Review of Sympathy For The Devil

Introduction

Whilst the official title of this DVD is "Sympathy For The Devil", for the sake of the health of director Jean-Luc Godard, take note that he refuses credit for the film of that name, but only for the film known as "One Plus One". There is a decided difference.

For the final six months of the making of his film, Godard was at constant war with his producers, whom he later branded "fascists". Godard was making a movie about politics and philosophy; his producers wanted one to advertise The Rolling Stones. Just as well then that, thanks to DVD`s seamless branching, we get the chance to view both films.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL and is very good indeed. Whilst I did notice some film artefacts present, this is for the most part an extremely colourful transfer which sends this reviewer right back into the 60s - even though he was born in the 80s.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, which was the only real option considering that the film was originally made in mono. That is a shame, since it would have been interesting to hear a stereo mix of the Stones` track coming together. However, the use of mono is a Godard staple, as he had little interest in doing anything that failed to add to the philosophical point that he was making.

Features

There are several extras on this disc, the most interesting being the "Voices" documentary, which within its 43 minutes, contains some intriguing interview material with Godard about the film.

There is also a trailer for the "Sympathy For The Devil" version of the film, the quality of which goes to show how well treated the actual film has been on DVD.

Also included is an excellent photo gallery, cast and crew biographies, and a short essay by Robert Ross on the making of the film.

Conclusion

"Sympathy For The Devil" is an odd film, made by a seemingly odd man. The plot - if any - is hard to decipher. At first glance this is a documentary on the making of the classic Stones song of the same name. But these documentary segments are juxtaposed with imagery-laden sketches espousing Godard`s own philosophical beliefs. In interviews, Godard talked about how the film represented both creation (of the song) and destruction (as shown by the character Eve Democracy), but unless you are truly interested in Godard`s philosophy, you will find the non-Stones segments utterly bizarre and it won`t be long before you reach for your remote control.

Godard made much of the difference between "Sympathy For The Devil" and "One Plus One", but to those viewing for the first time, the only real difference is the inclusion of the full Stones song at the end of the former. Quite why Godard found the need to attack his producer at the film`s theatrical premiere, I have no idea.

Overall, this is an interesting film for fans of the Rolling Stones, especially as it documents the making of one of their best-known songs. The film`s other scenes, however, have aged horribly, which is one of the primary reasons why philosophy is best left to books rather than motion pictures.