review for AC/DC: Let There Be Rock on AllMovie

AC/DC: Let There Be Rock is a clumsy and over-ambitious documentary, but as the bulk of the film is taken up with exceptionally-lensed footage of the band tearing through a hot set of live rock, AC/DC fans are going to forgive nearly everything. Filmed December 1979 at the Pavillion De Paris, the band starts off a bit stiff and labored, but each number builds in momentum and velocity until the combustible title song ends the show in a frenzy. Firebrand guitarist Angus Young goes through his entire bag of signature tricks; a playful mix of Mick Jagger and Chuck Berry stage moves, removing his Little Lord Fauntleroy uniform in a lascivious strip tease, riding out into the crowd on a roadie's shoulders during a solo and completely losing himself in a flurry of blazing fuzz-blues licks. Frontman Bon Scott, shirtless and squeezed into a pair of rotted jeans with an unfortunate tear up the backside, is thick throated but venomous, declaring his intention to rock with every verse. The rest of the band (including Young's older brother Malcom Young as rhythm guitarist/mastermind) is uncannily solid, providing a proletarian stomp with the barest chords and deceptive simplicity. It's rock boiled down to its most aggressive elements and delivered with the brash "just one of the blokes" good humor that has endeared the band to its fans. Director Eric Dionysis captures the excitement of the live show with an energetic style and effective close-up shots, though the staged interviews and sub-The Song Remains The Same fantasy sequences show the band to be bemused but not convinced by these attempts to add some arty depth to the proceedings. The highlight of the extracurricular segments is Bon Scott, radiating warmth and humility in these last interviews before his untimely death at age 33 from alcohol poisoning. AC/DC: Let There Be Rock was released in France a year after it was filmed, though American release was delayed until well after the band had established themselves in the States with new vocalist Brian Johnson and the multi-platinum success of the Back In Black album.