This little-known Britney Spears concert documentary reveals how fame disturbingly isolated her

• "Stages: Three Days in Mexico" is a little-known concert documentary focused on the end of Britney Spears' 2002 Dream Within A Dream tour.
• The documentary captures how trapped and isolated Spears was due to her fame.
• She also navigates rude press and a huge storm that could cancel the final night of her concert.
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Every single aspect of Britney Spears' life has been analyzed, so it's kind of shocking that the singer has a forgotten concert documentary.

But Judy Hoffman's "Stages: Three Days in Mexico," centered on the Mexico City stop of Spears' Dream Within A Dream tour, has recently found new interest thanks to the #FreeBritney movement and it's such a compelling watch.

The 2002 tour supported Spears' third album, "Britney," which featured songs like "I'm a Slave 4 U" and "Overprotected."

So why have you probably never seen "Stages: Three Days in Mexico"? You mean, outside of the awful title that gives zero indication that it's about Spears? (Even the doc's cover art has Spears' name, but doesn't show her face. Talk about burying a movie!)

"Stages" was created as a DVD doc to accompany a Spears' photo book. Perhaps that's how Hoffman was able to be a tad more revealing than other more high profile looks on the pop star. And although the documentary didn't get a TV or theatrical premiere, it's actually a revealing watch of Spears as a sheltered superstar.

You can tell Spears knew she was a prisoner of her own fame

In the movie, we get a glimpse of what tour life was like for Spears, including constant body guard protection, press commitments, photo shoots, chatting it up with her hair stylist, and learning about what her love life is destined to be thanks to a visit from a psychic.

However, what Hoffman also shows throughout is the restrains of stardom. Spears is completely isolated, rushed from one commitment to another, and you can tell the grind is getting to her.

At least three times in this one-hour documentary, the singer talks about being excited to take a vacation once her Mexico City dates are through. Spears talks about wanting to travel to Greece or do other exciting things while on break, though admits she'll probably just hang out at her mom's house.

It's that self-awareness of her situation - that she literally can't go anywhere in this world without an international incident erupting - that's so fascinating when watching "Stages." Even at 20 years old, Spears knew she was becoming a prisoner of her own fame.

Spears had to deal with a misogynist member of the press

The doc also shows the disturbing aspects of life on the road.

Despite a small army watching every inch of the venue where Spears is set to perform, someone is still able to jump a fence to try and catch a closer glimpse of the hit singer. The movie shows the aftermath, as lots of finger pointing on who to blame ensues. Meanwhile, Spears is unaware of the chaos, taking a nap in her dressing room.

Though the intruder never gets close to Spears, it's the fact that she has to live with this seemingly constant threat that is alarming.

Another cringeworthy moment happens during a press conference when Spears gets to Mexico City, shown at the movie's opening.

Things get uncomfortable for the star when a reporter asks her to stand up so he can see the outfit she's wearing. Spears obliges, which prompts whistles from some in the audience. The reporter then asks her to spin so he can see her backside. She quickly sits back down and tells the reporter, "You can see when I leave."

It's just the latest example of an invasive and misogynistic media that has chewed up Spears through her career.

We see the weight of the world put on Spears' shoulders when bad weather jeopardizes the concert

Perhaps the most troubling, yet fascinating, moment comes at the end of the movie when a rainstorm threatens the cancelation of her final show in Mexico City.

As the production manager scrambles while looking at weather reports, Spears is on the phone with her co-manager Johnny Wright deciding if she wants to still go on. In between calls, Spears is barking instructions on where the dancers should be and what songs should be pulled, all while in the makeup chair getting ready for the show. (She would go on to do an abbreviated concert that night.)

It's the most liberating moment of the movie as it's the only time when Spears looks like she has control over her universe. No longer is she just being told where to go and what to do.

However, Hoffman (with the skilled cinematography of legendary documentarian Albert Maysles) also captures in this moment the enormous pressures a then 20-year-old Spears was going through. The weight of the world thrust upon her is telling in the movie's final shot, in which Hoffman freezes, as Spears looks directly into the camera, mimicking a deer-in-headlights, as we hear the roaring impatient crowd in the background.

The director could not film Spears drinking, smoking, or carrying non-Pepsi products

Looking back 19 years later on the making of the doc, Hoffman told Vanity Fair that she felt Spears "was made into a commodity fetish."

Hoffman said that's why the documentary has more of a fly-on-the-wall verite style.

"You just felt her loneliness and sadness, and it was hard to talk to her," Hoffman said. "I just wanted to leave her alone. I felt so sad. I didn't want to be another press person torturing her. I just didn't want to be like the people I saw that she had to encounter all the time."

Hoffman was also required to protect the brand.

She told Vanity Fair that she was not allowed to film Spears smoking or drinking alcohol. Any beverages she drank that weren't a Pepsi product, for which Spears was a spokesperson, were blurred out. Even the phone she's on in the movie was blurred out because it wasn't the brand she had a sponsorship deal with.

"Stages: Three Days in Mexico" is a must-watch for Spears fans and those who are just fascinated by ever-evolving celebrity culture. What also gives it that I have to see this pull is the fact that it's a lost artifact in Spears' career.

Physical copies are hard to come by, but a bootleg version can be found on YouTube. Catch it before it's gone!