I just got back from picking up Jean-Luc Godard’s Sympathy for the Devil on DVD from the Multnomah Library (best library system, ever). I’ve been meaning to watch this for a while but it’s been hard to track down. It features lots of footage from Rolling Stones rehearsals and concerts intermixed with political footage and daily life during the time of filming in 1968. It is heralded as a powerful portrait of the times. Last week I heard that San Francisco band Deerhoof is starring in a “refashioning” of this movie by artist Adam Pendleton. I can’t begin to imagine what exactly that entails but I can’t wait to find out. I heart me some Deerhoof. I saw them perform to Harry Smith’s silent collage film “Heaven and Earth Magic” at the 2006 San Francisco International Film Festival and it was the highlight of the festival for me.
From Exclaim:
The piece is called BAND and finds Deerhoof meeting up with Jean-Luc Godardâ??s legendary Rolling Stones concert film Sympathy for the Devil. The piece was developed by artist Adam Pendleton, and will see the film reedited with footage of Deerhoof performing.