Rolling Stones: Shine A Light – Blu-ray Disc Review

July 25, 2008 – 12:16 AM - Posted by: Justin Sluss

Tags: Charlie Watts, Keith Richards, Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger, Paramount, Ronnie Wood

has an average rating of 7.6 on IMDb
1080p in AVC MPEG-4 on a 50gb disc
Dolby TrueHD 5.1 & DTS-HD 5.1 MA
are ALL in High Def with 5.1 sound!
–
– 2008
– 121 minutes
– Paramount

Overall Verdict – Highly Recommended

Buy it for $25.95 @ Amazon.com

— Review written by: Justin Sluss —

Theatrical Trailer: Click HERE to view the Quicktime HD Trailer

The Concert Itself was performed at New York’s Beacon Theater, Directed by legend Martin Scorsese and is the most recent concert film done by the “Rolling Stones” which are comprised of Mick Jagger (on vocals), Keith Richards (on guitar and vocals), Ronnie Wood (on guitar) and Charlie Watts (on drums). The “Stones” have been performing together now for over 40 years and are considered one of the greatest rock bands of all-time. This concert film differs from past efforts from the band as well as any artist for that matter in the fact that the Director was a Hollywood legend, Scorsese. The Director had no clue what the setlist would be for the concert until the very last minute when the band starts playing “Jumping Jack Flash” and I think that actually helps keep the filmmaker(s) on their toes. Joining Scorsese are some of his award-winning cinematographer friends like Robert Richardson (“The Aviator“), Robert Elswit (“There Will Be Blood“), Andrew Lesnie (“Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring“), John Toll (“Legends of the Fall“), Ellen Kuras (“Summer of Sam“), Stuart Dryburgh (“The Piano“) and Declan Quinn (“Leaving Las Vegas“).

This amazing amount of cinematography talent combined with the pure genius of filmmaker Martin Scorsese and the sheer raw energy of the performance by the band here makes for one amazing concert experience. Before the concert and in between musical performances we get some behind-the-scenes footage as well as old stock interview footage of the band early on in their career. This proves to be highly entertaining obviously to die-hard “Stones” fans but also very enjoyable to just general fans of Rock ‘N Roll. For some of us this will be the closest we’ll ever get to seeing the band perform but that’s fine when you take into account this is almost just as good as being there — if not better. I can easily recommend this concert film to anyone, be it teens or to especially folks in their older years that remember the band in their early days. “Shine A Light” definitely takes the spot for me personally as one of the greatest concert film’s of all-time. This stands right beside my other favorite, “U2: Rattle and Hum” which Paramount also released and is available on Blu-ray Disc as well.

The setlist for this performance at The Beacon theater includes the following songs:

• “Jumping Jack Flash“
• “Shattered“
• “She Was Hot“
• “All Down the Line“
• “Loving Cup” – featuring Jack White III
• “As Tears Go By“
• “Some Girls“
• “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)“
• “Far Away Eyes“
• “Champagne and Reefer” – featuring Buddy Guy
• “Tumblin Dice“
• “You Got the Silver“
• “Connection“
• “Sympathy for the Devil“
• “Live With Me” – featuring Christina Agulera
• “Start Me Up“
• “Brown Sugar“
• “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction“

Video Quality on this release is 1080p in AVC MPEG-4 on a BD-50 — 50 gigabyte Dual-Layered Blu-ray Disc. The film starts out in black & white during the opening bit where we see Scorsese and the band working to get things arranged. After this is element is established we get a transition to color which comes with a vibrant color palette thanks to the band’s clothing choices and the stage lights. The black level here is very solid and fleshtones are perfect. Speaking of which you’d probably expect me to make some stab at the band and their age but I have to admit they look pretty damn good for their age(s) here in High Definition which can be unforgiving when it comes to detail. This is definitely visually like no other concert film you’ve ever seen especially when you take into consideration the film’s Director (Martin Scorsese) and his award-winning cinematographer friends that helped. “Shine A Light” is very visually pleasing and earns the coveted “5 Star Rating” for overall video quality with it’s very unique visual style.

Audio Quality on this release is in both Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio
formats of High-Resolution Surround sound. This comes as a very pleasant treat on a concert film such as this with a great performance getting two different great 5.1 surround mixes. Also included is a Linear PCM Uncompressed 2.0 Stereo track which again, comes as a very pleasant addition for the non-surround crowd who like their music in the traditional two channels setup. The overall 5.1 surround soundscape here is made up very much like the actual stage lineup as it appears with the vocals of Jagger in the center channel, guitars of both Wood and Richards respectfully in the left and right front channels, Watts drums filling both the fronts and rear channels. There’s a very subtle reverberating effect of the music hitting the back of the Beacon Theater that can be heard in the real channels along with the crowd which helps in delivering a very lifelike listening experience. This proves to have an excellent bass presence as well and overall earns a perfect “5 Star Rating” for audio quality. This must be heard to be believed!

Bonus Materials are presented ALL presented in High Definition video using AVC MPEG-4 and feature 5.1 surround. The “Supplemental Featurette” includes Dolby TrueHD 5.1 for sound while the “Bonus Songs” include Uncompressed Linear PCM 2.0 Stereo, Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround and DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio.

• “Supplemental Featurette” (15 minutes) includes some more old archived interviews of the band in their earlier years, interviews with them during the practice sessions before this performance and even interviews between the band and celebrities such as former President Bill Clinton and musician Buddy Guy. This proves very informative, entertaining and a general treat for old or new fans of the band.
• “Bonus Songs” include PCM 2.0, Dolby TrueHD & DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio.
“Undercover of the Night” (5 minutes)
“Paint it Black” (5 minutes)
“Little T&A” (4 minutes)
“I’m Free” (4 minutes)

Overall, the bonus materials we get here are very impressive in the sense that they ALL are in Hi-Def and feature 5.1 surround. The fact that the 4 bonus performances feature all 3 codecs of audio like the concert film itself is downright awesome and fans will definitely appreciate this. I honestly felt that nothing was missing here, such as a commentary track by Scorsese which would have just not worked for this type of content. It’s safe to say these bonus materials feel very solid.

Blu-ray Disc packaging:

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