Scorsese's Moonlighting Gig

As the acclaimed director takes on the Rolling Stones, Richard Corliss appraises his career in documentaries

Brigitte Lacombe / Paramount Pictures

The moviemaker and his stars: Watts, Richards, Jagger and Wood.

Who's that standing outside the beacon Theatre in Manhattan after the 2006 (and, possibly, the 2,006th) concert by the Rolling Stones? Why, it's Martin Scorsese, instructing a camera operator to catch the action on the street and above. Gloriously above. The shot zooms upward from Scorsese to catch the crowd, then higher and faster so we see the marquee, then the neighborhood; and faster still, in an astronaut's view of receding Earth, until we can see all of Manhattan island illuminated by a full moon that dissolves into the Stones' jolly red-tongue logo. In Shine a Light, the master of the...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!