Shine a Light

Shine a Light is a concert film following the Rolling Stones on their 2006 ‘A Bigger Bang’ tour, as well as documenting and paying homage to their early careers. Shot over two nights at a small theatre in New York, it captures the intensity and exuberance of a band well into their fifth decade of performing, and with production values (not to mention budgets) on a grand scale.

Martin Scorsese might seem an unlikely person to make a documentary, much less a documentary about a rock band, but then, the Rolling Stones are pretty much the rock band, and Scorsese is enough of a fan to include their songs in nearly all of his films – Jagger said that Shine a Light might be the only Scorsese film that doesn’t have ‘Gimme Shelter’ in its soundtrack. While the title track isn’t played in the concert, nearly all the legendary Stones songs make an appearance, and there are guest appearances from Jack White of the White Stripes, Christina Aguilera and Buddy Guy.

It seems to be a popular opinion that the Stones have ‘sold out’ in their later days, that by playing concerts in front of people like Bill and Hillary Clinton, and no longer indulging in the extraordinary excesses of their early days they are somehow less good than they used to be. Shine a Light won’t do much to persuade those with firmly held convictions, however wrong they might be, but the rest of us know not to take it that seriously. The film acts, as it should, as a showcase for the undeniable talents of the self proclaimed ‘Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World’, and even if you’ve never deliberately listened to the Stones before, you’ll love it.

Marcus Kelly