Director: Shane Meadows
Starring: Ian Brown, John Squire, Gary “Mani” Mounfield, Alan “Reni” Wren.
Running Time: 97 minutes
Extras: Audio Commentary with Shane Meadows (director) and Mark Herbert (producer), Additional Performances including Fan Footage Highlights of Spike Island ‘90, Behind the Scenes – Warrington Parr Hall, Locating the Rehearsal Venue, Shane’s Hallelujah Moment, Manchester Premiere, Channel 4 News Piece, Interview with Fans, Fan Phone Footage, Stoned love: Tour Montage
The feature documentary has recently entered the more mainstream theatrical market of late, reaching a wider range and indeed greater number of cinemas, with such high profile releases like the Formula One documentary SENNA, and the more recent BLACKFISH. These films are not only attracting paying audiences, but delighting critics too. Shane Meadows’ love letter to The Stone Roses, THE STONE ROSES: MADE OF STONE, should be applied to that list, the new wave of quality, accessible documentary features.
Set around the time of the reformation of perhaps the greatest band to come out of the Manchester music scene, MADE IN STONE features previously unseen footage from the early years, into their rise to indie and European chart domination, critic acclaim, all of the way through the turmoil and subsequent fallout after the release of their second album, and to their highly anticipated return in 2012. Meadows uses every trick in the book to bring their story to the screen, employing fly on the wall footage, mixing in archive material, a lot of it previously unseen, and new audio dialogue from all members of the band, though refrains from using talking head interviews bar those previously filmed and aired from the band’s early days. Meadows even appears on camera at a couple of key junctures throughout, the first seeing him being filmed approaching the practice studio for the first time, audibly excited and visibly overwhelmed, and the second later on in the film where, after a significant on-stage occurrence that jeopardises the future of the band yet again, sees the celebrated filmmaker having to step in to reflect just hours later, clearly emotional and devastated.
This is powerful and masterful filmmaking, crafted through love of the subjects. The film can boast that rare attribute for a well crafted documentary; you don’t have to be a fan or have an interest in the subject matter to enjoy it and be engaged from start to finish. Unmissable for Stone Roses fans, but a pretty remarkable watch for everyone else as well.
THE STONE ROSES: MADE OF STONE is released on DVD and Blu-Ray in the UK on Monday 21st October, 2013
Useful links:
