Titreenp
SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?
ClassyWas
Excellent, smart action film.
Livestonth
I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible
Hadrina
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
eddiez61
It's gritty, grimy, meandering, raw, crass, dark, dreary, miserable and spectacular - just what life on the road with the World's Greatest Rock Band should be. This seemingly uninhibited peek behind the curtain of Pop celebrity is not always pretty, not always inspiring, but it is nearly always absolutely fascinating.There are few people in the world that can comprehend exactly what it means - what it feels like - to be at the center of the whirling cyclone of attention directed towards international mega stars, and Robert Frank does his best to give us a meager glimpse of the insatiable monster. The few moments of near still quiet that occur between Mick and Bianca are so oddly surreal, partly because of the quaintly eerie sound from the music box that Bianca is playing with, but largely because such mundane moments of domestic interaction are in such outrageous contrast to the non stop vortex of madness surrounding them. Business plans and arrangements are somehow accomplished in fractured, hectic, incomprehensible shouts and whispers among the din of their party life. Society's sophisticates, like Truman Capote and Lee "Princess" Radziwill rub sweaty elbows with the likes of "Snatch Girl", "Junky Soundman" and other lowly denizens of the underground conduit. Girls are witnessed fulfilling every promise that is implied by their status as Groupies. And even other celebrities at times seem bewildered and stunned by the carnivalesque proceedings, like Tina Turner's moment in the dressing room where she is every bit a deer in the headlights of the Stones' thundering locomotive. Maybe she always looked that way back then, battered as she was by Ike, but her expression is so perfectly matched to my own feelings of shock and awe.The few live musical moments are thrilling in their intimacy, their proximity to that entity that is the Band at work. On and back stage the camera functions as a trusted band mate. It's the eyes and ears and heart of an active, invaluable member of the group - the audience. And as valuable and irreplaceable as that role is, we, the fans, are still left behind when the camera closes in on the face of an enraptured (possibly tripping) Keith as he unleashes a flesh tearing solo. No one but the boys themselves will ever know just exactly what wonderful, magical, mysterious stuff it was to be at the center of their mad, beautiful world, but now I have a fair clue, and it's awesome.
BlackJack_B
CS Blues is one of the most infamous documentaries ever made. So controversial that the Rolling Stones refused to call it a documentary they were funding and wanted to be seen as just "actors". The film, directed by Robert Frank and produced by Marshall Chess, details highlights of TRS's Exile On Main St. tour from late 1972. While we see some great numbers from The Stones such as "Midnight Rambler", "Brown Sugar" and a great duo performance by Mick Jagger and Stevie Wonder, the film is more known for the explicit sex and drug use. We see what many have called "real reality-TV" here. Orgies, various drugs being used, and the slice-of-life look at what the later years of the hippie generation had brought.There are some hilarious scenes, though. The woman credited as "Snatch Girl" makes some hilariously druggy comments; Keith Richards attempt to order fresh fruit from the concierge is another good bit. Later, Richards and saxophonist Bobby Keys (who still tours with TRS today) are shown tossing a T.V. out the window in the guise of T.V. repairmen. Sadly, we also see the anorexic heroin addict shooting up and you wonder if she or any of the other groupies survived.TRS are not part of any of the explicit activities; they are merely spectators to the party. However, early in the film, a man who may be Mick Jagger is seen fondling his nether regions. Also, the infamous CS Blues song is played at one point.Many originally thought that CS Blues was a lost film but enough copies survived into the digital era and have made it onto DVD. You might be able to see this huge slice of Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'N Roll somewhere. It is certainly something else.
Brett Scieszka
I used to think that 'Gimme Shelter' was the end all, be all of Rolling Stones documentaries. The Maysles' film is undeniably heroic, but its shine and polish, its squeaky clean view of the Stones as consummate professionals utterly belies the fact that road life with the skinny brits did involve a good deal of sex, drugs, and a bit of rock and roll too. Filmed during a tour to promote my personal favorite Stones record, 'Exile on Main St,' 'Cocksucker Blues' is a grimy, sordid foray in the behind the scenes workings of the Rolling Stones machine. Gloriously filmed in both color and black and white super 8, and artfully presented with a strong focus on non-diagetic audio tracks, 'Cocksucker Blues' is no simple document of events, but a solid work of art in its own right. The haphazard filming style during performances is more kinetic and subjective than the Maysles' lens and suits the jarring, hell-bent nature of the music. The craziness of tour life is captured in some particularly amazing and unforgettable scenes. The kook, nearly suicidal fan, whose baby's been taken away due to mom's acid habit, the primitive and forceful disrobing of women on the plane while the band cooks up a beat to go with it, and the junky sound man all create a subterrainian truthful texture to the Stones experience that was most likely not available to the Maysles brothers.
withnail-4
semi-staged documentary trying to show the coolness of the rolling stones, but the only thing they can think of doing is taking drugs and trashing hotel rooms. the banality is overwhelming, and displays the collapse of a counter culture into unimaginative squalor. I like the Stones' music, but they make lame celebrities.