FILM director Alfred Hitchcock giving his definition of happiness may not seem an obvious way to open a film about The Stone Roses.

But look on the faces of the fans as Ian Brown works his way down the front of the crowd, happiness — this is it, that was it — the resurrection everyone wanted and that finally happened at Heaton Park last summer.

This Is England film-maker Shane Meadows was there to capture the magic, himself a superfan, which shines through in this 96-minute documentary.

The Stone Roses: Made Of Stone follows the band from the reunion announcement in October 2011, to the three sell-out homecoming gigs for 220,000 fans. It also features fascinating, previously unreleased material spanning the band’s musical history, including footage from their first ever gig, as well as another at a Manchester warehouse party and then the Hacienda in 1985.

Formed in 1983, they were one of the pioneering groups of the ‘Madchester’ movement, releasing the now iconic albums The Stone Roses in 1989 and Second Coming in 1994.

There have been highs and lows aplenty over the years for Ian, guitarist John Squire, bassist Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield and drummer Alan ‘Reni’ Wren.

Footage of them larking about in the early days is a far cry from the bust-ups and break-ups they became notorious for.

Back to last year and preparations for the Heaton Park gigs, Shane brings his unique directorial style and humour to capture the band at work, who look like they were really enjoying themselves at a secret rehearsal hideout in Warrington.

There is a big build-up to the surprise warm-up gig the band played at Warrington’s Pyramid Parr Hall last May, in a way emulating just how long fans had waited for this moment.

The film’s public premiere was held last week at Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, with an appearance from the band, for which tickets sold out in just one minute, during which there was ample opportunity for singing along to a handful of tracks including I Wanna Be Adored and Fools Gold which are featured in full.

The Heaton Park gig looks spectacular on the big screen, filmed in a way only Shane Meadows could -— a must-see for any Stone Roses fan.

n The Stone Roses: Made Of Stone was released nationwide yesterday.