Just perfect...

Fresh and Exciting

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

This is an amazing film and it's sad it took so long to see the light of day. After all, it's an unaired TV special that features the Rolling Stones as well as performances by their friends--such as Jethro Tull, The Who and others. For fans of rock of this era, it truly is a must-see and is floating around on the internet. So why, then, do I give this show a 6? Well, because aside from lots of GREAT appearances, John and Yoko Ono show up as well and they actually let her 'sing' (if you can call it that). Ono's singing, quite literally, is high-pitched screaming--well, more like screeching! It is, without a doubt, the most god-awful and terrible singing performance in the history of mankind and she makes no effort to actually sing--just scream like some ungodly creature! Hearing cats being skinned would be more pleasant to the ears!! It's so bad that when I taught history, I would occasionally show it to my students--as a punishment or to make them laugh (if used as punishment, I'd have them watch ALL her singing)! But, if you can sit there with a remote control (either to fast-forward or turn down the volume), it's well worth seeing...and actually a great history lesson (the music, the outlandish styles, etcetera). And, if you are a glutton for punishment, it's a great laugh if your ears can take Ono's vocal talents! I wonder if they could use these portions at Guantanimo to interrogate prisoners! Nah...the Geneva Convention wouldn't allow such cruelty!

Although I'd seen parts of this film before, I'd never seen "RnRC" in its entirety until the other day. I found it to be an enjoyable film, although I can understand why the Stones decided not to release it back in the day - it's good but not great, and the Stones' performance leaves a lot to be desired in the excitement department.As the title informs us, this is indeed a "rock and roll circus", featuring several different bands jamming under the big top, and a variety of circus performers doing their thing in between the bands. Honestly, it sounds like an interesting concept but in reality it's more of a stupid gimmick. The best thing about this film are the performances, but sadly only some of them are fully up-to-snuff.Jethro Tull pull off a fairly decent, mostly-mimed performance - apparently only the vocals/flute were performed live. It's a pretty good performance though nothing more.The Who turn in a thrilling performance of "A Quick One" which is easily the musical highlight of the film. According to rumor, the Who's superior performance is the main reason the film wasn't released at the time. It's easy to see why - the Who were tight from being constantly on the road, whereas the Stones hadn't toured in over a year.Taj Mahal's performance is decent blues rock/soul, but nothing to get too excited about. His performance is mainly notable for featuring a young Jesse Ed Davis on guitar.Marianne Faithful sings a nice song which is ruined by her wretched vocals. She looks pretty cute though. I guess it pays to be Mick's girlfriend, because her musical ability is negligible.Next up is the Dirty Mac, a "supergroup" featuring John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell and Keith Richards on bass. One would think this would be a good combination but one would be wrong. Richards sounds like what he is - a guitar player playing bass, and Lennon's guitar is not even close to being in tune with Clapton (or anyone else for that matter). Despite this they manage to turn in a fairly decent reading of "Yer Blues" which makes me wonder how history would be different if the Beatles actually played live after '66...They also play another song with Yoko on vocals which really isn't worth mentioning. What's with Lennon and Jagger and their tuneless, talentless girlfriends? Interspersed between a couple of the numbers is some footage of Jagger and Lennon goofing around which is probably the most revealing and interesting part of this whole spectacle...Closing out the show are the Stones, who manage to turn in a fairly lacklustre performance. After the likes of the Who in particular, the Stones somehow sound very spare and empty, not to mention kind of boring. It's not a terrible performance by any means, just a so-so one which is easily overshadowed by the other acts on the bill. It is nice to hear the material from "Beggar's Banquet" played live though. The highlight for me is the mostly-mimed performance of "Salt of the Earth", which has always been one of my favourites.

Long-shelved concert film was originally intended for British television in 1968, but the Rolling Stones were unhappy their musical sequence was not as dynamic as that of the Who. The project languished in obscurity until it was found and received a theatrical release Stateside in 1996. It's a raucous, shapeless extravaganza, a perfect example of content without form, providing some great music, a decadently cavalier atmosphere (which is intriguing), but no food for thought. This is the only known appearance of the Dirty Mac (who perform John Lennon's "Yer Blues"), but everyone gets upstaged by the Who, who really whip up a frenzy. As for the Stones: they clearly felt no threat another rock group was out to steal their limelight; they are indeed exciting, but even more endearing is the old-fashioned, fire-eating circus stuff which doesn't quite jell with the music on hand but is amusingly presented nonetheless. ** from ****

This was one great special, but it was sad to see the man who was the original visionary of the Stones, Brian Jones, and the pitiful shell he had become. It was pretty much known that it was the end for him as a member of the band and this can be seen as his last hurrah. You also can see the changes the Stones had undergone from their beginnings as a group that covered songs by American blues greats to the juggernaut that was the Jagger/Richards songwriting team. It was also interesting to see The Who as they were in the middle of their transition from being the icons of the mods to the hard rock force they would be a few months later. Roger Daltry hadn't gone all the way with the look he was famous for, the fringed shirt and long curly blonde hair, and Pete Townsend had not yet gotten his white boiler suit. And as many people have commented, The Who blew the Mick and the boys off the stage that night.