Shine a Light (2008)

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Release Date:

4 April 2008 (Brazil)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot:

A career-spanning documentary on the Rolling Stones, with concert footage from their "A Bigger Bang" tour.

Plot Keywords:

Concert Film | IMAX Version | Rock Band | Rock Music | Song

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Mick Jagger	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Keith Richards	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Charlie Watts	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Ron Wood	...	Himself (as Ronnie Wood)
Christina Aguilera	...	Herself
Buddy Guy	...	Himself
Jack White	...	Himself (as Jack White III)
Darryl Jones	...	Himself
Lisa Fischer	...	Herself
Bernard Fowler	...	Himself
Blondie Chaplin	...	Himself
Chuck Leavell	...	Himself
Bobby Keys	...	Himself
Tim Ries	...	Himself
Martin Scorsese	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Shine a Light (USA) (working title)
Shine a Light: The IMAX Experience (USA) (IMAX version)
Untitled Rolling Stones Documentary (USA) (working title)
Untitled Stones/Scorsese Film (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language, drug references and smoking. (edited for re-rating; originally rated R for some language)

Runtime:

Argentina:122 min | USA:122 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Sonics-DDP (IMAX version) | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIA | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Sweden:Btl | Ireland:12A | Australia:M | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43785) | Finland:S | Brazil:Livre | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Argentina:Atp | Germany:o.Al. | Singapore:M18 | Norway:A

Filming Locations:

Beacon Theatre, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Concert Promotions International

Trivia:

Bruce Willis can be seen in the audience wearing a yellow hat.

Quotes:

Martin Scorsese: We cannot set Mick Jagger on fire.

Movie Connections:

References The Last Waltz (1978)

Out Of Their Heads: Scorsese Captures England's Oldest Hitmakers

We see footage from 1973 of Mick Jagger, donning a get-up of satanic majesty, sitting atop a crudely colored couch before a show. Laughs escape his signature lips as he verbally disorients the questions of his interviewer. "Do you see yourself doing this sort of thing when you're sixty?" asks the man. Jagger's face turns serious, and without missing a beat answers: "Yeah. Easily." The man is surprised –and he should be, because who would've thought? The stamina and consistency of The Rolling Stones is the greatest of all rock 'n' roll acts, and this is confirmed in Martin Scorsese's "Shine a Light"; possibly the most intimate and revealing music-film ever shot. The show plays not as a nostalgia-soaked sendoff for The Stones, but as a powerful reminder of how great they remain to be.

The film, which one would assume to be a pleasure-seeking detour for the world's greatest director, is actually surprisingly unique and significant for The Stones. The band has been in about half dozen films before (Sympathy For The Devil, Gimme Shelter); but no one makes a rock-doc like Scorsese. The director has made two rockumentaries prior to this one: The Last Waltz, his schmaltzy farewell concert for The Band, and No Direction Home, his fascinating portrait of Bob Dylan –and here he takes elements from both of those approaches, but is mainly focused with giving us an up-close night with The Greatest Rock 'N' Roll Band in the World.

Scorsese made the right choice in filming the show in a small venue; here we get to see the band function; we see how they read each other and how much they love what they do. The Stones remain to be the most physically engaging and expressive of all bands, making use of every inch of their modest setting. Jagger scurries about the stage with the velocity of a performer a quarter of his age –he absorbs the vibrations of his bandmates and uses the energy to conduct his audience; responding to the music with monkey-mannish ferocity. Keith Richards puffs smoke amongst the spotlight and flicks picks into the crowd not simply for doing so, but to fantastically cinematic effect. Watts wears his grimace while punishing the drums as Ronnie Wood swaggers about the platform, complimenting his peers' every spasm. Even in their sixties The Stones make new bands on TV (both mainstream and your precious "indie" alike) look like petrified marsupials. They perform with such nature and grace, yet with so much spontaneity and animalism.

The set list is a continuing surprise, with the band digging up gems as old as "As Tears Go by" and "Connection". Many of the tunes were never performed live before, including the Muddy Waters' song "Cocaine and Reefer" –a number that turns into a blues-soaked duel between Buddy Guy and Jagger. Other guests include Jack White who helps in "Loving Cup" and Christina Aguilera who sings opposite Jagger on "Live With Me".

Like all Scorsese stories, there is a tragic hero, and this films finds its with Richards. The guitarist has been recently quoted as saying he regrets his unfathomable bodily abuse, and here we see old interviews where a younger version of Keith tries to explain how he's made this far: "… I guess my luck hasn't run out yet." We later see footage from a recent interview, where the rocker is asked where his mind goes when he performs; he coolly responds: "I don't think when I'm on stage. I feel." How The Stones have made it this far on a diet of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll is a question without an answer –and how it is that they remain so good is another. "Shine a Light" presents the growth and inner workings of The Rolling Stones like no film before, and at the same time puts on a damn good rock show. The Stones are still very much around and have no plans of stopping –and they shouldn't. The film is a brilliant union of sound and imagery, cut with masterful immediacy. You already know how great the songs are, so I guess all that's left for me to say for you to enjoy their use is this film.