Show Me the Picture: The Story of Jim Marshall

I have always loved cars, guns and cameras. Cars and guns got me into trouble. Cameras havn’t, used to say Jim Marshall (1936-2010), an outstanding photographer. He was the one to take the most famous pictures at Woodstock, he also accompanied the giants of rock and jazz—from John Coltrane and Miles Davis to Rolling Stones and the Beatles— in their tours and recording sessions. His photographs, which are often very intimate and present the big stars not only on the stage, but also in the moments of solitude and personal reflection, tell the fascinating tale of cultural and musical revolution in the late 60’s and early 70’s. He used to call himself “a reporter with a camera,” because he would avoid staged photos and stylizations. At the same time, he lived as a cocaine-fuelled rock star, who gets into the trouble with law all the time. The director of the documentary was inspired not only by Marshall’s pictures, but primarily his complex personality—He was a walking paradox, immensely kind but was prone to angry outbursts, and perhaps because of this he was recognized and captured the best and the worst sides of humanity.