ClassyWas Excellent, smart action film.

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Lee Eisenberg "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus" strikes me as Woodstock's precursor: a collection of bands get together and play their hearts out. This is the only time that I know of that John Lennon performed with the Stones (although he didn't share the stage with all of them).One of the significances of this event is that it was one of Brian Jones's final public appearances. He drowned in his swimming pool the following year, making him one of the members of the 27 Club*.All in all, it's a great time. I often feel disappointed that I didn't come of age in the '60s. Even so, the music lives forever, and the Stones have stayed together long after most of the other groups broke up. Great documentary.*This term refers to singers who died at the age of 27. Others include Robert Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse.

santegeezhe 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.

ferbs54 Most people who watch "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus," a TV program that the Stones put together for the BBC in December '68--but that was never aired--will likely be struck by the same thought: How could this remarkable show fail to have been shown back when? The program turns out to be a godsend for fans of '60s rock, featuring as it does not only "The World's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band," but also Jethro Tull, The Who, Marianne Faithful, Taj Mahal and a band called Dirty Mac, interspersed, under the big top, with some amusing circus acts, and observed by a small but enthusiastic audience in whimsical regalia. All the performers are in top form here, but the highlights for me were Jethro Tull, here with future Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi filling in for the recently departed Mick Abrahams, and the two songs performed by the Dirty Mac. This was a one-shot supergroup consisting of Mitch Mitchell on drums and Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and John Lennon on guitars! The version of the Fab Four's "Yer Blues" that they dish out here is just awesome, and when Yoko Ono hits the stage to caterwaul on the instrumental blues romp "Whole Lotta Yoko"...well, just hold on to your eardrums! This program, fittingly, belongs to the Stones, however, and the six tunes that the boys give us are just terrific, especially that "Sympathy for the Devil," during which Mick Jagger gets to prove again that he really is rock's best frontman. Whotta high-energy display; no wonder John Lennon can be seen boogying his pies off in the audience! Bottom line: If you're a fan of any of the artists mentioned above, this DVD is for you!

shierfilm Wow. Wasn't that a party. An "intimate" show in a circus tent with the bad boys. I don't know why Mick felt the stones' performance was weaker than the other acts, I mean, The Who were the best of the bunch, but it doesn't get any better than the version of "No Expectations" contained herein. A time capsule in the best sense of the word, all the acts were great- from Tull's wicked opener to The Dirty Mac's "Yer Blues". If only Barnum & Bailey could do it as good.....Let's Drink To The Good Hearted People...