away and be Jerry. As a former DeadHead and member of the 'cult of Jerry' this movie was an opportunity to spend the evening with someone whose loss I still feel. The film is a look behind the scenes at the musical and personal relationship Jerry and David had for over thirty years. Through interviews with musicians who played with Jerry, concert film of Jerry and David in 1991 and video shot at David's home, I got an opportunity to sit and share in the making, the rediscovery and sometimes reinterpretation of a style of music that they both love. Bluegrass and indigenous American music is somewhat out of the mainstream of American culture, the DeadHeads were exposed to it through Jerry's involvement with 'Old and in the Way' and David. Many only knew Jerry as the icon of '60's San Francisco rock, this film exposes a more personal side of Jerry, one of the guys, who loved music above all else, and explored its backwaters seeking that primeval pool of creativity to draw inspiration from. He found it and shared it with us. This film captures it. As it sat watching, I was grateful that someone had been there, with tape recorder and video camera, saving these moments to share with us, to remind us why we loved Jerry so much. It hurt, feeling the closeness, reminded of the loss. But it was a hurt that felt good. We remembered, we'll never forget why we chased tickets, saw shows so many nights in a row, waited for the moment when the next tour would be announced, danced the night away. Near the end of the movie, David Grisman's young son Sam, recalled those times at his house with Jerry and his dad's band, "...when Jerry died, a part of him died with him, but a part of him lives on inside of him...' I could say much the same myself. This is a film I will see many more times in my lifetime, to be replenished from the well of Jerry's creativity and inspiration. Thank you Gillian Grisman for making this film.