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SXSW Review: Shine a Light



Concert films are constantly at war with themselves. If the musical act is transcendent, then a filmed document will never come close to reproducing the experience of seeing and hearing the act live, in the same way that an ordinary photograph can only serve, at best, as a reminder of a moment. Even a great, exact reproduction is still just a copy, not the original. If the act is merely average or worse, then why bother to record it?

The Rolling Stones have been captured performing in concert on film or tape numerous times, so the challenge that lay before Martin Scorsese was to do something different. After all, this is the man who redefined concert films with The Last Waltz in 1978, in which he eschewed the prevailing wisdom that a concert had to include generous allotments of time devoted to the concert goer's point of view. Instead, Scorsese kept the action tightly focused on the stage, allowing the audience to enjoy the interplay between the members of The Band and various guests who shared in the group's final performance. He balanced that with lively interviews; in the process, he helped to establish Robbie Robertson as a viable solo personality in the eyes of the film industry.

I should amend the previous paragraph to read like this: "The challenge that lay before Martin Scorsese was to do something different or so I thought!" As it turns out, my expectations for Shine a Light were far too high.

Continue reading SXSW Review: Shine a Light

The Rolling Stones 'Shine a Light' on Berlinale

There's going to be some shiny, happy people at Berlinale this year. At least, some that get to bask in a big, musical, cinematic light. According to the folks over at indieWIRE, Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones concert flick, Shine a Light, will open the 58th Berlin International Film Festival when it kicks into gear on February 7. That's not a bad start to the fest, which has already announced some of the films that will compete this year. In December, titles like Errol Morris' S.O.P.: Standard Operating Procedure were announced, and just last week, flicks like Julia and Elegy were added to the roster.

But back to the Stones. The footage for this film was shot during two concerts at New York's Beacon Theater back in 2006. But this wasn't your average concert-production affair. As iW describes, Scorsese's film used sixteen cameras and collected over half a million feet of concert footage. That's compounded by all the big names involved, which I mentioned in a post about the film last July -- such as Oscar-winner Robert Anderson and cinematographer John Toll. But larger-than-life old men prancing around isn't all you can look forward to in the film. There's also performances by Jack White and Christina Aguilera (who gets a very-close wiggle with Mick Jagger), and behind-the-scenes footage. You can check out a trailer on Moviefone right here.

Scorsese to Go from Rolling Stones to George Harrison

If there's something Martin Scorsese knows about almost as much as movies, it's music from the '60s. Apparently. Why else would he be on such a roll these days with music documentaries on iconic acts from that time? First there was the wonderful Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home; now he's about to release a Rolling Stones doc titled Shine a Light; and he's just announced another doc he's going to make about George Harrison. According to Variety, the film will be more of a comprehensive biography, covering Harrison's time in The Beatles, as a solo artist, his Eastern religious/philosophical interests and even his stint a movie producer (his Handmade Films gave us Monty Python's Life of Brian and Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits). Scorsese is producing with Olivia Harrison (George's widow) and his No Direction Home producer Nigel Sinclair, and filming will begin with some interviews later this year. It will take awhile to finish, of course. The untitled pic will again be edited by David Tedeschi, who also cut the other two Scorsese music docs.

Maybe if time permits, Scorsese can do more '60s icons after he's done with Harrison. Neil Young may not be worth another film, and The Doors doc would probably be better suited to Oliver Stone, but surely we could use a Scorsese-directed film about Eric Clapton or any of the girl groups (The Shirelles, The Ronettes, The Marvellettes, The Crystals, The Shangri-Las) he likes to use for his soundtracks. Hey, he could just do a doc on girl groups. It's so good to see Scorsese getting back to music docs so long after working as an assistant director on Woodstock, and later as director of The Last Waltz, and I can't wait to see what else he's got planned. Anyway, there's no use thinking so far ahead. I'm still simply waiting for Shine a Light, which doesn't come out until April, and I'm definitely looking forward to the Harrison film, which will feature a ton of archival footage provided by his family and is expected to feature surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

Trailer Park: It's All About the Music



The music, the melody, the tunes if you will. Music is, of course, a vital part of cinema, and it is particularly significant to the trailers we're looking at today. It's all about the music here on Trailer Park.

Shine a Light
I'm sure you've heard of this band called The Rolling Stones, right? They're the ones who played the Super Bowl half-time show last year to the delight of older fans and the befuddlement of teenage viewers (at least that's how it was at the party I attended). Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film presents interviews with the band both new and historic, with the majority of the film detailing a 2006 performance at the Beacon Theater in New York City. Scorsese himself figures prominently in the trailer, so apparently at least part of the film is about the making of the film. I'm not a big fan of concert movies, although one of the few I did like was the Stones' Gimme Shelter, which covered a notorious 1969 performance at Altamont Speedway, so I'm mildly curious about Shine a Light.

Music Within
The music here is more of a metaphor, though the preview makes good use of lates 60s/early 70s pop tunes to set the period. Ron Livingston plays a gifted public speaker who, after the loss of his hearing in the Vietnam war, becomes a champion for the disabled and one of the primary activists behind the American's With Disabilities Act. Looks like an interesting little historical drama, and I've always liked Livingston, so this looks like one worth checking out.

Continue reading Trailer Park: It's All About the Music

The Rolling Stones Go Larger-Than-Life on Imax in 'Shine a Light'

If you happened to see Rolling Stones: At the Max years ago, just imagine what the band will be like now. Martin Scorsese's new concert documentary on the band, Shine a Light, is going to hit Imax screens the same day that it will come out on regular screens -- September 21. The director, who was behind the huge concert film The Last Waltz, said in a statement: "The larger-than-life images and sound of an Imax theater will only enhance the experience of giving viewers the best seat in the house to watch the Rolling Stones perform."

Or, as might be more apt, a seat close enough to see every one of the wrinkles the aged rockers have -- well-lit, sweaty and all. While I'm not sure how keen I am to see Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, et all several stories tall, it does sound like an interesting project. The film includes show and backstage footage as well as historical clips and interviews. However, they seem to really be emphasizing the two days of filming the band at New York City's Beacon Theater, so I imagine most of the film will revolve on the Stones' performances last year. What's really cool are the names that Scorsese brought together to shoot the band. The Director of Photography is Oscar winner Robert Richardson (The Aviator), and he supervised award-winning cinematographers like John Toll (Braveheart), Andrew Lesnie (The Lord of the Rings), Stuart Dryburgh (The Piano), Robert Elswit (Magnolia), Emmanuel Lubezki (Sleepy Hollow) and Ellen Kuras (Summer of Sam). At the very least, you can be sure to get some great concert footage!

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