When I was about eleven or twelve, my mother took me to see a Rolling Stones concert on the Omnimax screen at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. I remember the sheer power of the size of the screen itself – us laughing about seeing Mick Jagger’s lips, each fifty feet tall. Now, year’s later, when Scorsese himself decides to make a Rolling Stones concert film, the memory of that experience ingrained in my mind allows me to compare and contrast how far we’ve come in IMAX technology over the years. And, for all our advances, Shine a Light certainly pays off, providing the full concert film experience to viewer from the new millennium.
The film starts out small. Populating only the center section of the giant screen, Scorsese begins with a mini documentary about his collaboration with the band and the process of organizing the filming of these shows. Boasting some great 16mm camerawork by Albert Maysles, this short film unto itself is a highly entertaining piece that could work on it’s own. So, to come out of that, you can imagine he has to step it up a notch. Suddenly, and without warning, the film captures the explosive intro to the concert with “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” From there, it’s full speed ahead, fluctuating between quick close-ups and long takes, based on the rhythm of the music of the feeling of the performance.
One of my favorite things about Scorsese’s piece is the sound work. Not only does it come blaring at you in full force through the powerful IMAX system, but also the instruments are mixed and isolated so that you can really get the full concert experience. If one guitar breaks and let’s the other guitar fill the space, you can hear through the sound mix. During duets with the likes of Christina Aguleria and Jack White, Jagger is heard harmonizing from one side of the theater while the other respective singer is working it on the other side. The medium is utilized to full power that it should be. This is not a concert experience. In a concert experience, you would view it from a distance. When you comprise the film with so many tight close-ups, it’s more like being on stage and the sound reinforces that.
There’s a few cute pieces of archival footage cut-in as transitions between songs and I will be the first to admit: it is a little long. The 125-minute running time doesn’t bode well for those who find this kind of film repetitive. But, bloated as it may be, Shine a Light is still a powerful reminder of the strong performances the Stones are capable of and the absurd climax is also a reminder of how playful they can be too. Captured all by Scorsese with extreme gusto using a complex multi-camera set-up and a lighting design that overheats even the season Jagger himself, the film is a must-see for biggest to the smallest Rolling Stones fans.
