Rolling Stones Sympathy For the Devil (1970)

Editor's Note Jean-Luc Godard's SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL is an exhilarating, provocative pastiche of a motion picture. While the focus of the film is on The Rolling Stones song after which the film is titled, a series of abstract fictional vignettes in the second half of the film allows Godard to probe topics as diverse as Black Power, pornography, and the irony of interviewing celebrities. These extended sequences elevate the film above a simple portrait of the English rockers, constructing an intimate examination of the cultural and political movements of the '60s. It is also a fascinating study of the intellectual aesthetic that Godard developed toward the end of the decade. This film can actually be viewed as two movies in one. In addition to the aforementioned vignettes, the film shows The Rolling Stones in a London studio rehearsing "Sympathy For the Devil," a song that became one of the era's most powerful statements. The band (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman) takes a loose outline of this song and turns it into a stirring, fully realized creation. Beginning as a ballad, the track gradually acquires a pulsating groove, which gets Jagger into a rousing vocal display of soulful emotion that Godard is lucky enough to capture on film. Showing that rock & roll is more than just partying and goofing off, SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL is a brilliant portrait of the creative process at its most collaborative and arousing.

	Anne Wiazemsky - Featured
	Charlie Watts - Featured
	Iain Quarrier - Producer
	Mick Jagger - Featured
	Sean Lynch - Narrator
	The Rolling Stones - Music
	Brian Jones - Featured
	Michael Pearson - Producer
	Jean-Luc Godard - Screenwriter
	Eleni Collard - Executive Producer
	Marianne Faithfull - Featured
	The Rolling Stones - Featured
	Keith Richards - Featured
	Anita Pallenberg - Featured
	Anthony Richmond - Director of Photography
	Bill Wyman - Featured
	Jean-Luc Godard - Director

Entertainment Weekly
"...The process is amazing....An odd and fascinating piece of musical propaganda." 11/25/1994 p.91

Rolling Stone
"...The Stones and their ladies look incredibly cool..." 12/11/2003 p.219

Mojo
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A]s a memento of both the Stones' genius and 1968's pop-cultural turbulence, Godard's film -- whatever it's called -- is essential art." 06/01/2006 p.130

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "Jean Luc Godard's 1968 footage of The Rolling Stones in their swarthy, flamboyant prime is as much a socio-political propaganda piece as it is a rockumentary." 07/01/2006 p.121

Sight and Sound
"Surprisingly heavy-going, this is part polemic, part rock-music documentary." 08/01/2006 p.100