Sympathy for the Devil (1968)

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writer:

Jean-Luc Godard (writer)

Release Date:

22 April 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot:

Godard's documentation of late 1960's western counter-culture, examining the Black Panthers, referring to works by LeRoi Jones and Eldridge Cleaver...

Plot Keywords:

Rolling Stones | Counter Culture | Black Power | Song | Thames

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Sean Lynch	...	Commentary (voice)
Mick Jagger	...	Himself - The Rolling Stones
Brian Jones	...	Himself - The Rolling Stones
Keith Richards	...	Himself - The Rolling Stones (as Keith Richard)
Charlie Watts	...	Himself - The Rolling Stones
Bill Wyman	...	Himself - The Rolling Stones
Anne Wiazemsky	...	Eve Democracy
Iain Quarrier	...	Fascist porno book seller
Frankie Dymon	...	Black power militant (as Frankie Dymon Jnr.)
Danny Daniels	...	Black power militant
Illario Pedro
Roy Stewart	...	Black power militant
Linbert Spencer
Tommy Ansah		(as Tommy Ansar)
Michael McKay

Also Known As:

One Plus One (UK) (director's cut)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (re-rating) (1997) | UK:X (original rating) | Australia:MA | Argentina:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1997) (uncut) | UK:X (original rating) (cut)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Cupid Productions

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Jean-Luc Godard]Bringing drinks and cigarettes to The Rolling Stones near the end of the film.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Voices (1968)

Great rock and sweeping political view

Jean-Luc Godard has managed to combine a sweeping overview of U.S. political extremes with footage of the Rolling Stones to create a wonderful effect. Godard illustrates different extremes of the U.S. political continuum and intersperses them with the Rolling Stones recording my personal favourite, Sympathy for the Devil.

Once again, it would be a terrible mistake to take Godard at face value. The central thread of this movie, as well as that of many others, is satire. Who can take the gun-distributing black power militants seriously, or Eve Democracy for that matter? Godard's satire is as biting as ever.