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TIRED

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WorriedAboutYou
This made me dislike Keith. He just can't stop with the rock n' roll bullshit. I found this movie thoroughly depressing. Different times I know but they (KR+AP)were just so swarthy, vain, selfish and reckless. There's nothing romantic or appealing about any of it.

I have not seen the movie yet but can relate to this brief analysis. Most likely I would/will feel exactly the same way after seeing it.

Documentaries "baring it all" have become a trend in the music industry but the creators tend to ignore the fact that they are putting at risk the images fans have of their idols, images built in decades of enthusiasm, love and gratitude for the music they enriched our lives with. There seems to be a lack of sensitivity and true comradery with the fans that comes with the ambition to share rare archive material and very personal matters with the world. The "what have we got to lose now"-attitude is out of place here as it is anywhere else in the creative world.

Keith has always been pretty honest and Mick has always been evasive. But a lot of info about them has always been available, either in the press or books like Spanish Tony's and Barbara Charone's. Even a true fan like Bill German revealed that Keith had tried to get him to receive drugs for him in Japan. They are who they are.

It is said that money doesn't change people; it reveals them. The same could be said for fame. There is a strong correlation between artists and mental instability and substance abuse, especially alcoholism and bi-polar disorder. I have to say, though, I have never understood how certain artists - writers, actors, musicians, painters - could create and perform works of such beauty and be absolute monsters in their personal lives. Mick writes and sings so movingly about love, yet three of his long-term girlfriends tried to commit suicide, one of them successfully. (Who knows, maybe he just chose unstable women.) The takeaway from all this is that you shouldn't scrutinise your heroes too closely if you don't want to be disillusioned.

What's depressing is the rash of judgmental bo$$ocks regarding behaviours and addictions that have been well known and thoroughly chronicled since the 1960s on, in all their ugliness and outlawness. I'm looking forward to seeing this, but I can't see any reason for anyone here to look down their noses in judgment at the behaviours of rock n roll musicians and their partners and associates some 50 years ago. They're not like you, they never were like you, what they experienced, achieved and lost is nothing like what ever you did or ever happened to you - so give your judge's gavel a rest. I mean, who ho do you think you are, Judge Block?!

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WorriedAboutYou
This made me dislike Keith. He just can't stop with the rock n' roll bullshit. I found this movie thoroughly depressing. Different times I know but they (KR+AP)were just so swarthy, vain, selfish and reckless. There's nothing romantic or appealing about any of it.

They were guinea pigs for the 60s drug culture generation and in a sense they were victims of that. Keith, always trying to pretend he was on top of things or "in control" must rewrite history and claim his heroin years were good ("I learnt to ski" "I took it as an experience much Thomas de Quincey" "I was in mainetance mode taking as little as I should" etc etc).

In fact like all heroin addicts he was a victim and he should have died of his addiction. The Toronto'77 arrest saved him.

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TIRED

Documentaries "baring it all" have become a trend in the music industry but the creators tend to ignore the fact that they are putting at risk the images fans have of their idols

Maybe Marlon at 54 wants to leave a message to the world?
Like trying to firmly destroy the bs that drugs are cool and people don't take drugs are uncool. In a Western world where America suffers more casualties per year than during the whole Vietnam war from opiods, and a European continent which is flooded with cocaine, this is a necessary message to be sent.

Said differently Marlon fully realizes his father was the figurehead of the drug culture, inciting 1000s of people to try, and he might want to show a life on drugs is definitely not a path to be followed?

>>> Anita thought "plastic surgery was naff" but just after they say that they show her flashing her "fake teeth" ;-)

It's not as if she had a choice. Like Keith, half her teeth rotted away due to her heroin use.

I watched this documentary last night, although I can't say I was really looking forward to it because all the old stories have been told over and over. However, I really enjoyed it...

Maybe Keith and Anita were not conventionally the best parents when they were together and on junk, but going by this film, Marlon turned out just fine. I found him to be very likeable in this, as was his sister. Both seem very grounded.

Did anyone go to the q and a with Marlon in London on 17 May ? Was sorry to have missed it

Great but dark documentary, exactly how Anita was. I loved the scenes where Marlon and Angela are guiding us through their memories. What an insane life that was for those kids.
One of the better 'Stones' documentaries out there.

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EJM
Did anyone go to the q and a with Marlon in London on 17 May ? Was sorry to have missed it

Yes. My review follows shortly.

My review of Friday night follows, written for Record Collector magazine. Also on the scene: Beast, ManOfWealthAndTaste, Bar Room Queen and the inevitable Matt Lee.

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Catching Fire: The Story Of Anita Pallenberg

Curzon Mayfair 17th May

Special screening with Q&A featuring directors Alexis Bloom and Sverlana Zillwas plus Anita’s son Marlon Richards and her daughter Angela (formerly Dandelion), chaired by an extremely well-informed Miranda Sawyer.

Celebs present: Noel Gallagher, Bob Geldorf, Pam Hogg, Matt Lee

Instead of the traditional rock-doc format of talking heads pontificating about the Anita they knew we got lots of previously-unseen home movies and a running commentary using Anita’s own words, taken from an unpublished autobiography and read by Scarlett Johansson. There is fascinating footage from the ill-fated 1967 road trip to Morocco taken by Anita, Keith Richards, Brian Jones and (an uncredited) Tom Keylock. The 1969 boat trip to Brazil by Pallenberg, Richards, Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithful also features. Most startling is the footage of Richards in 1976, playing live in Paris immediately after hearing that Tara, his third child with Anita, had died of a cot death. Richard insisted that the concert not be cancelled although Nick Kent described the couple after the show as “no longer the Scott and Zelda of the rock’n’roll era they looked like some tragic shell-shocked couple leading each other out of a concentration camp.”

Many Stones fans regard the 1971 sessions in Nellcote, a villa in the South of France rented by newly tax-exiled Richards, as the setting for some of the finest music the band would ever make, subsequently released as Exile On Main Street. Catching Fire uses film, photography and eye-witness interviews to reframe Nellcote through Pallenberg’s eyes. There may have been a makeshift recording studio in the basement, but Nellcote was also a home where Richards, Pallenberg and their two young children were living. The practicalities of trying to run what was essentially a hotel with an ever-changing population of twenty plus rock’n’roll degenerates and the associated sex, drugs and rock’n’roll fell mainly to Anita, the only woman consistently present who was also the only French speaker.

This traditional approach towards male and female roles was echoed by Richards’ shutting down of Anita’s acting career. Here the film errs on the generous – Anita is brilliant in Performance and good in Barbarella, both times when she was effectively playing herself, but her starring role in A Degree Of Murder is wooden and unconvincing. It is claimed Richards paid her to stop acting and stay at home whilst he went on tour, fuelling her drug habit. It got worse when they moved to upstate New York where Pallenburg is portrayed as a virtual prisoner with no money of her own and her passport held by the Stones management.

It was alcohol rather than drugs that caused Anita to hit rock bottom. After several attempts she got herself clean and sober and the second act of her life began. She moved to Chelsea, got a degree in fashion and textiles from St.Martin’s, became a doting grandmother and began to be recognised as a style icon, particularly by Kate Moss who appears here and admits to deliberately recreating some of Anita’s iconic outfits. Of the folks who were around in the ‘60s her drug buddy Prince Stash appears on screen, whilst Keith Richards recorded a long interview which is used sparingly throughout. He calls her “a piece of work” and still sounds enmeshed with her.

What comes through most clearly is the intense love shared by Anita and Keith, and how drugs poisoned that love. Although towards the end of the film Pallenburg claims that “I regret nothing”, Marlon now admits this was bravado. During the Q&A both he and Angela were clear that Anita and Keith have said that they were sorry for what they put their young family through.

Anita Pallenberg would be a key figure in 20th century culture if all she had done was cause Keith Richards to write Gimme Shelter. That she was much more than an artist’s muse is made clear by this fascinating film.

Simon Wright www.onlyrockandroll.london 19.05.24

...... Its a nice doco ...



ROCKMAN

I saw this at the Curzon on Friday in London, and I must say I was very impressed. To see the story of a lady I had only read about in Stones books and from a Stones-based perspective come to life in all her glory was quite something - what an interesting (sometimes tragic, sometimes glorious, but never boring) life.

I was amazed to find myself seated just two rows behind Jerry Hall and Jo Wood.
I was so tempted to ask them for a picture in the bar, but I didn't want to intrude on their night out.

I always find it remarkable how Marlon and Angela seem so level-headed considering their upbringing.

Anyway, for anyone who hasn't seen it, I would thoroughly recommend!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-05-20 13:59 by Barkerboy2.

Wish I'd seen Noel!!

I saw it last night and thought it was very well and tastefully put together, It could have been a lot more 'sensationalist' (presumably there was a lot of the nittier grittier details that where left out on purpose) - although enough was left in/ implied to give a pretty full picture,

The footage, much of which I believe is previously unseen is fascinating and strangely moving (the tragedy of Brian, the glow of young love between Keith and Anita, the 'unstarry' boat trip to Brazil).

Marlon and Angela came across really well I thought (the scene where Angela spoke of Keith 'breaking down' when they had a heart to heart - was genuinely moving).

Any judgements about lifestyle/ parenting styles aside - it's a thoroughly engrossing watch.

I watched the film over the weekend, it's a definite must-see for any Stones fan but, even though I have read extensively about this period and sort of knew what was coming it did leave me depressed and sad somehow. There is definitely nothing glorious in the use of drugs and for Keith to say that he was always in control is ludicrous, both he and Anita are lucky to have survived that period.

I loved all the home movie footage, like a window into the lives of someone you sort of have formed a much glorified opionion of in your head and now got hit with the cold reality.

To say Marlon and Angela's upbringing was unconventional would be an understatement, I couldn't help but feel sorry for them but they have miraculously grown up to be wonderfully well-rounded intelligent adults.

All in all very enjoyable, I only rented the movie on prime but I think I may want to buy a copy after all so I can rewatch it.

Lose your dreams and you will lose your mind...

The footage of them on the boat to Brazil reminds you of how naturally beautiful she was before the drugs, too...

A point about Angela's upbringing - Keith's mother Doris decisively took her to live with her when Angela was about six years old. Anita couldn't control her when they were touring;she would wander off. So Angela grew up in Dartford with Doris and her second husband. You'll notice that Angela's accent is different to Marlon's.

But Marlon was basically Keith's wing man and saw a lot of things a child should not see. He barely had any education. Mick and Bianca helped when they saw he wasn't being looked after properly. Surprised Marlon didn't mention that Keith's father Bert was also in the picture. Family-oriented Patti forced Keith to reconnect with Bert and Bert lived and travelled with them til his death. He was living in the house in upstate NY with Anita and Marlon when Scott Cantrell shot himself.

Edited to add - one thing's for sure, Patti was the best thing that ever happened to Keith. A happy, stable home life, two beautiful well-brought up daughters, no new legal dramas, a loving, involved extended family. In every photo, they're always laughing together. Their daughters adore them. He really landed buttered side up.

There's a lot of information in the old books about the Stones. Spanish Tony's and Barbara Charone's, as mentioned above, but also the ones by A E Hotchner and Philip Norman. They were written closer to the time the events occurred and have interviews with people who are now gone.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2024-05-22 14:23 by Bliss.

Loved it.

Does anybody know anything on the soundtrack? I see there are a bunch of musicians credited at the end, but no song credits


C

Very good documentary, great Anita.
Sici

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Bliss
Stream here (free)

Catching Fire

Thank you!!

Thank you, Bliss!! I'd buy a DVD nonetheless. And the autobiography, should it ever appear.

Thanks for sharing. Great movie, a must seen!

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WorriedAboutYou
This made me dislike Keith. He just can't stop with the rock n' roll bullshit. I found this movie thoroughly depressing. Different times I know but they (KR+AP)were just so swarthy, vain, selfish and reckless. There's nothing romantic or appealing about any of it.

This is an honest documentary that shows the backside of fame and the romanticised rock and roll lifestyle. What I don't get, is how it make fans disrespect Keith NOW in 2024, when the documentary provided absolutely no new information. Have you been living under a rock? Of course Keith and Anita were unresposinsble at the time. Everyone, including themselves, knows that. The important thing is that they managed to quit their (heroin) addictions, they survived, and they managed to live good lifes and restore the relationships with their children.

I've seen it too. What strikes me most is that if you look at the Stones and their group living in France while recording Exile, you wouldn't expect them to achieve much after that. They had their heyday in the 60s and are now junkies and tax evaders just muddling around in Keith's basement. You would think: in a few years they will be bankrupt or dead from an overdose or homeless or something. But somehow they turned their band and brand into a globally successful one, becoming multi-millionaires and still touring in their 80s. I think mainly because Mick never let himself go completely like Keith did and has always kept his head in the game and has a good business instinct.

Some really insightful, lovely, and humane comments on this thread; thanks!

After finishing "Life" I thought, "I hope Marlon Richards writes a book someday...THAT'S the guy who I really want to hear from on all of this. That's the story I REALLY want to know."

Sounds like this documentary may be as close as we get. I look forward to seeing it.

Yes, his father's career and surprising longevity is truly noteworthy. But IMHO the real story here is how Marlon Richards turned the entire trajectory of his life around for his children and for generations of Richards' to come. Among other things, the artistic legacy and immense wealth that Keith Richards will leave his heirs is in magnificent hands with people the likes of Patti Hansen, Marlon Richards, et al.

The doctor who operated on Keith's skull in New Zealand once remarked that his patient would be fine, due in part to the fact that he had people around him who cared for and loved him very much. All the more extraordinary when you consider this quote from Oscar Wilde: "Children begin by loving their parents. After a time they judge them. Rarely, if ever, do they forgive them."

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DGee
when you consider this quote from Oscar Wilde: "Children begin by loving their parents. After a time they judge them. Rarely, if ever, do they forgive them."

Keith has an above-average intelligence and self-reflection, so he certainly warned Marlon about the dangers of drugs.
Methinks Marlon has encountered enough "Keith wanna-be's", (read : human wrecks destroyed by alcohol and drugs), that he found necessary to warn people about the deceptive lure of the "rock'n roll lifestyle".

Waiting to see this...Thanx for all the reviews...

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DGee
Some really insightful, lovely, and humane comments on this thread; thanks!

After finishing "Life" I thought, "I hope Marlon Richards writes a book someday...THAT'S the guy who I really want to hear from on all of this. That's the story I REALLY want to know."

Sounds like this documentary may be as close as we get. I look forward to seeing it.

Yes, his father's career and surprising longevity is truly noteworthy. But IMHO the real story here is how Marlon Richards turned the entire trajectory of his life around for his children and for generations of Richards' to come. Among other things, the artistic legacy and immense wealth that Keith Richards will leave his heirs is in magnificent hands with people the likes of Patti Hansen, Marlon Richards, et al.

The doctor who operated on Keith's skull in New Zealand once remarked that his patient would be fine, due in part to the fact that he had people around him who cared for and loved him very much. All the more extraordinary when you consider this quote from Oscar Wilde: "Children begin by loving their parents. After a time they judge them. Rarely, if ever, do they forgive them."

They may never forgive them but that doesn't mean they don't love them.

I think it makes justice with Anita and makes the audience appreciate her person and talent even with the tragedy in her life.

I understood from an interview with the directors that Marlon gave them the raw materials and the freedom to make the film as they thought, and the result is a honest film about Anita's life, mainly the 60s and 70s.

Even when I knew almost all the details in the movie, it was worth to watch. It's an excellent work.

A+++ I have only watched 25 minutes, but so far I like all the footage of the good ol' days. The filmmaker made a very coherent film

I am excited to announce that a small number of Tony's "Up And Down With The Rolling Stones" have been reprinted for the recent London gallery exhibition. I have set aside a few copies for those of you who have shown interest in this limited edition collection.

If you would like to secure a copy for yourself, please let me know as soon as possible so I can reserve one for you. This is a fantastic opportunity to own a piece of rock history captured through Tony's lens.

Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm for Tony's work.

Best regards,
Nick Dominguez

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