Neil Young ‘Adored’ Bob Dylan Biopic ‘Total Unknown’

Neil Young’s Take on Bob Dylan Biopic

Neil Young has expressed his admiration for the “great” new Bob Dylan biopic, Complete Unknown.

• READ MORE: 'Total Unknown' Review: Don't Think Twice Before Watching This Brilliant Bob Dylan Biopic

Film Overview

The film features Timothée Chalamet as the iconic musician, chronicling his journey from a luminous star of the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s to his groundbreaking performance with electric instruments at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.

Released in the US on December 25, the film will hit UK cinemas on January 17. One viewer who seems to have thoroughly enjoyed it is rock legend Young.

In a post on my website Neil Young Archive on Saturday (January 11), he remarked: “I love Bob Dylan and his music. There is always. He is a great artist. One day he was coming towards me on the bus; I didn’t recognize him and threw him out, but that’s another story. This film is a tremendous tribute to his life and music. If you appreciate Bob’s music, you should definitely watch this remarkable film. I enjoyed it.”

Young and Dylan have a history of mutual admiration, having shared the stage in Martin Scorsese’s groundbreaking 1978 concert film, The Last Waltz, where they performed “I Shall Be Released” together.

The two legends also performed at a show in London’s Hyde Park in July 2019, which NME covered. “To these two icons doing exactly what they want, when they want,” NME conveyed in a four-star review. “Sometimes it sounds like what we expect, and sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s always exciting.”

• READ MORE: Five reasons to watch Total Unknown even if you don't like Bob Dylan

With Complete Unknown nearing its cinema release, NME has published a special print magazine celebrating the film and Dylan’s legacy. The 26-page review is currently available – find out where to get it here.

NME awarded Complete Unknown four stars, stating: “The most crucial (and often the most challenging) task in any musical film is to get the music right. And this is the nail. If you’re new to Bob, you’ll exit the theater eager to explore his back catalog. If you’re already a fan, you’ll spend weeks assembling playlists of hidden gems or delving into stories about scenes you weren’t familiar with. And that’s why creating this film was a brilliant move—a crazy, but brilliant move.”

Dylan himself praised Chalamet as a “brilliant actor” and expressed his confidence that the actor would embody his character completely. “Or I’m younger. Or some other me.”

Moreover, Dylan had a hand in the film’s script, as noted by producer Peter Jasen. “He met with (director) Jim Mangold several times,” Jasen revealed. “At one point, they sat down and read the entire script aloud, with Jim Mangold performing every part and Bob Dylan delivering just his dialogue. Throughout this process, Dylan made notes on the script. At the conclusion of their last meeting, he signed the script and said, ‘Go with God.’

Meanwhile, Young is gearing up for a major summer, having been confirmed as one of the headliners for Glastonbury 2025 after initially stating he would withdraw from the festival due to creative differences.