The Police drummer Stewart Copeland’shome-movies-turned-documentary first landed in 2006, and is now available forthe first time on Blu-ray. The formatdebut offers nothing new in terms of content, but does feel slightly differentnow in terms of context. It’s been overa decade since the trio reformed for their gargantuan reunion tour, and thefuzzy, shaky super 8 footage shot, and narrated, by Copeland, mostly from thegroup’s first four years some 40 years ago, seems downright quaint incomparison to anything about The Police done since.
Even though the meteoric rise of the band that that filmostensibly documents is what led to the elite status that the three maintainedeven after their break-up in 1984, this film represents more the remnants ofthe way the world used to treat its musical objects of obsession rather than adeeper examination of the music or its endurance. In other words, what makes Everyone Stares worth watching is to seehow fans and rock bands acted four decades ago when everyone was staring atrock stars. That isn’t to say that themusic isn’t the justifiable reason for all the adoration to begin with. No question, The Police were giftedmusicians, and Sting, is certainly one of the great singer-songwriters of anyera; the film does include rare live footage, and studio “derangements” of bandclassics as background.
It is to say, though, that anyone watching these 100 minutesfor real insight into the creative process will come away from the experienceunderstanding more of what it was like to be in The Police during that ride,and the subsequent tension leading to their split, rather than what it was liketo make the music.
