Sympathy for the Devil (1968)

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writer:

Jean-Luc Godard (writer)

Release Date:

26 April 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Drama | Music

Plot:

Godard's documentation of late 1960's western counter-culture, examining the Black Panthers, referring to works by LeRoi Jones and Eldridge Cleaver...

Plot Keywords:

Singing | Song | Rock Band | Car | Singer

Cast

Mick Jagger	...	Himself - The Rolling Stones
Brian Jones	...	Himself - The Rolling Stones
Keith Richards	...	Himself - The Rolling Stones (as Keith Richard)
Charlie Watts	...	Himself - The Rolling Stones
Bill Wyman	...	Himself - The Rolling Stones
Anne Wiazemsky	...	Eve Democracy
Iain Quarrier	...	Fascist porno book seller
Frankie Dymon	...	Black power militant
Sean Lynch	...	Commentary (voice)
Danny Daniels	...	Black power militant
Illario Pedro
Roy Stewart	...	Black power militant
Linbert Spencer
Tommy Ansah		(as Tommy Ansar)
Michael McKay

Also Known As:

One Plus One (UK) (director's cut)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | UK:15 (re-rating) (1997) | Australia:MA | Argentina:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1997) (uncut) | UK:X (original rating) (cut)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Cupid Productions

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Jean-Luc Godard]In the final scene, Godard can be seen running on the beach in a blue raincoat and a white tennis hat. He pours red paint from a bottle onto Anne Wiazemsky, before she is lifted by the crane in the final shot.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Godard in America (1970)

Great rock and sweeping political view

Jean-Luc Godard has managed to combine a sweeping overview of U.S. political extremes with footage of the Rolling Stones to create a wonderful effect. Godard illustrates different extremes of the U.S. political continuum and intersperses them with the Rolling Stones recording my personal favourite, Sympathy for the Devil.

Once again, it would be a terrible mistake to take Godard at face value. The central thread of this movie, as well as that of many others, is satire. Who can take the gun-distributing black power militants seriously, or Eve Democracy for that matter? Godard's satire is as biting as ever.