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jjsteve
the start me up from this movie was the same as on the jersey devil boot.. listen to the sound difference. the sound in the movie sucks. very thin, guitars barely there. the sound from the boot is loud, upfront. hal ashby did a terrible job with the guitars in the mix here. you see the come girls movie just released, or gimme shelter and it's far better than LSTNT.

yes totally agree.
Ok the blu ray version has a very good picture quality but unfortunately the same songs are incomplete, When the whip comes down is missing.
it's no serious job, I wonder what came through Hal Ashby's mind and don't understand how the Stones accepted that especially for the blu ray version.

that's the other issue with LSTNT - the songs are incomplete and edited. horrible movie. they should have used a cleaner version of the seattle or houston shows that they professionally recorded.. why record them and not show them only to have LSTNT as the document from this tour.

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jjsteve
that's the other issue with LSTNT - the songs are incomplete and edited. horrible movie. they should have used a cleaner version of the seattle or houston shows that they professionally recorded.. why record them and not show them only to have LSTNT as the document from this tour.

But Seattle and Houston is not real "professionally" filmed....very few camera angles, and not too thought-out angles. They were filmed for the "screen" next to the stage, from what I understand. There's a lots more 1981 (and 1982?) concerts preserved on video....in somebody's vaults; anyway.

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Glam Descendant
>is the blu-ray region free where it will play anywhere, and does it include whip comes down?

That was in the Euro movie ROCKS OFF, not LSTNT. Would have made a nice bonus.

I thought Rocks Off and LSTNT were exactly the same film but with different titles for different markets?

Still got my old taped-off TV copy at home in a box somewhere. Pretty good for an early 80s concert film.

I saw the film in 1983 in a cinema with a just decent sound system. Years later I bought this on DVD. I have problems with the overall sound. Seems like the sound of the band is 'implied'. Like hearing music played loud two floors up.

LSTNTand Rocks OFF are the same, just that RO includes Whip. The song editing on this thing makes even the shitty editing on Live Licks' Rocks Off sound good. Not my favorite by a long shot, but I still ordered the blu- ray

these films are not exactly the same. besides the including of WHIP, RO has a different version of she's so cold (one is from nov 5., the other from nov 6.), a longer Start me up and one "bird on the wire" more at the end of hang fire. and there are less backstage scenes.

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jjsteve
that's the other issue with LSTNT - the songs are incomplete and edited. horrible movie. they should have used a cleaner version of the seattle or houston shows that they professionally recorded.. why record them and not show them only to have LSTNT as the document from this tour.

Not really a case of using another show or leaving in the entire songs. Seattle and Houston were presumably filmed by the Stones crew (not Ashby's crew) for use on video screens that were utilised at the shows themselves - not as an intended official release.

The thing to remember is that this movie was put together specifically for a cinema release - not a VHS/DVD release.

So, a full 130-140 minute version would have been pretty unheard of for a concert movie, when 90 minutes is about the norm.

The alternative would have been to have released a 90 minute version with maybe just 16-17 songs. All of them complete. That probably would have left people dissatisfied as well.

In the end, Ashby went for a movie which was close to the standard number of songs they were playing at the time (22 I think), but with many songs edited. I dont really recall much comment or criticism at the time about songs being edited - this was normal for a concert film ('The Song remains the Same', 'The Last waltz' etc), its really only become an issue when viewing the movie from the perspective of a home video release.

i have more of a problem with the sound than the songs being cut but i still have a problem with the songs being cut...regardless, it's a pathetic document of the tour. compared to other movies, official and bootleg, this is the worst of the worst. my point on the seattle and houston shows was that they are far better sounding and i don't know why the stones would allow hal ashby to butcher their concert the way he did. even with cut songs, at least keep the sound rough, loud, and raw and not thin, over produced, and barely audible guitars

[movies.nytimes.com]


'SPEND THE NIGHT,' ROCK BY ROLLING STONES

By JANET MASLIN

Published: February 11, 1983

HAL ASHBY'S ''Let's Spend the Night Together'' is probably the handsomest rock-and-roll movie ever made, although few others may have aspired to that distinction. Good looks, at least until recently, were never the point. And no rock film with a claim to authenticity could afford to forfeit its grainy realism. After all, the glamour grew out of roughness and ferocity, not out of wholesome stylishness or sophistication.

But for the Rolling Stones, who with this film once again affirm their status as rock's most durable and dynamic veterans, that raggedness is no longer either essential or apt. So Mr. Ashby has substituted a vibrantly colorful, seamless style in its place. And the results are as exciting and eye-catching as must have been intended.

''Let's Spend the Night Together,'' which opens today at the Astor Plaza and other theaters, is the classiest of concert movies, even if that sounds as if it ought to be a contradiction in terms. As photographed by Gerald Feil and Caleb Deschanel (of ''The Black Stallion''), it looks glorious, particularly in the opening sequences at an outdoor arena. The Stones, photographed from a low angle, loom monumentally large against a bright blue sky, and they project a healthy energy. The scale is enormous, almost as though this were a western. The band's entrance here, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz., is heralded by thousands of balloons, which look breathtaking when captured in a helicopter shot from afar. It's the magic hour, the prettiest moment of late afternoon, on a sunny day.

Mick Jagger works the entirety of a cleverly slanted stage, and the use of a cordless microphone enables him to clamber into the audience. He doesn't appear concerned about the enormous crowd, even though it was in Altamont, Calif., as recorded in an earlier Stones film, the Maysles' 1970 documentary, ''Gimme Shelter,'' that a rock audience turned into a sinister mob and a man was murdered. Here, the fans are enthusiastic but essentially serene, because this is entertainment of a less histrionic and threatening sort. It's just a concert, a beautifully crafted record of the Stones performing style at this stage of their career, and Mr. Ashby hasn't tried to make it anything more.

Even the touches of candor here -brief footage of the Stones backstage, preparing for a show - serve to emphasize the enormous energy that goes into the performance itself, rather than to distract the audience from the show. The same can be said for a set of old Stones photographs seen during ''Time Is on My Side,'' although the brief use of Vietnam War footage is merely puzzling.

The show itself primarily focuses on the group's recent material, songs such as ''Shattered,'' ''Beast of Burden,'' ''She's So Cold,'' ''Hang Fire'' and ''Waiting on a Friend.'' There's some novelty to the set because these songs haven't been seen in prior Stones concert films; among those that have, ''You Can't Always Get What You Want'' is given a different and very stirring treatment here. The 25-song show, which later moves indoors, to the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, N.J., does sag somewhat midway through the set. But it builds to a rousing finale, spurred by such new songs as ''Start Me Up'' and ''Miss You,'' and older ones like ''Brown Sugar'' and the inevitable ''Satisfaction.''

The camera chiefly lingers on Mr. Jagger, but it also captures Ron Wood and Keith Richards as they horse around energetically (Mr. Wood, playing a cordless guitar, has a lot of opportunity for roaming the stage). Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman are more seldom seen, and when they catch sight of the camera both have the habit of rolling their eyes in comically exaggerated boredom. After nearly 20 years together, they may indeed feel that way. But nobody in the audience is apt to share that sentiment.

''Let's Spend the Night Together'' has been rated PG (''Parental Guidance Suggested''), which has probably been earned by some of the Rolling Stones lyrics. There are fleeting scenes of wartime violence as well.

Rock Glamour
LET'S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER, directed by Hal Ashby; directors of photography, Caleb Deschanel and Gerald Feil; edited by Lisa Day; music by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and other composers; produced by Ronald L. Schwary; released by Embassy Pictures. At the Astor Plaza, Broadway, between 43d and 44th Streets; Orpheum, 86th Street and Third Avenue, and other theaters. Running time: 95 minutes. This film has been rated PG.

THE BAND: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ron Wood, Bill Wyman, Ian Stewart, Ian McLagan, Ernie Watts, Bobby Keys.

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jjsteve
i have more of a problem with the sound than the songs being cut but i still have a problem with the songs being cut...regardless, it's a pathetic document of the tour. compared to other movies, official and bootleg, this is the worst of the worst. my point on the seattle and houston shows was that they are far better sounding and i don't know why the stones would allow hal ashby to butcher their concert the way he did. even with cut songs, at least keep the sound rough, loud, and raw and not thin, over produced, and barely audible guitars

yes I continue to agree.
I have other musical DVDs from other artists and I didn't see such bad edited songs.
What's more, 30 years later, it was a very good idea to release the blu ray version. This one seems to be more aimed at fans than occasional listeners because here in France you don't find it in official stores (Fnac, Virgin...). So, I thought that the 90 mn norm would not operate 30 later but unfortunately I was wrong.

>I have other musical DVDs from other artists and I didn't see such bad edited songs.


You seem to be missing the point that LSTNT was a cinematic release, probably unlike the DVDs to which you refer.

yes I understood this point when it came out in 1982.
but we're in 2011, so, was it really impossible to release a movie with "normal" editing ? and especially for fans since this new release is not really an official album. The band knows that it will only interest fans and not non-fans.

>but we're in 2011, so, was it really impossible to release a movie with "normal" editing ?


The director, Hal Ashby, is deceased.

I won't even begin to ponder what you mean by "normal" editing.

well you can ponder on anything if you want to
normal editing means uncut songs, that's it !

You're talking about re-editing a movie directed by a dead man!

i know he's dead but does it have to do with the re editing ?
you need to have the original tapes with complete songs, bought the rights and then re edit.

Look, do the most basic research on Hal Ashby and his working methods and you will soon realize that what you envision is a futile pipe dream.

Ashby had a rep. for being so paranoid about Hollywood interference that he stored reels of his current movie in progress in the trunk of his car. If unedited reels did exist, they would not be easily accessed (and if they were, why would his estate allow a re-edit of his movie, and by whom?).

Great concert movie, imo. BUT I have a problem with the sped-up songs, and the sound is a little dry compared with Hampton and other shows on the tour.

Wonderful movie, visually stunning, their best. The opening sequence, BoB in first twilight, wow! I can live with the edits, it’s the high pitch that starts hurting my ears after the second or third song. And the movement are chaplinesque. Still looking for a dvd (no Blu-Ray - yet) with the correct speed.

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"Music is the frozen tapioca in the ice chest of history."

"Shit!... No shit, awright!"

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Greg
Wonderful movie, visually stunning, their best. The opening sequence, BoB in first twilight, wow! I can live with the edits, it’s the high pitch that starts hurting my ears after the second or third song. And the movement are chaplinesque. Still looking for a dvd (no Blu-Ray - yet) with the correct speed.

Does that exist??

Looking for something I don't know exists... But there's a japanese version about which i haven't had a conclusive answer yet.

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"Music is the frozen tapioca in the ice chest of history."

"Shit!... No shit, awright!"

yes the Japanese version plays the correct speed

Thanks, I will hunt that version down.

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"Music is the frozen tapioca in the ice chest of history."

"Shit!... No shit, awright!"

.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011-11-04 02:02 by Max'sKansasCity.

The japanese release:





The original release:

Wow, they move and sound normal. Never seen that clip. Anyone have an extra jap copy?

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"Music is the frozen tapioca in the ice chest of history."

"Shit!... No shit, awright!"

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jpasc95
i know he's dead but does it have to do with the re editing ?
you need to have the original tapes with complete songs, bought the rights and then re edit.

Everything. It's HIS movie.

The amount of work and expense put in to re-issuing a movie with the songs restored to full length (if the tapes still exist, which isnt so sure) and overcoming any legal obstacles regarding rights would not be remotely offset by sales, which would be very low.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-11-03 14:09 by Gazza.

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Glam Descendant
Look, do the most basic research on Hal Ashby and his working methods and you will soon realize that what you envision is a futile pipe dream.

Ashby had a rep. for being so paranoid about Hollywood interference that he stored reels of his current movie in progress in the trunk of his car. If unedited reels did exist, they would not be easily accessed (and if they were, why would his estate allow a re-edit of his movie, and by whom?).

Correct.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-11-03 14:33 by Max'sKansasCity.