The effect was intense and overwhelming, but I mean that in a good way.
Shine a Light (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:33
Fresh:29
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: It may offer little new for fans, but Martin Scorsese's document of the Rolling Stones' electrifying live show should provide satisfaction to audiences.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for brief strong language, drug references and smoking.
Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins
Genre: Musical & Performing Arts
Theatrical Release:Apr 4, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $5,355,376
Synopsis: The music of the Rolling Stones has lit up the soundtrack to so many Martin Scorsese films ("Gimme Shelter" has appeared in no less than three of his features--GOODFELLAS, CASINO, and THE DEPARTED)... The music of the Rolling Stones has lit up the soundtrack to so many Martin Scorsese films ("Gimme Shelter" has appeared in no less than three of his features--GOODFELLAS, CASINO, and THE DEPARTED) that it's little surprise to find the director teaming up with the legendary rockers for this concert recording. SHINE A LIGHT begins with a few glimpses of the preparation that went into the recording of the show, which was staged over two nights at New York City's Beacon Theatre in 2006. Scorsese also includes some candid footage of the Stones doing a pre-show meet-and-greet with guests Bill and Hillary Clinton, which highlights some of the different personality traits in the band. Keith Richards and Ron Wood are the clowns, always goofing around; Mick Jagger is the consummate professional, always polite to a fault; Charlie Watts caries a real air of dignity, as befits someone who enjoys a dual career as a noted jazz musician. The bulk of the movie is dedicated to the multi-camera shoot at the Beacon, which captures the Stones playing some of their biggest hits and a few lesser-known numbers. Special guests such as Jack White, Buddy Guy, and Christina Aguilera are ushered on at various points in the show, and the concert footage is broken up by some amusing vintage footage of the band. By using so many cameras, Scorsese captures a side of the Stones that is rarely seen, such as Watts turning to camera and puffing out his cheeks and Richards offering encouraging words to Jack White as he exits the stage. SHINE A LIGHT provides a welcome glimpse into the Stones' world at this advanced stage in their career, and continues Scorsese's obsession (see also: NO DIRECTION HOME and THE LAST WALTZ) with documenting some of the most influential characters in rock & roll. [More]
Starring: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ron Wood
Starring: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ron Wood, Christina Aguilera, Buddy Guy, Bill Clinton, Jack White, Rolling Stones
Director: Martin Scorsese
Director: Martin Scorsese
Producer: Victoria Pearman, Michael Cohl, Zane Weiner, Steve Bing
Studio: Paramount Vantage
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Reviews for Shine a Light
At times, the cutting shifts from the hasty to the impatient to the borderline epileptic, and, while never doubting Scorsese’s ardor for the Stones, I got the distinct impression of a style in search of a subject.
The genius of Scorsese's film, which is being shown in IMAX in 93 theaters, is that it reveals the Stones' mortality while celebrating all that makes them more than mere mortals.
It's showbiz, after all. And the band still rocks like none other, true to their creed that if their adored blues masters can play into their dotage, then so can they.
He brings all his skills as a filmmaker to the film, but Scorsese did not achieve the monumental dimensions of his movie from cinematic savoir faire. Shine a Light is huge because the Stones are giants.
Amazingly, Jagger turns 65 in July. And although his face is carved with lines, his stage act hasn't changed much since the band played Madison Square Garden nearly 40 years ago.
The movie easily beats paying $250 to experience the Bones in person; you can see everything without having to stand up, and the sound at a multiplex is far better than any arena.
The music's insistent richness builds and builds, its sound becoming so deep and persuasive that qualms about age fade and the rhythms carry us away.
What he has created, inadvertently, is an invaluable documentation of semi-fossilized Stones -- musicologists may like it, sociologists should love it and, some distant day, anthropologists will treasure it.
This is how great rock and roll was meant to be filmed: By great filmmakers.
There's more than a bit of satisfaction to be had in Shine a Light, which starts with a clever tussle of the dynamic wills of Jagger and Scorsese.
As Jagger is the ringmaster in front of the cameras, Scorsese is the maestro behind them, assembling a crew under Robert Richardson that reads like a Who's Who of award-winning cinematographers.
Aside from threading in a few black-and-white clips of the band being interviewed in the mid-60s, Scorsese doesn't have much to say about the Stones, and their unfeeling professionalism onstage says quite enough already.
Some may argue that Shine a Light could have used more such flavoring. Stones' fans won't be among them.
The filmmaking tries to generate excitement; it doesn't capture it.
Shine a Light combines his foreknowledge with the versatility of great cinematographers so that it essentially seems to have a camera in the right place at the right time for every element of the performance.
As the director of the documentary Shine a Light, Martin Scorsese is a besotted rock ’n’ roll fan who wholeheartedly embraces its mythology.
Martin Scorsese meets the Rolling Stones in Shine a Light. The synergy is so brilliant, it's nearly blinding.
For the most part, Scorsese (as he did in The Last Waltz, his brilliant documentary about the Band) largely lets the Stones be the Stones.
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