The sixty-minute documentary pulls you in as the Rolling Stones reminisce about their lives and their music during this time. Escaping England for tax reasons, they headed to the south of France where the group splintered and were living in some cases six-hours apart from one another with Ground Zero being Nellc�te, where Keith Richards was renting a luxurious house where the majority of Exile would be recorded. Without a suitable studio to record in, a remote truck was brought to Nellc�te and instruments and amps were shuffled to the damp and dreary basement where magic began to unfold. The chaotic nature of not just the recording but the Stones lives at this given moment is what makes the story so rich. Rebellious boys were growing up, getting married and having children. Despite being broke and losing much of their net worth to their former manager, Allen Klein, the Rolling Stones had no other choice but to hunker down and create the dirtiest, rawest and most eclectic record of all time.

The film digs deep into the music, how it gestated and grew into the classic album it became. Shifting between current interviews, old radio interviews, classic video footage and a deluge of pictures (some we see for the first time) as people who were there for the recording and subsequent tour narrate over these images. Mick Taylor, Bill Wyman, Marshall Chess, Bobby Keys, Anita Pallenberg and even Jake Webber (the actor from the TV show Medium) all give insight into the lore and history behind the album. Webber's voiceovers may be the most illuminating. You see Jagger playing with him and his eight year old self hanging in the basement. Why was Webber there? His father provided the Rolling Stones with drugs of course. As Webber recalls in the film how an eight year old saw much and as long as they could stay awake, they could venture to the basement where the music was being created. His voice provides a new layer to savor because instead of a journalist writing or discussing the weight of Exile we get wide-eyed wonderment in the form of Jake Weber. Despite thefts, love affairs and complete and utter chaos, the Stones managed to finish recording and headed off to Los Angeles to finish and mix the record. We see the band return to old haunts and reminisce where consoles used to be. To some this may sound as interesting as watching paint dry, but the speed and editing of the film makes it flow by as quick as an evening breeze. If there is one criticism of the film, it's that it isn't long enough. However, to their credit, whatever may have been lacking on the DVD is made up for in three extended pieces found in the supplemental materials.

"Return To Stargroves and Olympic Studios" (10-minutes)

Jagger and Watts walk through a pair of the studios where work was done. Both are in chummy almost tongue-in-cheek moods. It's a brief look into the past, but considering this is an act who has never been fond of looking backward, it's intriguing to see these two walk in the shadows of their past.

"Extended Interviews" 33-minutes

Keith Richards/ Bill Wyman/Mick Taylor/Anita Pallenberg/Charlie Watts/Ronnie Wood

In the film, we only hear Wyman's and Taylor's voices and briefly see them. Here we get partial interviews about their experiences. I'm not entirely sure why they weren't in the film more. For my money, all of these interviews should have found a way into the film. Even Ron Wood chimes in on where he was when he first heard Exile. Like any great interview, it takes the viewer deeper into the grit of the album. It should also be noted that this is the first project that all living members of the Rolling Stones have ever worked on. Some missed their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction and the It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (which Wood helped assist on the title track) only slightly had all of them involved. This alone makes the DVD worth owning.

"Exile Fans" (40-minutes)

Will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas)/Don Was (Producer)/Liz Phair/Caleb Followill (Kings of Leon)/Sheryl Crow/Jack White (White Stripes)/Martin Scorsese (Director)

This section has 40+ minutes of interviews with the likes of Don Was, Sheryl Crowe, Liz Phair and Martin Scorsese. They talk about the magic and mystery of why this record continues to resonate to this very day.
Don Was provides the greatest revelations. Was (in my opinion) gets a bad rap from Stones fans. He's created two almost classic records with the band (Voodoo Lounge and A Bigger Bang) yet he's often vilified as not pushing the Stones harder. After watching his interviews, you'll be surprised at just how much just doesn't know about the band's history, but understands. His ability to translate this for the casual listener is transfixing. The Stones are nowhere to be found, but you feel closer to the record than you did before it started.

To the cynical obsessive fan, Stones in Exile may be too brief, but in time, they'll return to it as the band lowers the sheets and lets us into their bed. The film may not be definitive in its lore of legend, but that's part of the point. Some legends are better left unspoken. Stones In Exile documents a turning point in the band's career highlighted by eighteen tracks that despite not being FM staples, are among the greatest ever in recorded music. In the end, Stones In Exile doesn't just do the band justice, but it provides justice to the legacy of Exile On Main Street and that's all anyone can ask for.