Crossfire Hurricane

Brett Morgen's 2012 documentary was made for the Rolling Stones' fiftieth anniversary and traces the band from blues-obsessed teenagers in the early sixties to the largest rock group in the world. Its formal choice defines it: there is not a single talking head. Every member sat for new interviews, but their voices are heard only over archive footage, so the film never becomes a look back from the present and instead stays inside the period throughout. Concert film, news coverage and previously unreleased material run together. The title comes from a line in one of the band's own songs. The approach is celebratory; the hard chapters such as Altamont are not skipped, but the film never turns on its subject. Who it's for: Rolling Stones listeners and anyone who likes archive-driven music documentary. Who it's not for: viewers wanting critical distance and the band's more troubling history examined.