Crossfire Hurricane

Artists: The Rolling Stones

Studio: Eagle Rock Entertainment

Released: May 21, 2013

Reviewed: May 19, 2013

My earliest memories of anything to do with the Rolling Stones is just a tad bit on the macabre side.  Two of my college age cousins, Jim and Kenny (both on my dad’s side of the family) were HUGE Rolling Stones fans.  And I mean HUGE. It was July, 1969. I wasn’t even ten years old yet and was just about to enter into the fourth grade in Huntsville, Alabama, but was at my paternal grandparent’s house for a visit, enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of rural life on the family farm.

This visit was different though (if my memory serves me correctly).  My two uber-cool cousins seemed upset about something. I learned later that they were devastated by the news of the death of Rolling Stones co-founder, Brian Jones.  They were so upset, in fact, that they built a rather large stone monument to Jones back in the woods of Jim’s maternal grandparent’s property down the road a piece from where I was staying.

Just what the heck does that have to do with a review of Crossfire Hurricane?  Quite simply, the DVD rockumentary brings back all sorts of memories, small and large, for Stones fans regardless of when they began following the band. 

Available on May 21, 2013, Crossfire Hurricane is the kaleidoscopic new film that documents the key periods of the Rolling Stones’ career and their incredible journey.

Directed by Brett Morgen, Crossfire Hurricane provides a remarkable new perspective on the Stones’ unparalleled journey from blues-obsessed teenagers in the early 60’s to rock royalty. It’s all here in panoramic candor, from the Marquee Club to Hyde Park, from Altamont to Exile, from club gigs to stadium extravaganzas.

With never-before-seen footage and fresh insights from the band themselves, the film will delight, shock and amaze longtime devotees, as well as a new generation of fans, with its uniquely immersive style and tone. Crossfire Hurricane places the viewer right on the frontline of the band’s most legendary escapades.

As befits the first rock band to reach the 50-year milestone with their global stature now greater than ever, the film combines extensive historical footage, much of it widely unseen, with contemporary commentaries by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood and former Stones Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor. Period interviews, extensive live performance material and news archives give the production a truly kinetic aura and no-holds-barred approach.

Bonus features on the DVD and Blu-Ray include previously unreleased concert footage -  “Live in Germany ‘65”, NME Poll Winners concert footage from 1964 and 1965, a new interview with director Brett Morgen, “The Sound and Music of Crossfire Hurricane”, footage from The Arthur Haynes Show (1964), and the theatrical trailer Crossfire Hurricane received its worldwide premiere at the London Film Festival in October, where Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood all hit the red carpet to the delight of fans and media from all around the world. The film received a similar premiere in the U.S. the following month, hosted by HBO at the Ziegfeld Theatre.

Asked in a formative interview in the film what it is that sets them apart from other groups, Jagger says with quiet understatement: “A chemical reaction seems to have happened.” Keith Richards added, “You can't really stop the Rolling Stones, you know when that sort of avalanche is facing you, you just get out of the way.” It’s been happening ever since, and the life and times of the Rolling Stones have never been as electrifyingly portrayed as they are in Crossfire Hurricane.