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Amazon.co.uk Review
Sometimes surprising, often baffling and occasionally entertaining, Masked and Anonymous is another in the long but not necessarily distinguished line of rock-star movie vehicles. Bob Dylan stars in this BBC Films coproduction as an alter ego of himself, ageing rocker Jack Fate, released from jail to play a benefit concert in an alternative America that is run down and ruled by a military dictator. When not singing he makes little impression, so it's fortunate that director Larry Charles surrounds him with a galaxy of excellent supporting players, including John Goodman, Jessica Lange, Penelope Cruz, Jeff Bridges, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Dern, Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi and Val Kilmer--all of whom gave their services for free.

The screenplay, cowritten by Dylan, is full of the kind of cryptic aphorisms familiar from his song lyrics: "What's bugging me?", remarks Jeff Bridges' character, "The absurdity of a lifetime of human labour, that's what's bugging me." "They have no ideology. They push both Jesus and Judas aside," says an anonymous bus driver, and there are plenty more didactic, speechy comments that even these veteran actors can't make sound natural or spontaneous. Better to focus on the music--both the songs Dylan performs on screen and those on the soundtrack, which consists mostly of foreign-language covers of Dylan classics.

On the DVD: Masked and Anonymous on disc comes with a commentary track from director Larry Charles, who is good on the details of the shooting schedule, but vague about the movie's aspirations. There are some deleted scenes (none of which shed any more light on the plot), another Dylan performance, and a 20-minute "making of" featurette, with the many supporting stars waxing lyrical about the freewheeling shooting style and semi-theatrical staging. The anamorphic widescreen picture is unexceptional, as is the Dolby 5.1 soundtrack, which naturally enough works best with the music. --Mark Walker

DVD Description
In a fictitious America caught up in a civil war that is tearing the nation apart, a benefit concert is being organised. A travelling troubadour named Jack Fate is sprung from jail by his scheming former manager, Uncle Sweetheart, to headline a concert with the expectations to bring peace to a country that is entrenched by chaos, lawlessness and pandemonium.

Directed by Larry Charles, with the black humour he brought to Seinfeld and starring Bob Dylan as an aging rock legend. The film also stars John Goodman, Jessica Lange, Jeff Bridges, Mickey Rourke, Luke Wilson, Penelope Cruz, Angela Basett, Giovanni Ribisi, Val Kilmer, Cheech Marin, Ed Harris, Christian Slater and Bruce Dern.

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6 Reviews 5 star:  (1) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:  (2)           Average Customer Review (6 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   21 of 22 people found the following review helpful: seeing the real Bob at last !, 13 May 2004 By  K. L. Smith (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews       The billing of this movie plays down Bob's part, but Bob is nearly in every scene. If you are a fan you will enjoy this, the sly references etc...Bob looks cool as hell, and the musical performances are neatly shot so you see Bob without the ever present shades, I mean up close, it's great to see him this up-front. You never know what is going to happen next in the movie..There is a great line where Goodman says to Bob.." you are all skin and bones"...and Bob shoots back " ain't we all "...classic Dylan !. This is Bob's film. There is a hilarious scenne where the promoters insist on Bob singing all the classic protest songs..ie. Revolution ( Beatles )...Street Fighting Man ( Stones )...Eve of Destruction ... so funny. I enjoyed this film a lot and I think you will too...nice one Bob !.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   13 of 14 people found the following review helpful: Mysterious, 13 May 2004 By  Dylan35 (UK) - See all my reviews Bobcats will love this. They are a hardy bunch and will be prepared to stick with this often inscrutable, sometimes bizarre film. Although co-written by Dylan (under a hopeless pseudonym) it is no mere vanity project and features a truly great cast. While John Goodman, Val Kilmer, Jeff Bridges and Penelope Cruz do their best to not act Bob off the screen, he does a good job of lending wisdom and mystery to the ageing character of Jack Fate. Fate has to play one last benefit concert for the victims of post revolutionary America, which looks just like Dylan's Desolation Row. The entire film weaves dream like images around some great song performances from Bob and his band. It's like being lost in some of your favourite Dylan albums. There is little plot to speak of, rather an almost non-linear sequence of scenes recalling nothing less than an Empire burlesque and a World Gone Wrong. It doesn't reveal any obvious truths about Dylan, it's not autobiographical, and it's certainly not an easy view. However, it is witty and deeply human in places, and there are snatches of dialogue worthy of the best Dylan lines. This should be seen, not just by Dylan fans, but by fans of brave and individual cinema making.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   8 of 25 people found the following review helpful: OUCH, 17 Jul 2004 By  "mariananderson" - See all my reviews Hey dont get me wrong I like Bob Dylan. I think that he is a good singer/songwriter. I have enjoyed many live concerts and own a lot of the mans records. I saw 'Renaldo and Clara ' and thought that it was a good movie. I enjoyed 'Pat Garret and Billy the Kid". "Masked and Anonymous" is less than a