Eight Miles High (4½ Stars)

This is the true story of the German photo model Uschi Obermaier from 1968 to 1983. It concentrates on portraying the extravagant lifestyle that made her famous.

Of all the films I own on DVD, this is the film that I would most like to see released on Blu-ray. The bright colours throughout are spoilt by being viewed with a low resolution. The film was made in 2007, so I assume that no remastering is necessary. It's just a matter of the film studio not wanting to take a risk.

Maybe it would be a risk. Uschi Obermaier is a well known name in Germany, but is unknown in the rest of the world. Many think of her as the first German supermodel. That's not an accurate description, but she was the first German model to achieve notoriety. Her affairs with Mick Jagger and Jimi Hendrix were heavily reported by the German press, but hardly mentioned in Britain or America.

There were two men in her life. Dieter Bockhorn, a Hamburg strip club owner and alleged gangster, was the man she married. Keith Richards, the guitarist with the Rolling Stones, was the man she loved. In 1983 Dieter Bockhorn died in a road accident. In the same year Keith Richards married someone else. Since then she's remained single.

The film is dazzling. My only criticism is that it's too short. 100 minutes isn't long enough to tell the story of the outrageous life of this amazing woman. I know enough about her to name a few important events missing from the film, while others are only mentioned in passing.

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