At the Max

I had high hopes for this IMAX film. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. What should have been a revolutionary concert film turns out to be 85 minutes of the Mick Jagger show. Now, that's really not a big surprise as he is, after all, a legendary frontman for a legendary rock band. But seeing him (and to a lesser degree Keith Richards and Ron Wood) in IMAX proportions, posturing around the stage and "playing" with the huge blow-up dolls is more than anyone can handle. The emphasis here was NOT on the music, but on their obvious reactions to being filmed by a huge IMAX camera. I have only seen the Rolling Stones in concert once (for their 1999 tour), but I have to say that this concert was fairly disappointing. The entire concert was not filmed, as you can see the list of songs near Charlie Watts' drum kit several times in the movie and a few--Harlem Shuffle, Angie, Jumping Jack Flash--were not filmed. I could not believe they left off the latter song, one of the Stones' signature songs. The songs they did perform were over-extended versions of other classics like Satisfaction, where Mick climbs the rafters and catwalks and just acts silly. I glanced around the IMAX theater while this movie was playing, and everyone was frozen in their seats. It would have been a good opportunity to really "cut loose" and move to the huge images and sound, but no one did. The filmmakers really missed out on an opportunity to film a great concert with "At the Max." You are left with the feeling that the Stones were patting themselves on the backs for "revolutionizing" the concert film.

A capture of The Rolling Stones live during their 1989 Steel Wheels tour. Footage is from the Turin, Berlin and London legs of that tour. All the Stones are there - Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts. The song selection includes heaps of classics plus a few less-often-played ones, e.g. 2000 Light Years From Home.

A great capture of The Rolling Stones at their rockin' and rollin' best. Great selection of songs (2000 Light Years from Home was a pleasant surprise - it's not a live standard of theirs) and the band is in top form. Maybe a bit too conventionally shot to be regarded as brilliant but it's very entertaining nonetheless.

Rolling Stones: At the Max (1991)

*** (out of 4)

Filmed during the European leg of the Stones' 1990 Steel Wheels tour, this production was shot for the IMAX screens so obviously seeing it there compared to your television is going to make a lot of different but I've always felt that no matter how you see it you need a strong performance, which you get here, although at the same time I'd say this concert isn't nearly the best that the group has released and certainly doesn't come close to what Martin Scorsese would pull off with SHINE A LIGHT.

Start Me Up/ Sad Sad Sad/ Tumbling Dice/ Ruby Tuesday/ Rock and a Hard Place/ Honky Tonk Women/ You Can't Always Get What You Want/ Happy/ Paint it Black/ 2000 Light Years from Home/ Sympathy for the Devil/ Street Fighting Man/ It's Only Rock 'n Roll/ Brown Sugar/ Satisfaction

Needless to say, there aren't any limits on the classics as the group comes out with a thunderous Start Me Up and it only gets better from here. The highlights include hearing some of this terrific tracks in a way that they hadn't been played on previous tours and this includes a terrific Ruby Tuesday and a more low-key but still rocking Tumbling Dice. I don't think Satisfaction has ever sounded bad and the terrific guitar opening from Richard on Paint it Black is certainly very memorable. For the most part the group is in top form but I'd still say this concert film falls well short of previous releases and a couple they did after this one. I think this is still a good show overall but if you want to show the Stones at their greatest then SHINE A LIGHT and LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE ROLLING STONES are your best bets and not to mention GIMME SHELTER.

This veteran rock group is consistent: it almost always gives a dynamic show and it almost plays the same songs over and over. However, one doesn't seem to mind as the Stones always make their shows visually and audibly interesting no matter how many times you see and hear them.

The main difference in the shows over the years are the props (in this case, huge inflatable dolls) or a more youthful appearance when you see them in something 10, 20 and 30 years ago. When I acquired the "Four Flicks" DVD in 2003 I thought I had seen them do about all their songs but not so. For instance, in this concert is a great version of "Sad, Sad, Sad," which isn't on that multi-disc 2003 compilation.

After seeing the recent shows, you look at this and the "boys" look a heckuva lot younger.

These guys are always entertaining and I'm lucky to have found this tape in January of 2005. At the time, and still now the VHS and DVD were both unavailable for regular purchase. You have to find sellers on websites (Amazon, e-bay) to get them. I never saw this on IMAX so I can't comment about that experience.

If you love movies, you'll love this. If you love the Stones, you'll love this. If you love concert movies, you'll love this! It's just an awesome movie-going experience. This film is the 1989/1990 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle world tour filmed in the IMAX format, when projected in 70 mm film on a screen 5 stories high, completely fills your field of vision. The sound is mixed in Dolby 6-track and is deafening!

What keeps the movie going is Mick Jagger, front and center for most of the movie and his awesome energy as a performer will have you tappin' your foot along to the oldies but goodies like "Satisfaction" and "Ruby Tuesday", as well as the newer songs such as "Start Me Up" (the opening number) and "SadSad Sad".

It was just an incredible experience and the tunes were in my head for weeks afterward, I don't know if it was because of the loudness, or the memorable impression I walked away with. 10 out of 10!