Shine A Light

Martin Scorsese is a die-hard music fan. He has always infused his movies with rock music, fueling his scenes with energy and vigor. It wasn’t much of a surprise when he made his first concert documentary, The Last Waltz, that it was not only an exercise in style but had some of the greatest musicians onstage throughout. Well I’m a die-hard Scorsese fan. I literally have watched Goodfellas, rewound it (when DVD’s didn’t exist) and watched it again. I’m also a die-hard Stones fan so when I heard about Shine A Light I was beside myself.

Unlike The Last Waltz, Shine A Light doesn’t have a lot of doc scenes throughout- it has a few, but it’s all archival footage. There isn’t a single interview conducted by Scorsese. Mainly it is all about the music. As far as documentary footage goes, there is a wonderfully edited opening section of the film involving the back and forth the Stones and Scorsese went through to get the staging right and then in true Scorsese fashion there is a great line of dialogue and then a smash cut into the opening number. There’s only about 5-7 minutes of archival after this so if you were looking for a straightaway doc, don’t bother- but if you want a musical doc, you’ve got it. I for one was enraptured.

The camera work is top notch. Scorsese famously wrote shot lists on music cue sheets for The Last Waltz so he knew which camera would do what, and what lighting cue would hit on a certain section of a certain song. Yes, he did. Here doesn’t seem to be much different. His cameras are all over the place and he captures beautiful moments. Of note…he hired the top cinematographers in the business to shoot the concert, again, much like he did in The Last Waltz.

There are 3 musical guests that join them onstage and all are excellent with one notable, expected standout and that would be Buddy Guy. If you’ve ever seen Buddy Guy in concert or even just heard him you know what a presence he is. The man is 72 years old, not much older than The Stones, but he wiped the floor with them. He sings, with Mick, Champagne & Reefer, and it is beyond words. Watch for a tight shot on him that just holds on his face during the performance, I was trying to find it use it in this post but can’t seem to. It got to me and made me wonder where his head was at that point.

Jack White comes out to sing and play with the boys on Loving Cup- my personal Stones favorite. Since I have a keen love for this song I was fully prepared to have Mr. White hunted down and killed if he fucked it up in anyway. Not only does he kill, he has some moments that have made me listen to his version of the song again and again. He also has clear knowledge and respect for a version of the song found on the box set The First Decade. More than commendable, I have a new respect for him.

Christina Aguilera comes out to duet with Mick on Live with Me. It becomes clear quite quickly that while Mick probably has a huge appreciation for her singing talents, he also has a huge appreciation for some her other assets. Some have called it creepy and weird watching him dance with her, but I just laughed because if anyone is surprised to discover that Mick is still a complete horndog I don’t know what to tell them. Also, this is man who’s has gotten women that much younger than him so he probably thinks he might have a chance. In either case, she was terrific also.
Too some, his voice may be an acquired taste, but I loved Keith’s tracks in the film. He sings You’ve Got the Silver, another one of my favorites and Connection, which was one of my highlights.

Until another Stones song makes it into one of his films, this could be the only true Scorsese/Stones collaboration in this life. I know I’ll cherish it.

Shutter Island

Word is Mark Ruffalo is very, very close to signing on as Dicaprio's co-star in Shutter Island! Good news in my opinion as I'm a big fan of Ruffalo. Eternal Sunshine, You Can Count on Me, Zodiac...the list goes on. So the question is, who is going to lens the film? Scorsese goes back and forth between Michael Ballhaus and Robert Richardson. He used Roger Deakins once, maybe he'll go back. Personally, I'd love it if he grabbed Rodrigo Prieto.

Hey more Lehane & Cloverfield to boot...

The NY Post had some info via Brad Grey yesterday. Brad Grey currently runs Paramount. He's a force in Hollywood. I'm a fan because his taste is right in my wheelhouse (that’s disgusting) and he supports people and projects I want to see get made. Check out his imdb page. You may recognize a few titles, like, um, oh I don't know, The Departed, a little show called The Sopranos and dozens of others...Well he spilled some beans recently. He stated that Leonardo DiCaprio is starring in Shutter Island, a Dennis Lehane novel I've been anxiously awaiting to be brought to the big screen. Guess who's directing? Scorsese. Um, hi, can someone knock me out? I never in a million (years that is) would've guessed he would be behind it. Let's hope it stays that way. Apparently they're set to roll cameras in March. Who'll play opposite Leo is the question? I love Billy Crudup. He rules and he hasn't gotten the recognition he truly deserves. Either way, being that it's Scorsese, I'm sure it won't be tough to get an excellent actor in the role.

Before I move on I need to express my love for Shutter Island. I take the train to work everyday so it affords me the time to read a lot of books, which is nice. It’s practically the only thing I enjoy about the commute. I read Shutter Island on the train. One night as I was coming into my station, I was like 40 pages out from the end. Got off the train, raced home and immediately sat down and started reading. Couldn’t put the fucker down. I dare say it’s my favorite Lehane book. So that’s where my excitement started.

Cloverfield. Grey spilled that it is a "classic monster movie" Either I missed something along the way or he didn't realize there is a big internet movement drumming up buzz about this film by not exactly saying what it's about. I know that it's been hinted at severely by several sources but this is a major player, who would know, saying it is a monster movie. So there's that.

"May the good Lord-

-Shine A Light on you"

UPDATE: Looky what dropped on youtube a few days ago.



Being a HUGE fan of Martin Scorsese and The Rolling Stones it's an understatement to say I'm over the muthafuckin moon about their new documentary, Shine A Light. The film will document a concert the Stones put on at the Beacon last year. Scorsese assembled some of the best DP's working in the movie business today to shoot it. Looky here. He also documented the lead up to the concert including preparations. Scorsese has already made the single greatest concert film ever - The Last Waltz, and the Stones are the greatest rock 'n roll band ever so this destined to be nothing less than beautiful and brilliant. Yes I love The Beatles too, but the Stones exemplify everything good, great, wonderful, decadent and perfectly imperfect about rock 'n roll. They've also been around longer and their longevity means a lot to me in terms of their status of greatest rock 'n roll band ever.
Had John Lennon not been killed it might be a different story but this argument is for another post. A brief but somewhat insightful article was recently done with Scorsese about the film. He's a longtime, die hard fan of the Stones and his use of their music in his films are nothing if not inspiring and ingenious. He was also one of the early adopters of using current pop/rock music in films. See Mean Streets.(and if you do take notice of Robert De Niro's attire in the film. Sylvester Stallone clearly ripped it off for Rocky 2 years later. But I digress, as usual)

Of note, The Last Waltz is a great film documenting The Band's last performance. Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, a very young Neil Young and many more grace the stage. The way he shot this film set the stage for the way every concert was shot since. Although I doubt anyone has ever approached it the way Scorsese did. He contacted each band, found out which songs they were going to perform and then he made a shot list on a music sheet- each lighting and camera angle motivated by the lyrics and music within the song. Yes he did. There's evidence too. Pick up the DVD. You'll be dancing in your living room.

Shine A Light was supposed to come out this fall, but recently it was pushed to the fall as Scorsese is still editing and mixing. I'm disappointed only because I'm anxious and you should be too!