WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for A Complete Unknown.

The final scene of A Complete Unknown foreshadows a tragic event in Bob Dylan’s life that occurred just one year after his notorious performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Directed by James Mangold, A Complete Unknown is one of several biopics chronicling the life of Bob Dylan. The new film narrows its focus on his meteoric rise and early days as a folk singer and songwriter in the historic Greenwich Village in New York City. Timothée Chalamet (Dune: Part Two, Wonka) plays the legendary musical figure in a compelling and convincing performance, earning him his second Best Actor Oscar nomination.

Bob Dylan is portrayed riding a motorcycle during several scenes in A Complete Unknown without a helmet. The film shows him and his longtime girlfriend Sylvie Russo, whose real name was Suze Rotolo, arriving at the Newport Folk Festival on Dylan’s motorbike. The film displays two of Dylan’s appearances at the Newport Folk Festival, one in 1964 that featured an iconic duet with Joan Baez, and the other in 1965 when Dylan defiantly went electric with a full band. The film’s final sH๏τ shows Dylan speeding on his motorcycle, alluding to a serious accident he would have in July 1966.

Bob Dylan Rides His Motorcycle Again In A Complete Unknown’s Final Scene

Dylan Grew Up Riding Motorcycles & His Father Bought Him His First As A Teen

In A Complete Unknown, Bob Dylan rides a Triumph Bonneville T100, a popular motorcycle during the 1960s. The real-life Dylan rode the exact same motorcycle down to the model. According to Motorcyclist, “Of course Bob Dylan rode a Triumph. The coolest troubadour to ever hang a harmonica around his neck owned a 1964 Triumph T100, smaller 500cc brother to the Bonneville 650.” It was no surprise that Dylan rode a Triumph as it became one of the emblems of the rebellious cultural spirit of 1960s America. Dylan was still in his young 20s by the end of A Complete Unknown.

Apart from its wider cultural implications, the Triumph motorcycle was also a symbol of Dylan’s youthful era from 1961 to 1966, which essentially ended when he crashed in Woodstock, New York. Much like his harmonica, acoustic guitar, cigarettes, and pitch-black sunglᴀsses, the motorcycle was part of Dylan’s image and his counterculture, pedal to the metal spirit.

Dylan’s motorcycle riding was much more than a fad. His father, Abram Zimmerman, also rode a motorcycle and bought Dylan his first motorbike when he was a teenager. Like nearly everything about Dylan’s persona and music, his love for motorcycles was pure and authentic.

Bob Dylan Had A Motorcycle Accident One Year After A Complete Unknown’s Ending

The Accident Occurred On July 29, 1966, In Woodstock, New York

Dylan’s motorcycle accident in Woodstock, New York during the summer of 1966 is clouded in mystery to this day. It’s known that Dylan crashed his Triumph T100 after losing control of the bike just days before he was set to perform at the 1966 Yale Bowl. Dylan never filed a police report or went to the hospital, so there’s no official documentation on the crash. No one else was believed to have been involved. Dylan later revealed that he suffered from facial lacerations and several broken vertebrae in his neck. Following the crash, Dylan hid himself from the public eye.

Dylan touched on the accident in his 2004 autobiography Chronicles. “I had been in a motorcycle accident and I’d been hurt, but I recovered. Truth was that I wanted to get out of the rat race.” Dylan also revealed that the motorcycle crash altered his perspective on life. “I woke up and caught my senses. I realized that I was just workin’ for all these leeches. And I didn’t want to do that. Plus I had a family and I just wanted to see my kids.” Dylan wrote the 1971 song, “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” in response to the incident.

Bob Dylan’s Motorcycle Crash Made Him Stop Touring For 7 Years

Dylan’s Self-Imposed Exile Ended In 1974 When He Toured With The Band

Dylan’s motorcycle crash kept him out of the public spotlight for seven straight years. It wasn’t until 1974 that Dylan hit the road again with the “Bob Dylan and The Band Tour” consisting of 40 shows from January 3 to February 14, 1974. During his extended hiatus from touring, Dylan released albums such as 1967’s John Wesley Harding, 1969’s Nashville Skyline, 1970’s Self-Portrait and New Morning.

Dylan’s motorcycle accident was not depicted in A Complete Unknown because it happened a year after the events of the film’s ending. Immediately following the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, Dylan nearly quit music altogether, complaining that he was drained from fame and was tired of playing songs he didn’t want to play (via American Songwriter). After the crash hinted at in A Complete Unknown, Dylan would create two of his all-time best albums, 1967’s John Wesley Harding and 1969’s Nashville Skyline​​​​​​.

Source: Motorcyclist, American Songwriter