Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll

Shot with the distinctive patina of the filmmaker, this is not so much a documentary as a celebratory memorial to an incredibly vivacious musician who will have you looking forward to turning 60. All the uncomfortable aspects of Berry's life are left out because he simply refuses to discuss them, leaving room only for the guitar righteousness led by psychopath Eric Clapton and heroin man Keith Richards. This documentary is worth it just for the chance to invite this bunch into your room during their still-creative period. Because besides that, it contains two bonus features. The first is that you get to witness how live concerts were filmed at the time. Whereas today all you need is a quarter-pound camera with a built-in stabilizer, here in the background of the concert you can watch cameramen gliding in wrapped in 40-pound steadycams, a hydraulic arm circling moronically above the audience, and a giant tripod focusing through shutters during the show. The second is the fact that there are no subtitles for the film in any language, and you can probably still manage to catch what Richards mutters as he descends into a heroin high, but once the living Louisiana stereotype Jerry Lee Lewis starts talking, you'll need someone to wipe your brow for you (a half-hour series of just that interview for this film can be found on YT). (07.05.2020)