Cinema No Moss

One of my dream jobs is to curate for an art cinema. Of course, it would have to be the art cinema du jour of a major city, frequented by the filmmakers whose films I program. Until then, I will use this as a forum for my series ideas. If any curators out there see something they like, contact me at jeff@cosmodromemag.com.

CINEMA NO MOSS

There are a startling number of movies about The Rolling Stones. The Beatles might top all the lists in terms of songwriting ability, concept album strength, or overall cultural importance, but I'll be damned if the Stones aren't more cinematic. They've worked with Godard, Kenneth Anger, the Maysles Brothers, Nicolas Roeg, Tony Richardson, Hal Ashby, and Julien Temple. What is it about the Stones and Mick Jagger that is so cinematic? Might it be the same quality that made Altamont so different from Woodstock? Wherever the Stones go, trouble ensues. They are the devils to The Beatles' angels, the fighters to The Beatles' lovers, the id to The Beatles' superego. For filmmakers of the 1960s and '70s who were experimenting with new aesthetics, new political ideologies, and who valued the male violence of older Hollywood auteurs (like Samuel Fuller), it seems to me that the Stones represented something primortial - basic animal instinct - sex, drugs, violence, rock. Even before the 1960s, cinema was interested in the subconscious and deviance. Take a long look at Mick Jagger's face and imagine what could have been if Carl Dreyer had made The Passion of Mick. We'll have to make do with what we have...

FILMS TO BE SHOWN:

1. The T.A.M.I. Show (1965) - dir. Steve Binder
2. Charlie is My Darling (1966) - dir. Peter Whitehead
3. Sympathy for the Devil (1968) - dir. Jean-Luc Godard
4. Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969) - dir. Kenneth Anger
5. The Stones in the Park (1969) - dir. Leslie Woodhead
6. Popcorn (1969) - dir. Peter Clifton
7. Gimme Shelter (1970) - dir. David & Albert Maysles
8. Performance (1970) - dir. Nicolas Roeg
9. Ned Kelly (1970) - dir. Tony Richardson
10. Cocksucker Blues (1972) - dir. Robert Frank
11. Let's Spend the Night Together (1983) - dir. Hal Ashby
12. Running Out of Luck (1987) - dir. Julien Temple
13. 12x5: The Continuing Adventures of the Rolling Stones (1989) - dir. Nigel Finch
14. The Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus (1996) - dir. Michael Lindsay-Hogg