A new documentary titled In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon is set to release on MGM+ this month. This project will shed light on the life and career of the legendary musician Paul Simon. Apart from having a celebrated solo career, Simon became a household name for his collaboration with singer Art Garfunkel.
Together, Simon & Garfunkel released five full-length albums. The duo was one of the most popular musical acts in the ’60s and won seven Grammy Awards. In addition, they won four Grammy Hall of Fame Awards and were even inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Some of their most famous songs include “The Sound of Silence,” “Mrs. Robinson,” “A Hazy Shade of Winter,” “Scarborough Fair/Canticle,” and more. Unfortunately, the duo split in 1970 after releasing their final album, Bridge over Troubled Water.
The upcoming documentary will showcase archival footage from Simon’s career and current life. According to People Magazine, the director of this project is Alex Gibney. In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon will be released in two parts. The first part will come out on MGM+ on March 17, and the second on March 24.
Per IMDb, the synopsis of this project reads, “Paul Simon follows him inside the studio making his new album Seven Psalms while looking back on his six-decade career with countless musical peaks from Sounds of Silence to Graceland.”
When did Simon & Garfunkel meet?
Simon reportedly met Garfunkel in elementary school in 1953. Gradually, they learned to harmonize and compose songs. At the start, they performed under the name Tom & Jerry. However, after signing with Columbia Records in 1963, they became Simon & Garfunkel. Their subsequent success led Rolling Stone to rank them 40th on the list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2010.
As for the upcoming documentary, the trailer sees Simon reminiscing about his elaborate career. He says, “People used to say, ‘Oh, you have your finger on the pulse.’ Now I don’t have my finger on the pulse. I just have my finger out and the pulse is running under.” He further recounts, “What I’ve learned is that when you find a thing that produces a feeling of peace or joy, try to hold onto it. It’s like bliss. That’s music for me.”
On the other hand, the director of this documentary, Alex Gibney, spoke with Deadline at the Toronto Film Festival last year. He explained how the idea behind the project came into being. Gibney stated, “[Paul] had reached out to me, he had seen the Sinatra film and wondered if I might be interested in doing a film about his overall career. And of course, I was interested in that.”
He also explained how Simon asked him if he was interested in watching him create his 2023 album, Seven Psalms. Gibney said, “But the gift was when he called me up and said, ‘I’m making this new album. Would you like to come watch me make it?’ And that was a gift because it was him in the present working on something.”
He recalled how the director saw Simon working on the album, which prompted him to work on the documentary. “And also because it’s a meditation on belief and life and death, it seemed appropriate to move back and forth in time to earlier moments in his career,” Gibney added.
Currently 82, Paul Simon has released several albums on his own. His latest album was Seven Psalms, which reportedly became a hit among fans and critics.
