Grateful Dawg
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: October 5, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesLawrence Van Gelder
Quite simply a treat for the ear. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
It's to be expected that the music is going to be wonderful, and it is. But there is more to this film, a surprising amount more. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Think of this movie as a glorified home video rather than a bitingly insightful documentary. But for Garcia and Grisman, this soft-shoe approach couldn't be more appropriate. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunAmanda J. Crawford
This is a video stroll through a family scrapbook.
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
The movie has a musical rather than a cinematic shape, defined by songs played in their entirety. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
For music fans, there's great pleasure in hearing new audio tracks to "Sitting Here in Limbo," "Friend of the Devil" and more songs -- each one complete and unedited. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeJay Carr
The pure joy of music-making is what this gem of a film is all about.
70
TV Guide MagazineSteve Simels
It's especially nice that all the songs on the soundtrack are heard in their entirety, even if the accompanying video footage is sometimes drawn from performances of different vintage. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyPaul Malcolm
Grisman's warm, loving home movie in the guise of a documentary. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
Though there are moderately interesting interviews interspersed throughout, Deadheads will want to see the numbers, in which Grisman's more formal style complements Garcia's looser approach to his music. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
You won't find many insights into the personalities, or even a hint of the demons that plagued Garcia until his death, but seeing the two men together -- keeps a smile on your face and your feet tapping throughout. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneJohn Petrakis
A multilayered documentary that explores music and friendship, and in its own quiet way, the battle with fame. Read full review
60
Village VoiceGeoffrey Gray
It's like an 80-minute flip through the Grisman family photo album -- complete with live, unreleased soundtrack. Read full review
60
VarietyDennis Harvey
The music is fine, but there's little else here to hold the attention of non-Deadheads. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Grisman presents, with a sense of humor, the apparent contradictions of a complex personality. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
A must for any Deadhead and of genuine interest to any music fan, even if its documentary chops hit a few sour notes. Read full review
40
New Times (L.A.)Andy Klein
With no aspects of the personalities represented outside of their music, Grateful Dawg ends up feeling dry and incomplete; its two subjects are stripped of all other characteristics and come across as not very interesting. Read full review
40
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
Ultimately, Grateful Dawg will only be of real interest to musicology students and diehard Deadheads.
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64 Critic Reviews

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