Calling something the greatest is subjective at best and, at worst, something I'll regret tagging as such sometime in the future. There's plenty of contenders for best rock film of all time and I have most of them on DVD. Stop Making Sense, Hard Days Night, The T.A.M.I. Show to name a few.
Last night was our seemingly annual viewing of The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. It's one of those long lost, until about 15 years ago, tales. The event was to have been aired on the BBC during the Christmas season of 1968, but for whatever reason, and there's numerous stories, it was shelved and forgotten. Read about it on Wikipedia.
The question is how could anyone have forgotten a rock show in a small circus tent where the audience all wore orange or yellow ponchos with matching hats. A show that featured, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, The Who, Marianne Faithful, a super group consisting of John Lennon, Yoko, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell, and of course, The Rolling Stones.
The event was filmed with multiple cameras featuring jaw-dropping close-ups of the performers. And did I mention there's circus acts thrown in for, ummm, authenticity. Trapeze artists, fire eaters, midget clowns and the Stones dressed in fitting regalia. How could this show have been lost? I boldly claim that the Stones 20 minute performance is the best 20 minutes of rock and roll ever captured on film.
Anytime I invite someone new to the house for a dinner, there's a good chance for an evening screening of the movie. It's a standard gift for friends when I need to present one. And if you've yet to see it do so immediately.
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