Mick Rock - Shot! (Documentary)

Subtitled The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock, this documentary follows the life of one of rock's most iconic photographer, Mick Rock (and yes, that's his real name). Coming of age in the 60's in London, he easily fell into the new breed of interesting group of people living there at the time - post-hippies, pre-punks, unbiased and experimental. LSD opens his mind to the possibilities of photography (he has a funny story of borrowing a friend's camera while on a trip) and with Syd Barrett as his first major subject (could you ask for a better first model?), he immediately becomes thee photographer for the new breed of rock'n'rollers emerging - Bowie, Queen, Roxy Music, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and on and on.

Rock himself narrates the film and is quite intelligent and well spoken and he makes you yearn for the days of wit'n'style in music and in pop culture in general. Of course, they show many of his most iconic photos and, of immense interest to those who care about the process, you get to see many of the contact sheets to view how the images emerged and evolved.

His drug use is discussed - in fact, a near death/overdoes experience is the centerpiece of the film - but he doesn't make a big deal of it himself. His work is what is important to him. There is an abundance of archival footage of Mick in the day, cavorting with the stars and generally having mad fun. As he says, the fact that he was friends with many of his subjects no doubt contributed to the genius of the shots.

This is truly excellent - a marvelous take on a marvelous time that will never come again and an amazing talent that captured it all. A must see for all r'n'r fans.