Amazon Studios has acquired Grateful Dead documentary \u201c Long Strange Trip \u201d and plans to debut the film on May 26 on Amazon Prime Video in the U. S. and U. K.
Amazon made the announcement Wednesday ahead of the world premiere of \u201cLong Strange Trip\u201d at the Sundance Film Festival. Band members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and Bob Weir will be in attendance, as well as Trixie Garcia, daughter of the band\u2019s founder and lead guitarist Jerry Garcia.
Weir said, \u201cOver several decades a group of guys hung together making music in a group that was way tighter and lasted much longer than most marriages. Here\u2019s the movie\u2026\u201d
Hart added, \u201cStranger than fiction \u2014 a user\u2019s guide for an impossible journey.\u201d
The documentary, directed by Amir Bar-Lev and executive produced by Martin Scorsese , has been in the works since 2003 when Bar-Lev first reached out to band members. Bar-Lev\u2019s credits include \u201cThe Tillman Story\u201d and \u201cHappy Valley.\u201d
The band first performed as the Warlocks on May 5, 1965, at Magoo\u2019s Pizza in Menlo Park, Calif. The Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995 following the death of Garcia. Garcia was acclaimed for combining blues, rock, and psychedelic elements with a mastery of improvisational guitar. He pointed to a 1961 traffic accident \u2014 in which he was thrown from the car \u2014 as the turning point in his commitment to music.
The title of the documentary is taken from the refrain \u201cWhat a long strange trip it\u2019s been\u201d of the band\u2019s signature song \u201cTruckin.’\u201d The song was released on their 1970 album \u201cAmerican Beauty\u201d and recognized in 1997 by the United States Library of Congress as a national treasure.
\u201cBy inventing a unique fusion of folk, jazz, R&B, avant-garde experimentation, world music and rock and roll, they earned the devotion of the most committed fan base in the music business, while gleefully disdaining every clich\u00e9 of pop success,\u201d Amazon said Wednesday.
\u201cLong Strange Trip\u201d is produced by Eric Eisner, Nick Koskoff, and Alex Blavatnik, who also financed the project. Additional producers include Ken Dornstein and Justin Kreutzmann. Executive producers in addition to Scorsese are Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Rick Yorn, Andrew Heller, Sanford Heller, Thomas J. Mangan IV, Alicia Sams along with band members Hart, Kreutzmann, Weir and bassist Phil Lesh.
\u201cI\u2019ve always admired the spirit and creativity of the Grateful Dead,\u201d said Scorsese. \u201cThey are revolutionary artists who forever changed the world of touring and recording live music. They were a cultural force\u2014a lifestyle, that continue to influence new generations of fans.\u201d
The deal was negotiated by WME Global on behalf of the filmmakers.<\/p>\n

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