At the Max (1991)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Directors:

Noel Archambault
David Douglas

Release Date:

June 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Tagline:

Larger than live

Plot:

A filming of the 1990 Rolling Stones "Steel Wheels" concert that traveled Europe. This was filmed in the IMAX process, which allows the film to be projected in a size ten times the size of a regular 35mm projected image. |

Plot Keywords:

IMAX | Concert Film

Cast

Mick Jagger	...	Himself (as The Rolling Stones)
Keith Richards	...	Himself (as The Rolling Stones)
Charlie Watts	...	Himself (as The Rolling Stones)
Ron Wood	...	Himself (as The Rolling Stones)
Bill Wyman	...	Himself (as The Rolling Stones)
Chuck Leavell	...	Himself (Keyboards)
Bobby Keys	...	Himself (Saxophone)
Crispin Cioe	...	Himself (Uptown Horns)
Arno Hecht	...	Himself (Uptown Horns)
Hollywood Paul Litteral	...	Himself (Uptown Horns)
Bob Funk	...	Himself (Uptown Horns)
Bernard Fowler	...	Himself (Vocals)
Lorelei McBroom	...	Herself (Vocals)
Sophia Jones	...	Herself (Vocals)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
The Uptown Horns	...	Themselves

Also Known As:

Rolling Stones: Live at the Max

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

Ireland | Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.44 : 1

Sound Mix:

IMAX 6-Track | Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

IMAX

Trivia:

Imaging fed to the jumbotrons at concerts came from "bread trucks" switching live feeds from an army of video cameras. Midway through post, the request came to use some of this video that had been recorder on 3/4" tape in the final IMAX film. This began a crazy series of tests to improve and up-res this video to be shot on IMAX neg at the lens facility in Mississauga. Test neg was processed in New York, prints made, returned to Toronto for screening at the IMAX theatre at Ontario Place. After many tries, a process was created to improve imaging enough to be used. Final release included approximately 6 minutes of this footage.

Soundtrack:

Start Me Up

TOO larger than life

I had high hopes for this IMAX film. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. What should have been a revolutionary concert film turns out to be 85 minutes of the Mick Jagger show. Now, that's really not a big surprise as he is, after all, a legendary frontman for a legendary rock band. But seeing him (and to a lesser degree Keith Richards and Ron Wood) in IMAX proportions, posturing around the stage and "playing" with the huge blow-up dolls is more than anyone can handle. The emphasis here was NOT on the music, but on their obvious reactions to being filmed by a huge IMAX camera. I have only seen the Rolling Stones in concert once (for their 1999 tour), but I have to say that this concert was fairly disappointing. The entire concert was not filmed, as you can see the list of songs near Charlie Watts' drum kit several times in the movie and a few--Harlem Shuffle, Angie, Jumping Jack Flash--were not filmed. I could not believe they left off the latter song, one of the Stones' signature songs. The songs they did perform were over-extended versions of other classics like Satisfaction, where Mick climbs the rafters and catwalks and just acts silly. I glanced around the IMAX theater while this movie was playing, and everyone was frozen in their seats. It would have been a good opportunity to really "cut loose" and move to the huge images and sound, but no one did. The filmmakers really missed out on an opportunity to film a great concert with "At the Max." You are left with the feeling that the Stones were patting themselves on the backs for "revolutionizing" the concert film.