The Grateful Dead’s newly remastered 1977 concert film “The Grateful Dead Movie” will debut in 60 IMAX theaters across the country, in honor of the legendary band’s 60th anniversary.
Directed by Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia and documentarian Leon Gast, the movie was filmed during a five-night run at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom in Oct. 1974, billed as “The Last One” (since at the time it was thought to be the band’s final performances.) The concerts featured the Dead’s “Wall of Sound” (the sound system that was designed specifically for the band and that redefined concert audio).
“The Grateful Dead Movie” also features interviews with band members and crew; David Lemieux, Grateful Dead archivist and legacy manager, said in a statement that seeing the film in IMAX “was the greatest screening I’ve ever experienced of a film I’ve seen hundreds of times.”
The screenings are part of the Dead’s annual “Meet Up at the Movies,” an annual event where the band’s concert films or videos are screened, and will hit select theaters on Aug. 13, followed by a wide release on Aug. 14.
The “Meet Up at the Movies” event follows a three-day concert at Golden Gate Park Aug. 1-3. Held at Polo Fields, the concert will feature surviving members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart playing along with their band Dead & Company, which includes guitarist John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge, pianist Jeff Chimenti and drummer Jay Lane.
Tickets are on sale at meetupatthemovies.com.
Editorial credit: Adam McCullough / Shutterstock.com
