Martin Scorsese and The Rolling Stones. If anyone was qualified to capture the manic, swaggering on-stage energy of the world’s greatest rock band, it is undoubtedly this brilliant director. Scorsese has inventively utilised the band’s tunes in many of his films, and his knowledge, understanding and passion for classic rock music is well documented, most notably in the form of his sprawling Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home. But those expecting that kind of magnifying glass to be applied to The Stones will be bitterly disappointed with Shine A Light. This is a concert film, pure and simple.
The film begins with a buzzing, hyperactive Martin Scorsese trying to corner Mick Jagger to nut out the details of the shoot at New York’s Beacon Theatre over two nights on the group’s mammoth Bigger Bang tour. In one fell swoop, the scene sets up the truly gargantuan presence of The Rolling Stones: when thrown up against them, even Martin Scorsese – perhaps American cinema’s greatest living director – is reduced to the role of a buzzing gnat, flitting around in pursuit of small, insignificant details like what songs will be played in what order, and where everyone will be standing. But don’t be fooled – Scorsese is a genius, and he showed it early when brought on board by The Stones to make a concert film with them. Mick Jagger – always one for grand gestures – had wanted the director to capture The Stones’ enormous, record-breaking outdoor show on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Scorsese relented, wanting instead to do something more intimate, and also something that he could control, and suggesting shooting a concert at the smaller Beacon Theatre. The gamble paid off.
The fact that The Stones are a great live band, however, doesn’t necessarily mean that making a great concert movie with them is a foregone conclusion. Hal Ashby’s Let’s Spend The Night Together (aka Time Is On Our Side) is a largely turgid affair, and even the late sixties-era The Stones In The Park occasionally lacks in energy. But Scorsese (who made one of the best music movies ever with The Last Waltz, featuring the final performance of The Band) is a master, and Shine A Light is pure rock’n’roll nirvana, standing mightily as one of the truly great concert films.
Filmink 4.5/5
