Crossfire Hurricane

The film's very good in representing the bands early and mid term journey with all it's successes, failures, drugs, drink etc with candid interviews and good musical snippets. The footage is great but my biggest disappointment with the film is that basically very little is mentioned of the bands musical output post Let It Bleed. Sticky Fingers get a brief snippet, Exile on Main Street has a little more but post that almost nothing. A brief interlude of 'Angie' and how great Ronnie Wood has fit into the band - and he sure has if only they'd give him a bit more freedom to work with. But, and it's a big but, nothing - a great big zilch of their musical output through the late 70's and beyond, much of which was/has been critically underwhelming.

It would also have been nice to see the involvement with the band of Ian 'Stu' Stewart and Bobby Keys recognised.

In short, the film's an unpolished diamond, well worth a look to the Stones fan

Although, this film has some tremendous footage never or rarely seen it also has the feel of a crib notes version of the band. Its hard to encapsulate 50 years into less than two hours and this film is watchable, but mostly for Stones fans. The members of the band do voice overs (everyone would like a film where they all sit together and comment on things), and Brian Jones, Altamont and other things are covered, but this is by no means comprehensive. That is probably the point, if you're even a casual fan you know whats been going on with the band for 50 years. Stones fans will likely and rightly give this an 8 to 10 rating, others that never cared about the band may not wish to sit through it. Recommended for the great footage, but don't expect to get much more insight into the band than what you already know.

A seemingly Inconclusive attempt at Summarizing some Things that are Obvious about the Stones and some things that remain Elusive. It emerges as perhaps one of those heavy Magazine Tributes or could possibly be called a Coffee Table Audio-Video Presentation.

Die Hard Fans will Try Desperately to find a Thing or two they didn't know or see a Clip or two they haven't Seen, but there is Precious Little here other than vaguely Interesting Insights and Less Than Brilliant Footage.

Of course, "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World", Deserves any kind of Tribute. Especially one that has full Production in the Hands of the Band itself.

However, one could say that Total Control is not the best way to go. As is apparent many times in the Film, they were so Involved and Close to it all that They really didn't have Time to Absorb much of what was going on as They were being Elevated and Revered Year after Year. Almost every Band Member mentions Oblivious (or a synonym) as an Adjective to it all.

This could well be an Introduction for New Fans or a Mild, Emotional, and Superficial Tribute for Stalwarts. One Thing we have Learned in Modern Times is that these Type of Things are only Great when given Hours of Running Time where some of the Vintage Concert Clips and Appearances are only truly Effective if You let the Songs Play out.

Sadly, that does not happen here, not once. That would truly Benefit Newbies and Delight Boomer Fans. But the Film does One Thing if nothing else, it Reminds and Reinforces this Simple Fact...

"I know it's only Rock n Roll, But I like it."

Half a century of the Rolling Stones gets the full treatment in Brett Morgan's "Crossfire Hurricane". The documentary actually focuses more on the group's first decade, as they developed a reputation as the anti-Beatles, went through some drug busts, and even fled England to avoid the taxes. There are number of scenes in which interviewers (obviously from the older generation) are asking the band members ridiculous questions, and one gets the feeling that Mick, Keith, Charlie and the rest don't like having to answer.

But of course the best part is the music. We get to hear most of the famous songs, often getting footage of the recordings. It just goes to show that the '60s will never die. In other words, this documentary is pure satisfaction!

1/15/18. This was a little above average for a rockumentary about the Rolling Stones. They are not my favorite band, but I did like their really early, early hits (Get off of my cloud, Satisfaction, etc.) But, if you are a millennial, then this may be an educational look at why those old men strutting around on stage STILL these days did have their day some 50 years ago. And, they were big. During the British Invasion of the '60s, there were many British rock and roll bands just starting up and looking for fans. And, they starting crossing the Atlantic for a potentially bigger fan base in the U.S. There were so many "boy bands" at the time, but the cream of the crop were The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. It was interesting that The Beatles were originally demonized by the press for their unruly moptops and adults were so afraid that they would be such a bad influence on us kids (at the time). Then for some reason, the Beatles went mainstream and the Rolling Stones took up the mantle of the Bad Boys of Rock and Roll. I am sure that "Sympathy for the Devil" solidified their reputation. So, that's just a little background from a baby boomer who missed those days.