Rolling the camera on the Stones

By Emma Jones
Entertainment reporter, BBC News

In an exclusive interview, Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese explains what drew him to make Rolling Stones concert movie Shine A Light.

Shine A Light received its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival

For a passionate music fan like Martin Scorsese, the chance to capture the energy of one of the world's most enduring rock bands live on stage was too tempting to resist.

The result is Shine A Light, a two-hour rampage through the Rolling Stones' back catalogue captured on film at New York's Beacon Theatre in 2006.

"Mick [Jagger] and I have been talking about doing a project on the music business for about eight years," Scorsese told BBC News at this year's Berlin Film Festival.

"Over the years I went and see a number of their shows. They were very big, very spectacular, and the machinery was like setting up a small city.

"Rock 'n' roll really affected me back in 1954," the director continues. "Watching the Stones, I thought it would be like trying to film a moment in time.

"If they really got it that night, it would be something to have for a long time."

Irate

So did Scorsese capture the band's spirit on this particular occasion? Modestly, he believes he did.

"Don't forget that was their second concert at that theatre," he explains.

The film features Mick Jagger (r) duetting with Christina Aguilera

"It was as if the first one was a warm-up, and the second started like it was an encore and built from there."

The atmosphere at a relatively intimate venue also helped, enabling Scorsese to get his 17 cameras close enough to focus on the whites of the band members' eyes.

Yet not even that amount of equipment could ensure he captured the opening chords of the concert.

Viewers will see Scorsese getting downright irate at the start of the documentary, claiming that with minutes to go Jagger has yet to hand him a set list.

"It might as well have been that late," he smiles sheepishly when asked if he'd exaggerated his irritation to provide more drama.

"All my camera placements were there at that point and I needed to know who was doing what first. Was the first song starting with Mick, or with a guitar riff from Keith?

"When the curtain went up I didn't know what I'd get. Trust me, it's possible to have 17 cameras and miss everything."

'Provocation'

Given his friendship with Jagger and the number of Stones tracks that have appeared in his films, Scorsese seems an obvious choice to make Shine A Light.

"They have an edge to them," he explains. "And if you know the films I make, I'm told they have an edge to them too.

Stones music has featured in several Scorsese films, including The Departed

"I like the provocation of their music, the anger and frustration of some of their expressions, and the subject matter of the songs.

"Gimme Shelter is an obvious one," he continues, referring to the Rolling Stones' 1969 track. "People today are crying out for shelter and there is no shelter anymore.

"Even more so now it's an anthem for our time. I'm told by Mick I've used it three times in my films."

Indeed, the song has appeared on the soundtrack of three Scorsese crime epics to date: 1990's GoodFellas, 1995's Casino and recent Oscar-winner The Departed.

"I'll tell you about Gimme Shelter and The Departed," the director elaborates. "I was coming home from shooting in New York, in heavy traffic on 57th Street.

"I could hear the song getting louder, coming from this car next to me. This guy with long hair was slamming his head against the steering wheel shouting, 'It's just a shot away.'

"I said, 'That's The Departed. That's the theme of the movie - it has to be there."

Shine A Light is out in the UK on 11 April.