Amazon Studios has announced that Long Strange Trip, Amir Bar-Lev’s critically acclaimed documentary about the Grateful Dead, will be released theatrically on May 26th in New York and Los Angeles. Following its release in theaters, the film will come exclusively to Amazon Prime Video on June 2nd at no additional cost to Prime customers.
Long Strange Trip marks the first time Amazon Original Movies and Amazon Original Series have partnered on an original project to be released in both theaters and on Prime.
Long Strange Trip was acquired by Amazon Studios ahead of its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Amir Bar-Lev (The Tillman Story) and executive produced by Martin Scorsese(No Direction Home: Bob Dylan), 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.
