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 | Singing | Rock Music | Rock Band

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

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Beacon Theatre, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Concert Promotions International

Trivia:

Mick Jagger originally pitched the idea to shoot the film on the beach in Rio De Janeiro, capturing the Stones during a massive free concert as part of their Bigger Bang world tour. Martin Scorsese thought about it and even considered shooting the film in IMAX 3D format before coming to the decision to shoot the film in the more intimate Beacon Theater. According to Scorsese, this setting was much closer to his sensibilities.

Quotes:

Keith Richards: Hi, Clinton. I'm "Bushed"!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2008-04-05)" (2008)

The guys can still put on a show

I hadn't seen anything of the Stones since the 1991 IMAX "At the Max" and I was afraid that perhaps by this time the band had overstayed its welcome. But I was pleased to see that no, they are still very much accomplished performers.

This is a an up close and personal film. Most of the footage is of a performance filmed at a smallish New York theater, but there are a few clips of old interviews and some initial shots of a frustrated Scorsese trying to work out the logistics.

Using multiple cameras in the hands of skillful cameramen puts you on stage, or in the first row, at all times during the concert. The lighting and colors are used to great effect. Credit for the successes goes to all involved, but perhaps most deserving of praise goes to the editing which adds greatly to the rhythm of the music.

As an understatement I would say that Mick Jagger is not your typical grandfather. His face shows the lines of a life lived fully, but he has the movements and body build of the Jagger of forty years ago. And Kieth Richards is a testament to the resiliency of the human body. At one point he turns to the audience and says, "It's good to see you all. In fact it's good to see anybody." It's fun to see that Richards really gets into it. In an interview he says that he does not think at all when performing and his total involvement shows. Ron Wood and Charlie Watts are still up to the task, but it's Jagger who is the magic behind the Stones - the few sets he was not in lacked the spark that he supplies.

The Stones have come a long way from being the bad boys of rock to being introduced by Bill Clinton and having Jagger be Sir Mick - humorous when you think about it. Be that as it may, they still give you your money's worth.