Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 33
 Four stars just for the photos and video... August 31, 2010
Doug Olsen (Bellevue, WA USA)
Ok, as a documentary, it's not so hot. I was hoping for a ton of information about the writing and recording process behind Exile on Main St. At this point, I think even casual Stones fans know they were in the South of France living as tax exiles. That said, I was pretty enthralled with the pictures and video they chose to put in this film. I think I paid $10 or $12 for this DVD so it was worth every penny. Now, if they'd only taken a film crew out on the road with them in '72 when they were touring to support this album, that'd be something worth having...
 OK but not great August 25, 2010
Thomas Conlon
I love the music of the Stones. But I found this documentary disappointing. As other reviewers have stated, not much here is new. Throughout the bulk of the movie, we get current voiceover interviews with old film footage playing. The Stones talk about their lifestyle and the atmosphere surrounding the making of this classic album. There may be one or two interesting film clips and Jagger and Watts returning to the mansion where they recorded much of the album is fun, but that's about it.
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br /I would have enjoyed a more detailed discussion of the classic tracks of the album. I would have loved to hear more outtakes (some are carelessly scattered throughout the movie) or a breakdown of the instruments tracked on each song. I guess for me, this documentary didn't focus enough on the MUSIC!
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br /Having said that, it's still the Stones, and it is fun to watch. If you are a diehard Stones fan, it's definitely worth seeing.
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Good "making of" but... August 22, 2010
D. J. Walsh
The interviews were great, of course Mick is typically 'being Mick' at times, his 'who cares about recording sessions', and gracious of Anita Pallenberg to take part in it, which was unexpected, but def. added to the story. Jake Weber aka Joe DuBois from "Medium" was a complete shock though... but not as shocking as the stories he told regarding why he was there.
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br /If you want the Stones Story, you already have "25 x 5" even though it's not on DVD, and "Shine a Light".
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br /I think for a fan that doesn't want to spend hours reading about the sessions, it's a good "Cliff Notes" version taking you from the reason why they became exiles to going out on the road.
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br /As far as the interviews go, they decided to go with the band and people who have been influenced by this particular album. Maybe it should've been in a "listening party" format, and let them discuss and debate, as well as having some of them do the interviewing with the Stones? I would've had Scorsese do most of the questions directed towards the band, kind of a nod to "Shine a Light".
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br /I've seen the Gram Parsons "Fallen Angel" documentary, and you would be doing yourself a favor and rent or buy that, right after seeing this. There's a few things covered there that were glossed over on this DVD, and Keith goes into detail over Gram's time at the villa, which annoyed Jagger to no end, on top of the other things going on at the time. The debate on GP's importance or influence around the "Exile" sessions is more or less resolved here.
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br /Of course you're going to listen to "Exile" once you're done watching it!
 Stones should go into Exile again! August 21, 2010
Baljit S. Grewal (Los Angeles CA)
Interesting documentary about the making of the album. Perhaps the Stones should go back into exile so they can record a great album again (lol). Any tit bits about the recording of the LP is always fascinating.
Not that hot stuff August 20, 2010
Lovblad (Geneva, Switzerland)
I suspect that if you like the Stones on the one hand you will love this look at one of their most important albums, however also of you love the Stones it will not show that much new stuff. If you rae unfamiliar or do not like the Stones, then this is nothing at all to lok at. Indeed, it is not really a documentary on the meking of exile since tehre is no real footage that makes sense about that in here. What it does is convey the athmosphere surrounding the making of the album in the South of France quite well. It also shows the state the Rolling Stones were in when they left for tax reasons in the early 70's. There is no clear breakdown of the songs. Some of the additional interviews are quite nice but do not ilustrate enough what is perhaps one of the pivotal albums of the 70's. It is n ot expensive but at the same time it does not really deliver what it promises.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 33
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