Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll

A documentary built around Chuck Berry's sixtieth birthday concert. Berry has toured alone for years: he arrives in a town, goes on stage with a local band without rehearsing, takes his money and leaves. This film is an attempt to put together a proper concert for him. Keith Richards takes the concert on. A theatre in St. Louis is booked, a real band is assembled and rehearsals begin. Those rehearsals are the most interesting part. Richards wants the songs played correctly; Berry plays them differently every time, changes the key and will not be corrected. The two argue and the camera does not cut away. Beyond the concert there are interviews: Berry's childhood, his time in prison, the question of song credits, and the effect of segregation on life on the road. Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Bruce Springsteen and Roy Orbison speak. Eric Clapton, Etta James, Julian Lennon and Linda Ronstadt appear on stage. Taylor Hackford directed. The film does not glorify Berry; it shows plainly that he is difficult. Among the best of its genre for anyone who likes music documentary and the history of rock. For a viewer expecting a straight concert film, the off-stage sections take up more than half of it.