filmed in the fall of 1975 prior to and during bob dylan's rolling thunder revue tour, the film features appearances and performances by ronee blakley, t-bone burnett, ramblin' jack elliott, allen ginsberg, arlo guthrie, ronnie hawkins, roger mcguinn, joni mitchell, mick ronson, arlen roth, sam shepard, and harry dean stanton. "renaldo and clara" was released in its original four-hour form on january 25, 1978 in the united states. its limited release in theaters in new york city, los angeles, and other cities was discontinued after a few weeks following widespread negative reviews. "renaldo and clara" won the interfilm award at the mannheim-heidelberg international filmfestival in 1978 but has largely been panned by critics.