Crossfire Hurricane (2012) User Reviews

A Coffee Table Audio-Video Book

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 14 December 2012]

A seemingly Inconclusive attempt at Summarizing some Things that are Obvious about the Stones and some things that remain Elusive. It emerges as perhaps one of those heavy Magazine Tributes or could possibly be called a Coffee Table Audio-Video Presentation.

Die Hard Fans will Try Desperately to find a Thing or two they didn't know or see a Clip or two they haven't Seen, but there is Precious Little here other than vaguely Interesting Insights and Less Than Brilliant Footage.

Of course, "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World", Deserves any kind of Tribute. Especially one that has full Production in the Hands of the Band itself.

However, one could say that Total Control is not the best way to go. As is apparent many times in the Film, they were so Involved and Close to it all that They really didn't have Time to Absorb much of what was going on as They were being Elevated and Revered Year after Year. Almost every Band Member mentions Oblivious (or a synonym) as an Adjective to it all.

This could well be an Introduction for New Fans or a Mild, Emotional, and Superficial Tribute for Stalwarts. One Thing we have Learned in Modern Times is that these Type of Things are only Great when given Hours of Running Time where some of the Vintage Concert Clips and Appearances are only truly Effective if You let the Songs Play out.

Sadly, that does not happen here, not once. That would truly Benefit Newbies and Delight Boomer Fans. But the Film does One Thing if nothing else, it Reminds and Reinforces this Simple Fact...

"I know it's only Rock n Roll, But I like it."

Can you sometimes get exactly what you want? The Rolling Stones turn the clock back on 50 years and open up the vaults. With mixed results.

[gregwetherall · 6/10 · 18 October 2012]

It is high time for a look back on an illustrious career that has famously had more than its fair share of sex, drugs and rock n' roll. However, those looking for a Beatles Anthology-esque examination will be disappointed. This is more ramshackle than that, much like the band themselves. This is a concise one-off film of only 118 minutes. Considering it took director, Brett Morgan, four months to wade through the archive footage (with assistance from co-producer, Mick Jagger), it is a shame that he hasn't been minded to create a more sprawling work, befitting of the Stones' lengthy career. In fact, the documentary ends abruptly at around 1977, and offers nothing after this date, save for closing credit live footage of Exile On Main Street track 'All Down The Line' lifted from the 2008 film, Shine A Light.

Opening with colour backstage footage and a live rendition of 'Street Fighting Man', attention soon turns to the early days, and the maelstrom that consisted of live performance in the early and mid-60s for the Rolling Stones, with the incessant screaming and stage invasions. Emphasis is firmly placed on what it must have been like within this vortex, having to deal with a rapid ascent and devotional teenage girls (England) and boys (the rest of the world).

Whilst discussing the early period, coverage is given in a frank manner as to the band's feeling about the demise of original band member, Brian Jones. Whilst acknowledging his talent, it turns out that the band felt a degree of inevitability over his eventual death. Even though an element of mystery hangs over the drowning, Jones' relationship with drugs is well-known (Godard's film, Sympathy for the Devil, shows an induced and distracted Jones in the studio). As matters arose, the death came only two days before a free Hyde Park gig in front of 500,000 people - a gig that would mark a baptism of fire for new guitarist, Mick Taylor, and also act as a remembrance for Jones. Drummer Charlie Watts recalls Mick crying in the corner of the dressing room on the day of the performance. By contrast, Keith states that his reason for not going to the funeral is because he didn't want to make it 'a circus', and that he didn't even go to the funeral of his own mother and father.

Arriving at the late 60s, there are compelling scenes offered up by the Altamont stabbing of Meredith Hunter, but these are taken from the previously released feature, Gimme Shelter. This time around, however, it is enhanced by comments from the band looking back, which is illuminating seeing as it has since been perceived as the incident that killed the hippie dream and the anti-Woodstock.

Although the archive footage is interesting, there is not necessarily a dearth of unseen live material. The narrative itself is loosely played with, especially at the start, diverging down different avenues whilst vaguely seeking a chronological path (of sorts).

There are some interesting revelations contained within this documentary that will interest fans. For example, Mick Taylor finally provides the reason as to why he left the Stones. Jagger himself concedes that he did not know or understand why, and Taylor goes on to explain that during the early 70s, he was falling into heroin addiction.

Bill Wyman also distills what he believes is the sound of the Rolling Stones. Bearing a theory to Richards oft-quoted opinion that many bands can rock but not many can roll, he points towards the sound as being a consequence of Charlie's decision to follow Keith's lead, which means that the drums come in slightly behind the guitar, which is unusual in itself, whilst Bill's bass would be slightly ahead. Wyman describes this as leading to 'a wobble' effect, where things could fall apart at any given moment.

There is some interesting black and white footage of Mick and Keith writing material together in what is either backstage or in some sort of hotel room. Having an insight into how they worked together on the verge of what would be a particularly prolific part of their career is fascinating. Keith later voices opinion that of all the songs they wrote, 'Midnight Rambler' would be the essence of the Jagger/Richards writing partnership. He states a belief that anyone else could have written any of the other tunes, but only he and Mick would have thought about making an opera out of the blues.

Coincidentally, much like that tune, this is certainly a film goes on a ramble of its own. Starting in slightly messy fashion, like a band tuning up after a short time apart, and taking a while to lock into the groove. As far as flaws go, no reference is made at all to Ian Stewart, which seems a glaring omission considering this is an overview of the Rolling Stones' career and all the significant players. His distinctive piano work enhanced songs such as 'Brown Sugar', amongst many others, and his lack of appearance in this documentary feels unfair and a missed opportunity. Also, there is no real detail on the relationship the Stones had with manager Andrew Loog Oldham.

Introducing the film, Jagger congratulated Brett Morgan for managing to cover 50 years of the Stones in a couple of hours. Well, he hasn't managed that. He has covered 25 years pretty well, but with some gaping holes. Whether this is down to the Stones' reticence in opening up, or a lack of probing is anyones' guess.

I know it's only a rock n roll film, and you might not necessarily love it, but you'll probably like it.

for more film reviews: toomuchnoiseblog.com and www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-wetherall

Not Essential, But Interesting

[crossbow0106 · 7/10 · 24 November 2012]

Although, this film has some tremendous footage never or rarely seen it also has the feel of a crib notes version of the band. Its hard to encapsulate 50 years into less than two hours and this film is watchable, but mostly for Stones fans. The members of the band do voice overs (everyone would like a film where they all sit together and comment on things), and Brian Jones, Altamont and other things are covered, but this is by no means comprehensive. That is probably the point, if you're even a casual fan you know whats been going on with the band for 50 years. Stones fans will likely and rightly give this an 8 to 10 rating, others that never cared about the band may not wish to sit through it. Recommended for the great footage, but don't expect to get much more insight into the band than what you already know.

The Stones live forever!

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 14 March 2013]

Half a century of the Rolling Stones gets the full treatment in Brett Morgan's "Crossfire Hurricane". The documentary actually focuses more on the group's first decade, as they developed a reputation as the anti-Beatles, went through some drug busts, and even fled England to avoid the taxes. There are number of scenes in which interviewers (obviously from the older generation) are asking the band members ridiculous questions, and one gets the feeling that Mick, Keith, Charlie and the rest don't like having to answer.

But of course the best part is the music. We get to hear most of the famous songs, often getting footage of the recordings. It just goes to show that the '60s will never die. In other words, this documentary is pure satisfaction!

You Can't Always Get What You Want

[nerdomatic10-937-667230 · 8/10 · 14 July 2019]

Most excellent rock documentary. Almost all the criticism seems to be about the Stones keeping their commentary off-camera and how it basically ends around 1981, with only brief snippets of concert footage and whatnot from the next 30 years or so. They just wanted to reminisce about the old days without viewers comparing their youthful selves to their current appearance. We all get old, no way around it. Except for the path that Brian took. They basically stopped the story after about 20 years because they wanted the focus to be on their beginnings and how turbulent and extraordinary those times were. There's also a surreal, electrifying, eerie segment on "Midnight Rambler", which Keith feels is the ultimate Rolling Stones song. At any rate, after 20 years things had calmed down quite a bit, and the Stones themselves had settled very comfortably into their exalted status as a touring juggernaut who could enjoy their private lives without public scrutiny. In between tours, they pretty much drop out of sight. Intermittent fame that can be turned off and on like a faucet must be a great blessing indeed. Also, after the 1981 tour the resentments between Mick and Keith completely boiled over and the Stones didn't tour again until 1989. They obviously didn't feel like digging up all those hard feelings, and Mick and Keith can't ever be forced to do anything they don't want to do. What possible purpose would that accomplish anyway? They wanted a 2-hr enjoyable movie and not an 8-hr bathos, so they did some necessary trimming. Anyway, we're seeing what the Stones themselves felt was most important to tell. What's wrong with that?

Extras: The DVD has about half an hour of concerts from 1964 and 1965, when they were just starting their meteoric rise. Of course, there's a lot of Brian Jones, which I guess is their tribute to him. There's a commentary by director Brett Morgen, but he keeps it mercifully brief.

Mick Jagger says the Stones aren't the least bit sentimental and have little interest in looking back. But in this case he said they had to make this film only because it was their 50-yr anniversary, and if they hadn't, then the BBC would've slapped together a boring opinion-fest about them. They didn't want the BBC to have the last word on them, so we got this very solid work instead.

So there you have it. Crossfire Hurricane is well worth the time for Stones fans and those who are curious about them.

Impossible Job but They Do The Best That One Can Expect

[Michael_Elliott · 18 November 2012]

Crossfire Hurricane (2012)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

When I heard that director Brett Morgan was going to try and capture fifty-years of The Rolling Stones into a 111-minute running time I thought it would be impossible and I was pretty much right. CROSSFIRE HURRICANE is an impossible attempt at a documentary but I think it's about as good as we could hope for. The documentary features interviews with all the surviving members of the Stones but we never see them. Instead we hear their thoughts while seeing various pieces of footage from throughout their career. This could be TV appearances, movies, concert films, bootleg material and other formats. Again, trying to put fifty-years into such a short running time is impossible and there seems to be a lot missing here. I mean, the 60s and 70s are the main focus here and we really don't get anything from the more recent times. I'm sure some might argue that the bands greatest period was this era and it's a great point but at the same time they do have something that has kept them together all these years. With that said, it's hard to be too disappointed with what's not here because what we do get is great. Being able to see all of this footage and have it together in one place is clearly the best thing here. It also doesn't hurt that it appears all the band members are being honest and open with their feelings. This includes the music they've made, issues like drugs, Brian's death and of course the Altamont concert. Fans of the band will certainly want to check this out.

Old Gods Almost...

[bushtony · 7/10 · 6 December 2012]

Brett Morgan, director of THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE, delivers this almost superb chronicle of the rise of The Rolling Stones. Interview sound-bites from unseen Jagger, Richards, Watts, Wood, Taylor and Wyman pass comment over a backdrop of newsreel, home movie and concert footage which continuously and unbrokenly spools across the decades.

If you lived through most of it, it's a moderately emotional and involving experience, full of nostalgia and wistful insights. There is little bite or revelation going on, but the entertainment value is high – especially for fans. Casual onlookers might not be converted easily, but the scope of this at times faintly nightmarish modern "fairytale" of fame and success is likely to have at least some impact.

Richard's autobiography LIFE and Stephen Davis's masterful band bio OLD GODS ALMOST DEAD have a certain meat protein on their bones and an incisive analysis in their bloodstream that CROSSFIRE HURRICANE fails to come close to replicating on screen. It nearly nails it with depictions of the bands early yob behaviour and riot incitement plus a truly chilling depiction of the Altamont concert which manages to successfully generate a tangible sense of the fear and danger permeating that particular event. The ramshackle death and disintegration of the peace and love movement of the sixties is directly and probably quite correctly connected to the Altamont disaster.

There is much to see of the sixties and seventies, but not really enough added depth of inquiry to resonate passionately with the imagery and sound. The story is told, but told deadpan and without much genuine emotional punch or guts. The grit and gore, the down and dirty stuff never materialises. It's all rather civilised. Then it gets to the early eighties, jump-cuts to the Beacon Theatre concerts in 2006 (Scorsese's SHINE A LIGHT) then abruptly ends. What?

I love the Stones and always will. Anyone with an interest in popular music who can't appreciate their immeasurable contribution and cultural influence in creative terms alone might as well be living in a sterile vacuum on some other planet. Where rock and roll is concerned, these are the real deal, they ARE the old gods, and almost dead or not, they still shine bright. If hearing Satisfaction, Jumping Jack Flash, Sympathy For The Devil, Gimme Shelter, Miss You, Sweet Virginia, don't move you in some way, then you just ain't got a taste for the stuff that don't taste of anything but sucrose, Tupperware and Styrofoam. They might have become a corporate cash cow touring machine, but when it came to delivering, they delivered.

CROSSFIRE HURRICANE delivers also, but to a limited extent. It provides some truly great visuals and some truly great sounds. But the definitive Stones movie is out there somewhere still waiting to be made. This ain't it, but it will do to pass the time with until the glorious day arrives.

Ultimate Stones documentary

[grantss · 10/10 · 17 March 2014]

The ultimate Rolling Stones documentary. Captures very vividly their live performances through the years, as well as what making an album was like, plus their private lives. However, don't expect the usual micro- detail stuff, eg no "Mick Jagger was born on..." or the names of their albums and when they were released. In fact, there is very little references to dates.

No, the main idea is to get a feel for the chain of events that was the career of the Rolling Stones, and what it was like being the members of the great band.

For these reasons, it probably helps being a fan with a decent knowledge of the Stones' albums and songs. Not essential though - one can always fill in the gaps by reading Wikipedia.

The live stuff is great, and some of it is quite rare. The behind-the- scenes stuff contains some particularly rare footage.

A must-see for any fan of rock 'n roll.

50 years gone!

[Lejink · 7/10 · 9 December 2012]

Yet another assemblage of vintage clips of the Stones, this time celebrating their 50th anniversary together. For some reason, it starts with footage of the "I-want-to-be-trendy" talk-show host Dick Cavett hanging with the band during their access-all-excess 1972 American tour, itself recently the feature of a film all to itself. From there, it works backwards to the band's origin, then taking us back up to 1978, when they temporarily rejuvenated themselves for the "Some Girls" album, actually an apt place to stop as their music hasn't progressed, far less excited, any since, like in their glory days. More than that the film signs off by tellingly making the point that having started out as a blues-covers band, then become deliberately moulded into the anti-Beatles by manager Andrew Loog-Oldham, they progressed from counter-cultural anti-heroes to fully fledged members of the establishment (arise Sir Mick!) and become everybody's favourite rock and roll band/brand, a title they've never relinquished but equally the irony of which appears to escape them.

I am a big fan of the band and enjoyed seeing some footage I'd not seen before, particularly impromptu or backstage stuff, but most of it I had, while the band interviews, none apparently latter-day revisionist, similarly don't tell us much we didn't know already. Jagger certainly comes across as the most intelligent and loquacious, with Keith playing up to his bad boy persona, leaving Charlie and Bill not giving a damn about the fame and celebrity that goes with the gig. Mick Taylor sensibly explains that he left for the good of his health and Ron Wood was apparently brought in as much for his peace-making irreverence as his musical ability. Brian Jones gets mentioned in dispatches in the first hour, but probably less than he deserved.

All the band's major events are chronicled with contemporary film footage, like deliberately choosing their "black-hat" marketing image, the breakthrough of learning to write their own songs, their first US mass-popularity in 1965, the Redlands drug-bust in 1967 which saw Mick and Keith controversially sentenced to jail for drug possession, Brian Jones' exit and soon-afterwards death-by-drowning in 1969 and to close out the decade on a low, the disastrous free concert at Altamont.

There's less of interest in the second part, unless you count their new tax-exile status as a major event, eventually leading up, from a long-way out, to Keith's drugs bust in Toronto in 1978. One doubts if the producer could have filled another two hours on the years from 1978 until now, for which I suppose we should be grateful. However this interesting document, filled with attitude and great music is definitely a watchable tribute to the best-surviving band of the 60's.

Sex (well not much), Drugs (some) and LOTS of Rock'n'Roll.

[MikeyB1793 · 9/10 · 21 July 2014]

This is the best Stones' documentary that I have seen. There is a lot of early footage when the group started out – of screamin' teenage girls, of stage riots... The commentary by the group members (in the present tense) was also informative, for example they are all quite candid about the death of Brian Jones. It is also quite obvious that the government went after them for their use of drugs as a way to silence these rebellious bad boys.

Many of their best songs (along with some I didn't know) are featured and their performances as well. At least half of the documentary is on the 1960's – which was the "golden age" of the Stones – with their best music. Then there is some on the 70's and very little footage beyond. There is also commentary by Mick Taylor and Ron Wood. The best line in the documentary is when the Stones asked Ron Wood to join the group; his reply was "in a New York minute"!

Still strolling along

[paul2001sw-1 · 6/10 · 27 November 2012]

Over the years, the Rolling Stones have transformed from counter-cultural icons, and revolutionary music makers, into institutionalised pensioners, the "strolling bones" as the wags call them, always on tour but with nothing new to say. This documentary charts their first 20 years (though the band are still performing after 50); but it's fairly soft and uninformative material, a collage of old pictures and film, a little bit of concert footage, and a few throwaway comments from the band. There's a fair old Stones industry these days, but another recent documentary, about the making of their legendary album 'Exile on Main Street', was more insightful than this, which is more celebratory in tone. If you're a Stones fanatic, you'll learn little new; but even if you don't, and want to learn more about them, there are probably better places to start.

If you're a Stones fan, you can't miss it

[davequ · 8/10 · 16 November 2012]

gregwetherall (above) has done an excellent and spot-on job so I'll keep this brief -

as a 15-year rock musician (so I actually get "the wobble bit" - though I'm not quite sure I buy all of it) who grew up with the Rolling Stones, while this isn't anywhere near perfect (likely impossible)

"Crossfire Hurricane" is still very entertaining and a must for any Stones fan. Some of the remixed live tracks are astoundingly preserved and sound great, though imo some of the interview comments need to be tweaked up a bit (though my hearing is shot, so maybe that's me)

Some quick cuts from "Cocksucker Blues" interspersed just at the right moments of some of the live tracks; Keith as usual brutally honest in his comments about drugs, Brian, songwriting, etc - and there's some stuff in Crossfire Hurricane I've never seen before. (no spoilers here) - even Charlie speaks up now & then. The best and worst of Brian is brutally portrayed as well.

All in all, a job well done and definitely worth seeing. I've DVR'd it, seen it twice so far, and likely will watch it again. Play it loud through your sound system.

Very good initially but ultimated disappoints

[mac-hawk · 7/10 · 24 September 2015]

The film's very good in representing the bands early and mid term journey with all it's successes, failures, drugs, drink etc with candid interviews and good musical snippets. The footage is great but my biggest disappointment with the film is that basically very little is mentioned of the bands musical output post Let It Bleed. Sticky Fingers get a brief snippet, Exile on Main Street has a little more but post that almost nothing. A brief interlude of 'Angie' and how great Ronnie Wood has fit into the band - and he sure has if only they'd give him a bit more freedom to work with. But, and it's a big but, nothing - a great big zilch of their musical output through the late 70's and beyond, much of which was/has been critically underwhelming.

It would also have been nice to see the involvement with the band of Ian 'Stu' Stewart and Bobby Keys recognised.

In short, the film's an unpolished diamond, well worth a look to the Stones fan

Very surprising, intelligent personal insight to the Rolling Stones saga

[joebloggscity · 8/10 · 15 September 2021]

This documentary really surprised me. From the off I'll admit I'm not really into the Rolling Stones but like everyone else there are a bunch of their tunes I do adore (e.g. Sympathy for the Devil, Gimme Shelter etc). It's been shown again due to the sad recent passing of their drummer Charlie Watts.

What we have is a tour through their careers from year one to present, so quite a lot to condense, but the director does so. A soundtrack already given, it is the monologues from band members providing a commentary over the years, mostly concentrating upto the early 1970s, and it works!

I was surprised, this could have been a hagiography, or just some whitewash, but actually the director provides a fair warts & all overview of the band which is welcome, and you end up intrigued. There's egos but also honesty, and the moments overlooking the finals times with Brian Jones is quite poignant.

You'll be surprised, the general fans are also as great a part of this documentary as the main act, and great to see the old fashions and styles. There's dark moments too (e.g. Hell's Angels etc) but there's a lot of positive to take too.

It's a crazy, very well put together documentary that thankfully veered away from a simple paint-by-numbers outlook.

Informative and entertaining. Give it a view, at least in memory of Charlie Watts (RIP) who for me comes out of that band as the most likeable of the lot. A real treasure of the music world sadly now gone.

Great Stones Retrospective, but.....

[cmdahoust · 9/10 · 14 February 2018]

I really enjoyed watching this documentary and seeing the footage complied in an excellent manner. My only complaint is that the viewer is left somewhat in the lurch as to the time frames and years of performances and interviews. The first part of the film bounces around the early days of the band from the mid 60's. It would have been good to see some sub-titles on years and concert locations included with the footage. The last part of the film is mired between Ronnie Wood joining the group and Keith's drug problems in Canada. The only way to ascertain the time line is the footage of the newspaper clippings that contain the dates. Hardcore Stone's fans who have followed the group since the early 70's would know the time line, but other casual fans would have difficulty in determining the dates of the events. The end of the movie seems to jump a gap of about 30 years with footage from their mid 80's tour to a recent performance at the time of the film (late 2000's). Again, this is a great film and the closing credits show how much research and effort went in to obtaining the footage and overall presentation of the content.

Feels like a part one

[jellopuke · 7/10 · 15 February 2018]

Great look at the early days, but pretty much skips from the mid 70's to now with barely a mention other than to say that they became an institution. Okay, but surely they did something of note? Hardly a definitive look at the band, but a solid one to watch anyway.

To Short

[runjimmycook · 8/10 · 21 February 2013]

This is a nice documentary but way to short. After all this is about a band that has been making music and performing for 50 years. The focus seemed to be 1969 to 1976 with some early information thrown in. I was hoping the Stones entire career would be incorporated in this film. The 1978 and 1981 tours should definitely deserved more film time. Those were great tours. The 1972 tour was ground breaking. 1969 was infamous but very entertaining. 1975 was a great show. What about after 1981? The band went on a hiatus until 1989 when they went back on tour. Why not touch on that? There were tours after that 1994/1998/2002/2005 that could have been included. An extra hour or so would have been nice. The audio commentary by the band was very effective. It's only rock and roll but I like it.

If you're looking the story of the Stones, this isn't it. If you're looking for a little added color, this can work.

[shaughne1 · 6/10 · 17 August 2018]

This movie is a lot of archived shots of the Stones from (I think, not an expert) about '64 to '72, often overlaid with commentary by the Stones themselves recorded in 2012, with a bunch of unnecessary directorial flourish added on.

I'm a big fan of the Stones, but I'm not a super fan, and I was born after the events covered in the film. For me, this movie does a nice job filling in some of the gaps in my knowledge. There are revelatory quotes, the band members are extremely insightful, there are some awesome photos and clips, and the movie does a great job showcasing what makes the Rolling Stones so cool. There's a lot to really like.

On the other hand, the editing is hit or miss, the direction is all over the place, it fails to tell a comprehensive, or even coherent story, and the scope is unclear throughout. And the lack of comprehensiveness is significant. Few band members are introduced, some are never even mentioned, and that's to say nothing of producers, managers, girlfriends, Gram Parsons, etc. Important context and parts of the story are completely ignored.

If you're obsessed with the Stones there's probably nothing interesting besides some of the interviews, if you don't know them pretty well it will be confusing, but as someone inbetween it stoked my imagination, and the band always radiates.

Best Rock Doc of All-Time

[johnwiu · 10/10 · 28 March 2024]

This is by far the best Rock 'n roll documentary & I've watched them all. The director Brett Morgan used the same phenomenal combination of music, story-telling & video footage in telling the story avoiding the boring drowned out conversations which tend to slow down most rock docs.

If you haven't seen this, take the time to watch. The Rolling Stones are not my favorite band but up there. Irregardless of your love of the band, I think this was wonderfully done and should be a staple for all rock docs. If I met Brett Morgan, I would implore he try to do this again for any bands who would be interested.

rating will vary greatly according to your being a fan or not

[jjr-76474 · 6/10 · 31 August 2021]

I am not into the stones but i watched this with a couple of friends who are. They found it cool, i found it long. They disapproved of the Stones commenting as a voice over rather than in person, i found it a redeeming ploy, allowing to show more archive and news shots which gave a better feeling of the times. They thought the song list lacked ambition, i do agree that even i knew all of the titles featured.

So all in all a nicely edited documentary, but more suited for the band's existing fans.

Awesome!

[markcmps · 10/10 · 18 March 2013]

I am a huge Stones fan. I thought this documentary was amazing from beginning to end. I was a little worried the end would become boring because lets face it, they are not the band they used to be but, it was great from beginning to end. The footage was great, the fact that they just used their voices was a great idea. If you are a Stones fan I don't know how you couldn't like this documentary. There is a ton of old footage and concert footage that was great. I would think even a non-fan would enjoy this because it is a fascinating story of the greatest rock band ever. To hear the band talk about the last year with Brian Jones and how that all went down was really interesting. Watch it!!

"It's almost a fairy story, you know?" - Keith Richards

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 17 June 2017]

It occurs to me that if you followed a particular band from it's very beginning, a film documentary concerning their career will generally reveal very little you didn't already know. That was the case here, at least for this viewer, who's been a Rolling Stones fan right from the get-go. Released in 2012, I was surprised actually that this look at The Stones basically took you from the beginning of their career to just about the middle to late Seventies, so it's not the thorough piece I was expecting.

There were however a few tidbits I hadn't been aware of. How is it that in a little over fifty years since the Stones began playing, this is the very first mention I ever heard that the crazed young teenage girls who first came out to see the band play actually wet themselves in their hysteria? It must be true, Mick said it himself. Actually, Jagger had another comment along those lines. He stated that it was primarily in England that girls reacted hysterically to the band, while in the rest of the world it was boys. I thought that was an interesting observation on his part.

Among the topics covered in the film - manager Andrew Oldham's shaping of the band as the anti-Beatles with a significantly darker image, the early drug busts that threatened to break up the band, Brian Jones's death, the Altamont disaster, and Keith getting arrested and deciding that the band and the music were more important than his personal relationship with heroin.

In all, one will catch snippets of about two dozen songs in the Stones repertoire, with some time spent on Mick and Keith's collaborative writing and how some of their songs came together. But again, most of the footage that goes with those songs emanate from the late Sixties and early Seventies, so it's somewhat shocking to make the forty year time jump when a clip of the band singing 'All Down the Line' is used to close out the picture. It's from the 2008 Scorsese film "Shine a Light", documenting the Stones two day performance at the Beacon Theater in 2006. You wonder how the lot of them are still standing much less performing.

And yet they still perform. I've never seen them live myself, and the chances of ever doing so grows slimmer with each passing day since most of their concerts are sold out within minutes. But one can always hope.

Skimming thru the years

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 23 August 2013]

This is an abbreviated history of The Rolling Stones in 2 hours. Certainly that's not enough to go into much depth. They go from the start of their success to modern day with very little after the Canadian arrest and release.

They go through using old TV and film clips. It's fun to see some of the old footage. Although they didn't use the footage, they did use snippets of present day interview as narration for the documentary. Again the reminiscence is fairly superficial. They're not digging real deep in these interviews and nothing shocking is shown here. Just good music and good memories.

Why the Rolling Stones is still around 50 years later

[bettycjung · 15 January 2018]

1/15/18. This was a little above average for a rockumentary about the Rolling Stones. They are not my favorite band, but I did like their really early, early hits (Get off of my cloud, Satisfaction, etc.) But, if you are a millennial, then this may be an educational look at why those old men strutting around on stage STILL these days did have their day some 50 years ago. And, they were big. During the British Invasion of the '60s, there were many British rock and roll bands just starting up and looking for fans. And, they starting crossing the Atlantic for a potentially bigger fan base in the U.S. There were so many "boy bands" at the time, but the cream of the crop were The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. It was interesting that The Beatles were originally demonized by the press for their unruly moptops and adults were so afraid that they would be such a bad influence on us kids (at the time). Then for some reason, the Beatles went mainstream and the Rolling Stones took up the mantle of the Bad Boys of Rock and Roll. I am sure that "Sympathy for the Devil" solidified their reputation. So, that's just a little background from a baby boomer who missed those days.

Begins Documenting The Ride Well And Fizzles 3/4's In

[AudioFileZ · 8 April 2017]

The movie is a lot of what The Stones are. A crazy madcap band, that ultimately, perhaps not by their own design, that the music survives. In the early going this look back captures the first wave of success which when it took off became a carnival of excess. Out from obscurity the guys just went with the crazed fans and did plenty on their own to stoke the insanity. In their defense their was plenty of pent-up of repressed decorum which the fans, especially the girls early on, morphed into a kind of heretofore unleashed out of bounds adoration. It just added more fuel to the fire which is captured here as kind of dangerous ride. It went on for several years without brakes.

Life goes on and within it there is death and trouble. Brian Jones is ousted and dies while the band just keeps getting bigger. The next chapter with Mick Taylor, almost without a blip, only got bigger and more excessive. The viewer feels that this couldn't be right and so there was more trouble even while the music kept selling more and more. Another vaguely, but horrifically, related death at the Altamont concert causes a furor among many including blindsiding the band with things they couldn't contain. The music kept selling more and the excesses continued on.

Now this is where the viewer feels a bit like how can this be? So many things should be in place to devastate a career. The Stones even left Britain as they felt they had become the whipping boys for all of the worst of society. Of course it was the realization that they had a hefty back tax bill to satisfy that really made the choice for them. With so much turmoil and Keith's ever increasing heroin addiction things could have careened off the rails. Again, the music didn't let the band, or fans, down. The Stones kept rolling and to save himself Mick Taylor eventually leaves.

This is where the film loses it's quite linear trajectory. The rest of the story which includes Keith's famous Canadian bust gets a huge fast forward with big holes. Keith cleans up??? Ron Wood is in and even though it isn't mentioned by name The Stones return with their big statement which was incorrectly called "their comeback" album, as Some Girls, propels them past their sixties and seventies period into modern times. The rest gets hardly a mention which for a band celebrating their entire 50-year+ career seems strange.

All in all this is a good, not definitive, look at the wild ride of a wild band. One that had the right elements to survive even as it barely fleshes out what exactly constituted that. I'd say in this regard it is for the fans and more of curiosity for others. Still the catalog of the music, which did include missteps, survives, ultimately making it more worthy of a look even though it is hardly completest.