LONG ISLAND, NY -- It was aight. That’s what I said when the credits started rolling at the end of Shine a Light.
Compared to The Last Waltz, the other Martin Scorsese rockumentary that I and some of you have seen, this one wasn’t as good. Yes, it showed that the Rolling Stones are, in fact, old and crazy. Particularly, Keith Richards is old as you’ll see when he shows off his aging flabby 70 year old arms while playing the guitar. And Mick Jagger dancing on stage is one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen, but the ladies seem to love it. So go figure. The coolest cat in the band has to be the drummer, Charlie Watts, who appears to be a normal dude wearing a t-shirt and not saying much while Jagger and Richards move around like buffoons, wearing sequined-covered clothes most of the time. Ronnie Wood is in there, too, but has kind of a limited role.
Shine a Light was similar to The Last Waltz in that there was a concert, it was filmed, and the band had guests. In the Rolling Stones’ case the guests were Buddy Guy (nice), Christina Aguilera (hot, OK) and Jack White (??? – I later realized he was in the White Stripes. He seemed out of his league on stage.) This trio doesn’t compare to the special guests that joined The Band in The Last Waltz: Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Muddy Waters, Dr. John, and more. Also, if you remember, and “I hope Neil Young will remember” Ronnie Wood was a guest, which should tell you something. The Stones are The Band’s guests.
I’ll leave most of the “film noir” stuff for Per but here are few tidings…It’s 2008 now and the quality of the picture and film equipment for Shine a Light was like 2 million times better than The Last Waltz. I was watching in HD and it really did look like a movie. But The Last Waltz was 4 million times more interesting because of the behind the scenes stuff it had, like all the backstage interviews and hilarious interviews on the road, too. Shine a Light had some of that, but it was mostly at the beginning. After the footage of Scorsese complaining that he didn’t have the set list from the Stones and a pre-concert visit from Bill, Hillary Clinton, and Hilary’s mother (? – I guess this was a benefit concert for global warming or something) there wasn’t much other stuff besides concert footage. I like some of the Stones songs, but a lot of them I honestly didn’t recognize, and I got kind of bored toward the middle of the movie. Maybe it’s because it was nearing my 1:30 a.m. bedtime and it was Tropical Storm Hanna-ing outside my window, but I felt the pace didn’t pick up until the last two or three songs, familiar ones like Brown Sugar. There could have been more funny stories and insightful interviews along the way, especially for a band that’s been together for so long and clearly has some interesting characters. In the Last Waltz, you kind of got the story behind The Band. You don’t get that in Shine a Light.
But if you want to see just pure, crystal clear and well-lit footage of the Stones having fun on stage, and see Jagger grind on Christina Aguilera, this flick is for you. B-
-Weatherman
PITTSBURGH, PA -- This isn’t The Last Waltz. That epic rockumentary from Scorsese can never really be outdone, even by the man himself.
I enjoyed Shine a Light for the most part, but I had problems with almost every aspect of its execution, except for the Rolling Stones themselves. They’re always great to watch. Some moments: at the end of a fast paced song Charlie Watts looks right into the camera and lets out a big breath of relief. In the middle of Just My Imagination Keith Richards throws his guitar pick to someone in the audience and keeps on playing without it. There’s a great blues song duet that Keith Richards sings while Ronnie Wood plays the slide guitar and they both look like they’re loving it. That’s one thing about the Rolling Stones, they’re always smiling, laughing, and having a great time playing music together.
But I missed all the special guests of The Last Waltz. Here we have Jack White, Mick Jagger grinding on Christina Aguilera, and a goofy blues guitarist name Buddy “Motherfucker” Guy who was the only one I actually really liked.
While the band played their hearts out, I felt like a lot of the music strangely got lost in the sound mix. Scorsese chose to keep the crowd noises in the background, which is great when they’re singing along and cheering, but leaving it in all the time just muddles the music. I also thought it was strange that the vocal audio sounded like it was recorded from back in the audience, there was a lot of reverb and echo. I guess Scorsese wanted it to sound like you’re watching a concert, but again, a lot of the lyrics were lost and it just muddied up the soundtrack. I felt like I wasn’t able to enjoy the music as much as I should have because it seemed like the music wasn’t distinct and was drowned out.
The camerawork wasn’t that impressive either. Most of the shots were medium shots from varying directions of the band. There weren’t very many close-ups of, say, Keith Richards fingers moving over the guitar, or Charlie Watts banging away at the drums. Especially during solos you never get to see them in action. Except for a few moments the shot composition was just kind of bland. It felt like a regular concert film rather than something more.
But the thing that bothered me the most was the editing. It was fast and frenetic and never let your eyes just take in the action. It cut between shots of the same person that were just from different angles. Or it would cut to someone on the guitar playing a riff and then cut away before they finished. We’d see the Rolling Stones interacting with each other but the film would cut away without just letting us take in what was going on. I also felt like Charlie Watts was way underrepresented compared to the other three.
But the thing that bothered me the most was the editing. It was fast and frenetic and never let your eyes just take in the action. It cut between shots of the same person that were just from different angles. Or it would cut to someone on the guitar playing a riff and then cut away before they finished. We’d see the Rolling Stones interacting with each other but the film would cut away without just letting us take in what was going on. I also felt like Charlie Watts was way underrepresented compared to the other three.
Shine a Light had some old interviews intercut with the concert, but it would have been much better to also have new interviews. The Last Waltz had the Band reminiscing about their career, but we don’t really get any of that here. Especially since the Rolling Stones have been touring so long you’d think that they’d have some great stories and interesting perspectives on things. That’s not to say that the old interviews with the band weren’t relevant or interesting, it’s just that it would have been much more engaging to compare their perspectives then and now. I have to admit that it’s more Scorsese’s fault than anything. Instead of some sort of insight on the Rolling Stones and their legacy Shine a Light is just a concert film that I feel like anyone could have put together. Scorsese’s better than that, so I more disappointed than anything.
In fact, the best part of Shine a Light was the special feature: “Supplemental Featurette.” It was intercut footage of the Rolling Stones rehearsing for this concert, chatting, talking with the crew, and more old interviews. The rehearsals were just them jamming and practicing, and then them talking about different things, sharing stories, and just hanging out. That’s what Shine a Light should have been and could have been. A chance to really get to know the Rolling Stones outside of all the glitz and glamour. C
-The Director
1 comment:
I haven't seen it and probably won't but maybe the rolling stones forgot all of the wild things that happened while they were on the road because their brains are basically dead. Just a thought
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