Nov 9 2012 – 2012 is the 50th anniversary of The Rolling Stones – and the milestone is being marked with relatively little fanfare. 2 gigs in Paris, 2 gigs in Newark, a book, and a couple of documentary DVD releases is pretty much what fans can expect. Tonight we watched the Toronto premiere of one of those documentaries entitled Crossfire Hurricane. The film actually premiered in London on October 18 2012, with the Stones in attendance. The screening tonight was a one off by the excellent Front Row Centre Events and Cineplex, but it really is a warm-up for the Blu-Ray/DVD release coming in the next few months.
The movie lists 11 producers including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ron Wood (which happen to be the four current members of the band). This fact immediately will imply that the documentary will portray the band in a very positive light, and not address anything on the negative side in any detail. Although that statement is generally true we do spend a good deal of time with the band and it’s drug addiction along with the horrors associated with it. Richards in particular is considered a walking time bomb and the film does not mask that fact.
The film traces the Stones from 1962 in chronological order through narration by Mick and the boys and as is often the case real life makes the best narrative. The viewer is taken back to a time when youth was on the side of rock and roll and the media portrayed the rockers as degenerates, a fact that the Stones played up. We get an in depth look of life as a Rolling Stone which includes the glory of being in the the self proclaimed “greatest rock and roll band of the world” as well as the depths of drug induced self destruction. Rare footage as well as footage seen dozens of times is included in this well rounded and very interesting documentary. The inclusion of Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor who are both interviewed was necessary for this film to really be considered an authentic treatise on the topic of The Stones. Of course everything ties together as part of a well oiled marketing machine so it should come as no surpise that The Rolling Stones announced that both Wyman and Taylor would be part of their upcoming shows this year (as special guests).
Redlands and Altamont are two words that mean alot to Rolling Stones fans as they are two very well documented episodes in the band’s history. In 1967 in Keith Richards home (named Redlands) a group of friends including Richards and Jagger were gathering for an LSD party that the cops were aware of. Jagger and Richards got busted and were sentenced to 3 months and 12 months respectively. Altamont was the “other Woodstock” festival back in 1969 where the Hells Angels were hired as the security force. Things got really ugly at the festival and 18 year old Meredith Hunter was killed via stabbing. Both of these events get coverage in the film in great detail. One thing that really stands out in this excellent documentary is how powerful of a feeling concerts had in the 70’s. The crowd shots of the arenas certainly portrayed a much better time in music where people were not spending their time trying to capture blurry pictures on their phones and tweeting things like “Mick just took the stage”.
The nearly two hour film covers the band until 1977 and one of the most interesting moments was when Jagger admits that the band played up their personas for so many years – primarily to be the “anti-Beatles”. The necessary opposing force of nature in the fairy tale battle of good vs evil – until Led Zeppelin came and made the Rolling Stones seem like wimps in the debauchery department. Unfortunately the film does not cover the last thirty years of the band’s career at all – but perhaps that was intentional since the first 20 years or so could never be topped.
Verdict: 4.5 out of 5 An excellent journey into 60’s and 70’s that will be nostalgic to some and an unfamiliar journey to others. The Rolling Stones contribution to rock and roll is immense and luckily this film captures that fact in a resounding manner. It’s only rock and roll, but I like it.
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