Scorsese filmed the Rolling Stones at the Beacon Theatre on October 29 and November 1, 2006, but the performance footage used in the film is all from the second show. The music was recorded, mixed and co-produced by Bob Clearmountain. The audio recording was done on the Silver Truck with David Hewitt. The concert footage is preceded by a brief semi-fictionalized introduction about the preparations for the shows, and is intercut with historical news clips and archival interviews with band members.
The performances benefitted the Clinton Foundation, a charity founded by Bill Clinton, who gave a short speech at the October 29 performance. The film also shows Jack White, Buddy Guy and Christina Aguilera performing with the Stones.
The Rolling Stones (from left to right: Charlie Watts, Ron Wood, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger) at the Berlin Film Festival (Filmfestspiele Berlin/Berlinale) in 2008 for the world premiere of the concert documentary.
Prior to the October 29 show, 83-year-old Ahmet Ertegun, a co-founder and executive of Atlantic Records and chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum, was backstage in a VIP social area, the "Rattlesnake Inn," when he tripped and fell, striking his head on the concrete floor. He was rushed to the hospital, and died on December 14, 2006. The film was dedicated to his memory.
According to keyboardist Chuck Leavell's tour diary, Mick Jagger had been ill with throat problems, forcing a postponement of the Stones scheduled Atlantic City concert and the October 31 Beacon Theatre show was moved to November 1, to allow Jagger to recuperate.
Performances
From left to right: Mick Jagger, Martin Scorsese, Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Charlie Watts and Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick before the world premiere of Shine a Light.
Most of the performance footage was culled from the second night of filming. "The first night we had Bill Clinton there," Charlie Watts recalled. "I don't know why the Clinton bit's in the movie... That was a bit dull, because they weren't really rock 'n' roll people. But Mick was on fire. You can tell in the third song when Lisa Fisher, the singer, does a shimmy with him and you see the look on her face. He dances like Fred Astaire, going backwards."[5]
Noting the director's frequent use of Stones music in his films, Jagger joked that Shine a Light may be the only Scorsese film that does not include "Gimme Shelter".[7]
Shine a Light was initially scheduled for release on September 21, 2007, but Paramount Classics postponed it until April 2008.[8] The world premiere was at the 58th Berlin International Film Festival on February 7, 2008.[9] The film was also screened in some IMAX cinemas.[10] The IMAX version of the film was the second IMAX Stones concert film, the first being Live at the Max, released in 1991.
Shine a Light grossed $5.5 million in the United States and Canada and $10.7 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $16.2 million, against a production budget of $1 million.[1]
Shine a Light received mostly positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 126 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "It may offer little new for fans, but Martin Scorsese's document of the Rolling Stones' electrifying live show should provide satisfaction to audiences."[13] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film has an average score of 76 out of 100 based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14]
