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.

coy_dog0 When the Stones take the stage and erupt into Jumpin' Jack Flash, it's quite obvious we are witnessing an age is long now dead. The 'beautiful people' in the audience--draped in yellow rain coats or something--resemble participants in some kind of primitive religious ritual.This, of course, is the true purpose of Rock n' Roll, isn't it? It replaces our instinctual need for community rituals that we've lost in the past few hundred years. The Stones occupy the stage like Shamans in a primitive hunting society. A Judeo-Christian might be offended by their endorsements of Lucifer in 'Sympathy for the Devil', but the real purpose of the song (or any Stones song) lies right there in the title. Good NEEDS Evil in nature. Things live, things die.So, have some sympathy. And some taste.10/10

jkstevens57 Legend has it that The Stones withheld airing and release of this production for many years because they thought that they had been upstaged by The Who. One look at this show and you'll know why: Pete and the boys quite simply stole the show with renditions of such tunes as 'Happy Jack' and--especially--'A Quick One (While He's Been Gone)'.In my opinion though, The Stones put on quite a show of their own, and its great to see them (and the other bands of that era) in their prime. If you're a fan of rock (especially of the late '60s), you MUST check this one out--you won't regret it."You've all been forgiven"--Townsend

bilbo-21 This is a great treat for any rock fan, with performances from Tull to Taj Mahal, and the once-in-a-lifetime combo of John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and I think Charlie Watts on drums. All in one band. The finale is a phenomenal version of "Sympathy for the Devil". Great music, well-directed.