| | |  | Music & Musicals | Home » » The Grateful Dead: The End of the Road - The Final Tour '95 | | | | | | | Description: | | Music by Merl Saunders & Jerry Garcia, appearances by Babatunde Olatunji, Merl Saunders, Wavy Gravy, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann Written & Directed By: Brent Meeske For 30 years, Jerry Garcia played guitar and sang for the Grateful Dead, and by doing so, inspired a modern cultural phenomenon – the legions of nomadic fans that made a communal way of life out of following Jerry and the Dead – the Deadheads. "The End of the Road" began shooting just 3 months before Garcia’s Death in 1995 – documenting ‘life on the road’ with this family of bohemian wanderers – on what would be the final tour with Jerry and the Dead. That summer the road came to an end back where it all began – in San Francisco – where thousands gathered one last time for eulogies from bandmates, friends and family at the memorial for Jerry Garcia. DVD Features: Uncut Memorial Ceremony, Extended Merl Saunders Interview, Follow-up Interviews, Deleted/Extended Scenes, Original Press Kit | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Babatunde Olatunji, Bob Weir, Jerry Garcia, Merl Saunders, Mickey Hart | | Director:
| Brent Meeske | | Format:
| Color, DVD, NTSC | | Language:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Monterey Video | | Run Time:
| 85 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| July 05, 2005 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 16 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 16 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 39 found the following review helpful:
 SadAug 11, 2005
By SLC Library Boy
The final tour of the Grateful Dead was fated in many ways. It was a dark tour that forshadowed The End. This documentary accurately captures that mood of the final tour. There were some great moments, but overall, it was very sad because it focuses on probably the most negative period of the Dead's 30 year trip. The movie left me depressed. Personally, I'm glad I saw it but would rather spend my time watching some of the better moments of the Dead, like the new Grateful Dead Movie DVD that has some amazing bonus song footage. Many of us like to celebrate the Dead and the final tour does not have much for us to celebrate. On the other hand, it accurately follows what has become history and there are many great moments. My favorite part was the bonus footage of the Jerry Garcia Memorial Service. That, alone, makes this a worthy purchase for a Deadhead. But if you are unfamiliar with the Grateful Dead, this is not a good place to start.
38 of 40 found the following review helpful:
 "Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right" - Robert HunterAug 22, 2005
By Mark Dugan
The summer tour that this film captures was filled with many problems. I saw shows during this tour and unfortunately, there were harmful elements that I witnessed that had encroached into the community that followed the Grateful Dead. I commend the filmmaker for showing an honest perspective without sanitizing the negatives. I appreciated that the film also avoided sensationalizing events such as when unruly fans crashed through the fence at Deer Creek Amphitheatre. This could have been easily exploited with a drawn out examination for dramatic effect but instead it lasted less than two minutes. In the next scene, the film presents a very inspiring sequence where older Deadheads take accountability for not properly educating the new generation of fans. The determination of those interviewed to confront the problems on tour was very uplifting. Tragically, their vision was never realized as life following the Grateful Dead ended with Jerry's untimely death. Without a doubt, the closing scenes of fans gathered to celebrate Jerry's life makes this film worth purchasing. I highly recommend this film not only for Deadheads but more importantly for younger fans who have adopted the nomadic lifestyle of following the next generation of bands. There are lessons in this film to be learned, gathered and passed on.
16 of 21 found the following review helpful:
 If you absolutely have to 'relive' the 1995 lot scene, or wonder what it looked like...Jan 09, 2006
By Stephen C. Urbauer
"Jack Straw"
This video may be worth renting, once. I saw shows on the 1995 summer tour, and it was just sad. Their were very few positive things happening, and SO MANY bad things happening. If you REALLY need to see that, watch this video. (If you're looking for Band Shots/Concert Footage - don't bother.) Don't expect much in the way of cinematography. This is NOT a high-quality Montery Video release. This is someone who had alot of parking lot video cam footage cashing in on it.
11 of 15 found the following review helpful:
Don't botherJun 24, 2006
By R. Anastasio
"JustaguyNJ"
I just watched this with a friend and it's just sad. Just before Brent died things were getting bad on tour. And after Brent died, there is not one Dead show that it worth viewing or listening too. I would have thought they would have put out something better than this as their next release after the Buffalo shows which were pretty good. They have SO many hours and hours of Great footage and music. Why they chose this is beyond me. If you are a true die hard Dead Head, don't bother buying this one. All around... just bad. I would encourage you to write to them and ask for better stuff. Great footage is around from late 70's to early 90's. Let's get it out there!
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 The good, the bad and the uglyMar 18, 2011
By Chet Fakir
Unfortunately there is very little good and a whole lot of bad and a freaking raft of ugly. This documentary concerns itself with the Deadheads only, and then only the most road damaged tour rats at that. Little of the band, in fact none of the band or its music is shown or played, instead you are treated to a walk through the wilderness of Shakedown Street, ie the vendor, hard core tour parasite, parking lot scene and it is not pretty. Call it an adventure in extreme hippiedom if you will, if rambling, loaded halfwits could be considered hippies. This is the dark side of the counterculture, the self serving and drug addled side. The living in the park with no money side. Most of these folks interviewed seem to be there for the party and not the music. This is not complete story of the Grateful Dead fans and the scene, rather it is a depressing view of the dregs of the worst tour of the Dead's worst year: 1995. We see the deterioration of the scene, the gate crashing at Deer Creek, the righteous indignation of some older deadheads and a lot of chaos. The movie ends on the very sad note of Jerry's memorial at Golden Gate Park where Bill, Mickey, Bobby and Phil give short eulogies for their fallen comrade coupled with some more interviews with fans. Many of these interviews are quite moving, and articulate, for example Merl Saunders' interview is touching and the interview with a young man whose face is obscured by his hat and monstrous beard is a thoughtful reflection on some of the best of the Deadhead culture. Other interviews touch on the sense of loss at Jerry's death and the changed nature of the Grateful Dead fan base. I suppose this section was for me the highlight. Or low light cause its really a bummer.
One could enjoy this movie as a biased view in cultural anthropology of a unique sub-culture. Just don't expect to get more than 10 percent of the whole picture because this movie only shows you a small slice of the pie during the worst year in the band's long long history. This was not my experience of the Grateful Dead. This movie is all about the surface and not the substance and never explains what made the Grateful Dead a compelling band to its fans. Then again this movie isn't about the band but the most stereotypical of its followers.
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