Sympathy for the Devil (1968)

Godard's documentation of late 1960's western counter-culture, examining the Black Panthers, referring to works by LeRoi Jones and Eldridge Cleaver. Other notable subjects are the role of ... See full summary »

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writer:

Jean-Luc Godard

Stars:

Sean Lynch, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Lynch	...	Commentary (voice)
Mick Jagger	...	Himself - The Rolling Stones
Brian Jones	...	Himself - The Rolling Stones
Keith Richards	...	Himself - The Rolling Stones (as Keith Richard)
Charlie Watts	...	Himself - The Rolling Stones
Bill Wyman	...	Himself - The Rolling Stones
Anne Wiazemsky	...	Eve Democracy
Iain Quarrier	...	Fascist porno book seller
Frankie Dymon	...	Black power militant (as Frankie Dymon Jnr.)
Danny Daniels	...	Black power militant
Illario Pedro
Roy Stewart	...	Black power militant
Linbert Spencer
Tommy Ansah	...	(as Tommy Ansar)
Michael McKay

Storyline

Godard's documentation of late 1960's western counter-culture, examining the Black Panthers, referring to works by LeRoi Jones and Eldridge Cleaver. Other notable subjects are the role of the media, the mediated image, A growing technocratic society, Womens Liberation, the May revolt in France and the power of language. Cutting between 3 major scenes, including the Rolling Stones in the studio, the film is visually intercut with Eve Democracy (Wiazemsky) using graffiti which amalgamates organisations, corporations and ideologies. Godard also examines the role of the revolutionary within western culture. Although he believes western culture needs to be destroyed, it can only be done so by the rejection of intellectualisation. "There is only one way to be an intellectual revolutionary, and that is to give up being an intellectual"

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Plot Keywords:

rolling stones | counter culture | black power | song | thames | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 April 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

One Plus One

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cupid Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 111 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The names painted on the cars in wrecker's yard are the names of noted black political activists of the 1960s and earlier. "Malcolm X" refers to Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little) a black American Muslim minister and politician. :"Patrice" refers to Patrice Lumumba, an independence leader in the Belgian Congo and the first elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after its independence from Belgium in 1960. "Michel X" refers to Michael X, a black revolutionary and civil rights activist in London in the 1960s. "Amilcar" refers to Amilcar Lopes da Costa Cabral (aka Amilcar Cabral), a thinker and politician, who was significantly involved in the push for independence for Portuguese Guinea (Guinea-Bissau) and Cape Verde. "Stokely" refers to Stokely Carmichael, a black activist involved in the Civil Rights movement in the SUA. He is credited with inventing the term, Black Power.

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Connections

Featured in Voices (1968)

User Reviews

the ABKCO cut & re-release of Godard's original film..

ABKCO, not exactly a cultural or artistic enterprise obtained the rights to Godard's original film & cut titled 'One Pus One' , as well a large part of the Stones song catalog in a management dispute & subsequent separation between the two.

The 'Sympathy' release is significantly different than the original 'One Plus One', with much of the Stones studio material edited out for reasons unknown.

Huge clips of the development of the song have simply vanished, while the political scenes, rhetoric and narration remain intact.

What a shame, as I doubt very much we will ever see the 'One Plus One' Godard cut anywhere, ever.