Steineded How sad is this?

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

jeannine-17 At the time of this film (Dec, 68) Jethro Tull was a virtually unknown group. The circus show opens appropriately with the odd-ball band doing 'Song For Jeffrey'. Great to see Tull when they were nobody but on their way up. Too bad we only got one song. 'The Who' was next. If you are a Who fan then this is vintage. Keith Moon is on fire. Taj Mahal brings the blues out like few can next. What a presence that man has/had. His singing is so very strong you can feel it come deep from his soul. It vibrates. Next a very thin looking John Lennon and Eric Clapton collaborate to do some bluesy numbers with Keith Richards on bass and Mitch Mitchell (of Hendrix Experience fame) on drums. Other than the material being cliché, weak blues songs, the playing is world class. Then we are subjected to Yoko squeaking, which you can FF through. Do not waste your time there is nothing redeeming about her 'performance'. After this Marian Faithful does a number. We get a great view into her vocal strength and blue-eyed-soul. It is kind of spooky to realize how many of these people were doing heroin at the time of this film. Next of course are the Stones. We get to see Brian Jones before he passed away. Mick unveils his devil tattoos at the end of the film during 'Sympathy For The Devil'. I wonder if he really did those permanently.Not a bad film - great music - except Yoko. She is a dear person but has no place on a singing stage. I would have preferred maybe 2 or 3 more Tull songs over 12 minutes of her screeching.

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!

MisterWhiplash I can't totally understand why the Rolling Stones were embarrassed by their performance here in their TV special Rock & Roll Circus. Sure, everything else you've heard about the Who outshining them is not far from the truth (it's definitely one of the Who's finest hours with Keith Moon). But they're no slackers here either (sans Brian Jones, who was on the decline and except for No Exceptions does nothing significant here with the band), and hearing them perform Jumpin Jack Flash and Parachutte Woman- the latter a fantastic blues tune from Beggars Banquet- is a fine delight from late 60s rock & roll. They also make sure to end the special on two high notes: Sympathy for the Devil makes for a powerful punch of music that rocks the socks off everyone in attendance and without Jagger's preening to the camera (only to the camera is it annoying, everything else is a given with him), it's one of the very best performances of that song, and there's a fine little ending with Salt of the Earth. It's nothing to be ashamed of on their end.Then again, the acts that surround them both outshine and lack the punch of their performances, so maybe at the time of their heights (and the sentimental factor of Brian Jones's departure and death from the band soon after) contributed to the decision to keep it from the public. As mentioned, the Who are in the great 'maximum R&B' tradition with A Quick One (While He's Away), which has as thunderous momentum matched with a wicked sense of humor. Other notable acts are Jethro Tull (featuring a slightly dazed Tony Iommi on guitar), Taj Mahal (a musician I never heard before but was blown away by), and a one-night-only type of grouping with Lennon, Clapton, Richards and Mitch Mitchell doing Yer Blues, which actually comes very close to topping the Who's performance- it's that awesome a rendition of the song. The low-points, however, are like thorns on the side of the show, which are Marianne Faithful, who though very pretty sings like a pretty little goat, and the 2nd song by the Lennon group features one plus (violin) and one heavy minus (Yoko Ono's singing, which is like nails on a chalkboard). There's also the creepy sense that the audience looks like it's awaiting the 2nd coming, so to speak.But it's always a lot of fun, the circus acts look cool in a kitsch kind of way, and there's a truly lively spirit going through all the performances. It's far from perfect, but it's a lot better than I expected, and will have a good place in my collection.