Dylan, American 'Master' of enigma

"LOS ANGELES - Bob Dylan has always been a mercurial, artistic icon - revered, reviled, ever recasting himself, never justifying a thing. The first public glimpse of PBS' much-awaited Martin Scorsese portrait 'No Direction Home' makes clear Scorsese won't pin down the 1960s phenomenon. In fact, as TV critics learned Wednesday night at a heavily secured screening on a studio lot, the film seems destined, if not designed, to perpetuate the enigmatic persona.

Dylan exercised unusual control over this 'American Masters' installment airing Sept. 25 and 26. While Dylan's management provided Scorsese a wealth of rare and unseen film footage from Dylan's breakthrough years, they also provided all the relatively recent interview footage with intimates such as Joan Baez, Dave Van Ronk, Al Kooper and Allen Ginsberg as well as Dylan himself. Rather than encompass his far-reaching musical legacy and impact, the portrait confines itself to his early musician years, from his Greenwich Village folk fame to his inflammatory decision to 'go electric.'"