Aspen Film Presents Special Screening Of Grateful Dead Doc LONG STRANGE TRIP

Aspen Film is proud to present Amazon Studios' LONG STRANGE TRIP for a one-time, special screening on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 at Metropolitan Theatre's Isis Theatre in Aspen, CO.

Directed by Amir Bar-Lev (Director of the 2010 Emmy Award-winning THE TILLMAN STORY, and HAPPY VALLEY from 2014) and executive produced by Martin Scorsese (THE LAST WALTZ), the film, with a total running time of 4 hours, which includes a 20-minute intermission, is told in five acts.

The 30-year odyssey of the Grateful Dead was the most unlikely success story in rock 'n' roll history. Famously averse to publicity and seemingly incapable of recording radio-friendly hits, they flouted music-industry convention by giving their live music away to a global network of tape traders and becoming the highest-grossing concert act in America through word of mouth alone. Directed by Amir Bar-Lev and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, LONG STRANGE TRIP is the first full-length documentary to explore the fiercely independent vision, perpetual innovation, and uncompromising commitment to their audience that made the Bay Area band one of the most influential musical groups of their generation. Artfully assembling candid interviews with the band, road crew, family members and notable Deadheads, Bar-Lev reveals the untold history of the Dead and the freewheeling psychedelic subculture that sprouted up around it. The film also provides poignant insight into the psyche of late lead guitarist Jerry Garcia, whose disdain for authority clashed with his de facto leadership of the sprawling collective that kept the show on the road. With a soundtrack that captures some of the band's most dynamic live performances as well as unguarded offstage moments and never-before-seen interviews, footage and photos, LONG STRANGE TRIP explores the Dead's singular experiment in radically eclectic music making. Much more than the "behind the music" backstory of an exceptionally talented and beloved group of musicians, the film is at once an inspiring tale of unfettered artistic expression, a heartfelt American tragedy, and an incisive history of the rise and fall of 20th -century counterculture.

Interviews include:

Dennis McNally - Grateful Dead biographer and publicist

Barbara "Brigid" Meier - Jerry Garcia's girlfriend

Alan Trist - Manager, Grateful Dead Publishing Co

Bob Weir - Rhythm guitarist

Phil Lesh - Bass Player

Bill Kreutzmann - Drummer

Mickey Hart - Percussionist

Sam Cutler - Tour manager (1970-1974)

Joe Smith - Former president, Warner Bros. Records

Donna Jean Godchaux - Backup vocalist

Steve Parish - Roadie

Dennis "Wiz" Leonard - Recording engineer

John Perry Barlow - Bob Weir's lyricist

Al Franken - Minnesota Senator

Steve Silberman - Writer

Nick Paumgarten - Journalist

Robert Hunter - Grateful Dead lyricist

Trixie Garcia - Jerry Garcia's daughter

The film made the Oscar Documentary Shortlist, announced earlier this month. Academy (AMPAS) voting members get in free; all other tickets are $20 and $15 for Aspen Film Members. General tickets are available at www.metrotheatres.com; Aspen Film members can buy at the box office to receive the member price. More information at www.aspenfilm.org.

LONG STRANGE TRIP is directed by Amir Bar-Lev and produced by Eric Eisner, Nick Koskoff, Justin Kreutzmann, Ken Dornstein, and Alex Blavatnik. The film is executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Rick Yorn, Thomas J. Mangan IV, Alicia Sams, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Andy Heller, and Sandy Heller.

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