The Stones and Brian Jones

The film is worth a Stones die-hard’s time for the early concert footage and for the participation of a pleasantly doddering Bill Wyman...

What the filmmaker really has to offer here is a thesis: he thinks Jones’ rise and fall were essentially determined by his relationship with his parents.

The tender twist to this film is that some of his exes — who included Anita Pallenberg and Zouzou, the French actress — help narrate much of his drug-aided decline, most with fondness.

Via the film’s juxtaposition between footage of Jones performing in front of fawning crowds with the dark personal stories of those who knew him best, Nick Broomfield bitingly undercuts the rock star’s veneer of public adoration.

What struck me, by the end, is how powerfully sad his story was.

A surprisingly poignant study of the Rolling Stones co-founder...

Featuring some fabulous footage from the band’s early years, as well as new interviews with all the band members, this offers up plenty of revelations as it unfurls the tale of a sometimes brilliant, but clearly troubled young man.

For boomers “The Stones and Brian Jones” is a heady trip down Memory Lane. Broomfield has assembled a treasure trove of vintage footage of the Stones.

The Stones and Brian Jones is certainly a thorough and professionally done bio-doc and Broomfield’s affection for the subject matter is obvious. My main complaint is it doesn’t go far enough in explaining Jones’ musical and cultural importance...

Broomfield creates a poignant autobiography of the musician and a competent history of the early days of the band, but the film doesn’t answer claims that even it brings up.