Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2011

Concert footage from the 1981 Rolling Stones tour, directed for some reason by Hal Ashby (Harold and Maude; Being There; Shampoo). The brief, soundless glimpses backstage only served to make me wish I were watching a documentary, perhaps on the state of the “Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band in the World” at that time, already 20 years together, instead of this straight, wall-to-wall concert movie. Initially transfixing, it gets repetitive after a while. Not sure why it’s being released now, and here. Instead, check out Scorsese’s fine Shine a Light if you’re looking for a good Stones concert movie.