Following the band on the last ten days of their North American tour, it concentrates on their infamous December 6 Altamont Speedway free concert. Apart from a few VHS bootleg copies circulating in the 1980s and some illegal internet streaming, Cocksucker Blues has all but disappeared from the public sphere, and subsequently become a neglected artefact of both Robert Frank and the Rolling Stones.īefore Cocksucker Blues, in 1969, filmmakers Albert Maysles, David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin produced the riveting (and best) Rolling Stones documentary, Gimme Shelter. Indeed, this landmark decision questioned the very notion of copyright and intellectual property regarding ‘future commissioned’ documentaries. Siding with Jagger, the film was subsequently banned from public screenings, even though it was allowed to screen in Frank’s presence, under the condition that it does not play more than five times per year. Taking the matter to court, Mick Jagger argued that the copyright belonged to him because he commissioned the film. Not surprisingly, the Stones feared its release could jeopardise future tours to America.
Filmed in cinéma vérité style, the documentary, which follows the Stones on their notorious 1972 tour of America, features heavy scenes of drug use, group sex, and some occasional segments of rock ‘n’ roll. Lacking the aesthetic beauty and sensibility of his other works, Cocksucker Blues exposes the debauchery and decadent milieu of the rock world. Robert Frank’s Rolling Stones documentary, Cocksucker Blues (1972), is an awkward addition to his oeuvre that includes twenty-five films and many celebrated photograph collections. Mick Jagger to Robert Frank about Cocksucker Blues It’s a fucking good film, Robert, but if it shows in America we’ll never be allowed in the country again. Robert Frank on travelling with the Rolling Stones Never to know what city you are in – I cannot get used to it. I have been on trips with extraordinary people before, but this totally excludes the outside world.