Magnolia Home Entertainment is ready to bring viewers into the private life of the otherwise very public Anita Pallenberg with its gripping new documentary Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg released today. An actress, model, and 60s and 70s "It Girl," Pallenberg is often remembered for her relationship with the Rolling Stones as their muse and the partner of Brian Jones and later Keith Richards. However, the new feature promises to dive deeper and show that she was much different from, and much more than the "rock 'n roll goddess" and "evil seductress" that she was often labeled as. Collider is excited to share an exclusive sneak peek at the film narrated by Scarlett Johansson that gives a preview of who the real Pallenberg was and how her bond with German filmmaker Volker Schlöndorff was especially important to her.
The clip opens with a montage of scenes showing Pallenberg on a typical day, showing her playful attitude, while the narration sets the tone for the film as a journey through the memories of her life. Schlöndorff then speaks about the special friendship the two shared while footage of the director having energetic conversations with her and filming her in the background. There was no romance between the two, but he describes their kinship as something intimate and innate to who they were when they first met each other. He first encountered her when inquiring a fashion photographer about an actress who didn't look like an actress, sparking a relationship that would continue as she starred in two of his films in the 1960s, Man on Horseback and A Degree of Murder.
If anything, the sneak peek is a preview of Pallenberg's signature humor and heart that the Catching Fire team sought to capture with the documentary. Made over three years with the help of those closest to her, the film is constructed to show the other side of her that newspaper headlines papered over, instead portraying her as a creative and cultural force of nature whose career spanned "from Barbarella to the Swiss Alps, and the Lower East Side to London," and set the rock world alight with the Rolling Stones. It'll also go deep into her personal life, including her journey as a loving mother, as it shows that Pallenberg was truly ahead of her time.
Who Is Behind 'Catching Fire'?
Alexis Bloom and Svetlana Zill joined forces to direct Catching Fire, bringing resumes packed with documentary experience including Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds and In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon respectively. Their ultimate goal, along with Johansson, was a bit of historical reclamation as they told the story of rock 'n' roll and culture through a female perspective. Critics have been favorable to the feature thus far, garnering a strong 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes after its debut at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. It's shaping up to be another success for Magnolia after previously bringing home hit documentaries like Little Richard: I Am Everything.
Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg is available now on DVD and on-demand on Apple TV, Prime Video, Fandango at Home, Google Play, DirecTV, and more. Check out our exclusive sneak peek in the player above.
