Rating: 
Summary: A Musical SlugFest
Review: This film, in hindsight, is a clear example of how NOT to arrange a free outdoor concert. But I do not fault the Stones for attempting to give those Californian flower children an outdoor performance, because the band truly believed that it would equal Woodstock as the relatively drug-fueled, tranquil event that the former had been. I do, however, fault Mick Jagger's incredibly poor judgment in hiring the Hell's Angels for stage security while allowing them to get tanked on all the free beer they could guzzle. And one glance at an Angel's biker sneering at Jagger as he stood onstage to his immediate right indisputably summed up what the Angels as a whole thought of hippies in general and, of course, the Stones/Jagger in particular. The band were at their peak back then, with Mick Taylor fabulously wailing away on his Gibson on such numbers as "Satisfaction" and "Love in Vain", especially. But a great show was marred by a countless array of unnecessary beatings that were contrasted by a justifiable, yet savagely fatal stabbing of an armed psycho runnng towards the stage. And poor Marty Balin's brutal pool-cue clubbing by the Angels earlier should have prompted the Stones to perhaps consider cancelling, but then again, there would have been no performance/movie to follow, and years later, no DVD version of it to watch. A tragic piece of Rolling Stones history, indeed.
Rating: 
Summary: A must-own Rock video.
Review: This is a great video not so much for the music, but for the way that it captures Altamont and the end of the 60's. The concert footage pales in comparison to concert videos that we now see, but no other Rock video has been made as captivating as this. The setting up of the concert, the concert, and the climax give the video a story unlike anything imaginable. It is really more of a documentary then a 'music video'. No, I did not grow up in the 60's, actually more late 70's and 80's. This would be in my top 3 of all Rock Videos.
Rating:
Summary: Show you the truth about the 60's
Review: Unlike Woodstock, this film shows you the reality of teh 60's.
I can't really judge since i wasn't born. but when i saw woodstack, it seemed too good to be true and this made it unrealistic. It starts with an amzing performance of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" which will pin you to your seat. My only negative comment is that the commentary on the DVD is not about what you're seeing on the screen at that moment so you don't feel like listening to it. Also, i was annoyed by the way the producers were complementing each other all the time.
Overall, a great DVD with great features
Rating:
Summary: Stoned
Review: Altamont could have been just as good as Woodstock when you look at the bands who were playing! Jefferson Airplane,CSNY,Flying Burritos and The Stones were are their peak back then.It all started so well with a good atmosphere being created by The Flying Burritos.Chris Hillman said years later that they had no political statement to make and everyone was having a good time.Then you can feel the tension as the Hell's Angels roll into town.Its bad enough watching the violence on screen and what starts off as a good vibe turns into a nightmare!
When the Stones took the stage I don't think there was much they could do to keep the peace,when you look at the hate stares Jagger was getting he tried his best for some calm.If the Stones had walked off stage things would probably got worse!
The last scene when they are scrambling into the last helicopter is just like a scene from Vietnam! The end of a dream!!!
Rating: 
Summary: A slow descent into madness. The documentary of a bad trip
Review: This film has its importance: it seems to foreshadow the end of the "Summer of Love" 1960s, and point to something darker and less communal. Drugs seem eery and frightening here, a bad trip, instead of as keys to open doors of perception. It's telling that the disaster at Altamont happened to the 'Stones, because their aimlessness and lack of political feeling are on display here. The 'Stones come across as stoned and shallow, people who just want to party and have sex. Their audience seems similarly apolitical and in search of only a good time. While an imperialist war rages in Vietnam, and while a social revolution continues in the US and Britain, the Stones were interested only in themselves. Their apathy has its mirror in the Altamont nightmare. The film, though, is slow-going. It doesn't rock or excite, and it doesn't probe the characters involved. You long for more interviews, more context, and a faster pace, but instead you are slowly led into a deep, dark "bummer," as one manager puts it.
Rating:
Summary: Definitive Must-See For All Rock Fans Everywhere!
Review: You've never seen "Gimme Shelter" and you call yourself a Rock & Roll fan? ...Not likely! All I can say, is OH MY GOD! What a tremendous DVD package! This is one of the greatest Rock & Roll films of all time and has never looked or sounded better. Criterion have done a fabulous job here and it's worth every penny. The film is shown in full-screen, 1.33:1. The soundtrack comes in Dolby surround and 5.1 surround, as well as with a commentary soundtrack of the directors and editor. There is also a mini booklet containing memories of the concert by many who were there at Altamont, including Hell's Angel Sonny Barger. There is a slight grain to the picture, but remember, this was shot on 16mm film - there is only so much restoration can do. While I am not particularly a fan of 16mm film, some people like the look for its own sake. If you don't know what this film is about, or have never heard of it - then boy, do you have some homework to do! Primarily this film climaxes around the Rolling Stones' 1969 free concert at the Altamont speedway in California... But this film shows the Stones at what I feel is their peak - the 1969 tour that kicked-off the Mick Taylor era Stones! See this film, for the first time, or just the first time in a while. Remember Rock & Roll that was!
Rating:
Summary: "Who's Fighting, And What For? Why Are We Fighting?"
Review: This is the greatest rock and roll documentary of all time. And not greatest in the way that "Citizen Kane" is considered the greatest film of all time - its revolutionary style seems commonplace now because everyone from that day forward used it - rather, "Gimme Shelter" provides a brilliant look at the event that could probably be pointed to as the death of the sixties culture and hippie free love type way of life. While the film starts out as a documentary on the Rolling Stones, a wonderful one at that, once the concert at Altamont is reached, the story turns from the Stones to the culture around them. Shots of the concertgoers at Altamont seem outlandish to modern culture: here a woman solicits money for the Black Panthers, there a man sits up on a hill offering drugs as if he's reading their names out of a dictionary, In front naked men and women cavort and the peaceniks offer flowers to anyone in general. The concert at Altamont in 1969 resulted in disaster when the Hell's Angels, recruited for free under the premise of all the beer they could drink throughout the day, turned steadily more and more violent against the increasingly intoxicated crowd. The scenes of violence as the bands in Altamont play grow steadily worse as bands like Jefferson Airplane get tossed around. (One of the greatest scenes in the film involves the Greatful Dead getting out of their helecopter, looking around, hearing about the concert, hopping back into their helecopter, and leaving.) The film brilliantly captures this feeling of a free concert dedicated to peace and love going wrong as the Stones enter at sundown to play. As the Hell's Angels tear into the stoned crowd, Mick Jagger, in a politically correct attempt to preserve the peace, finally gives up and utters the famous phrase above: "Who's fighting, and what for?" The shots of the faces in the crowd staring up at Jagger in either incomprehension or fear of reprisal are incredibly powerful images, not to mention the Stones sitting in the editing room watching the final cut shaking their heads as they see the climax of the concert - a young black man dancing about wildly suddenly is seen with a gun in his hand - and the Hell's Angels beat him to death as the frenzied crowd backs away. Although the concert continues, the Altamont section of the film ends at that point, with Mick Jagger requesting the editors to play it back to see the man who lost his life. The final sequence of the film - the dazed hippies marching across the fields as the sun sets while "Gimme Shelter" plays - is the summation of the film's statement of a loss of that innocence of the sixties. For a great rock'n'roll time with the greatest rock'n'roll band in the world at their creative peak coupled with a startling view of the death of the sixties, this film takes the viewer through an unforgettable experience. (It also features camerawork by some unknown guy living in Northern California named George Lucas.)
Rating:
Summary: totally awesome
Review: must have!! let me set the stage,the rolling stones decide to throw a free concert at altamont and they invite the HELL'S ANGELS to be security. enough said!!the ANGELS bring an entire school bus full off booze and drugs! wait to you see the mayhem that occurs! during JEFFERSON AIRPLANE'S set john cantner gets drilled in the face during a fight that breaks out on stage. then comes the STONES, by the time the STONES hit the stage the ANGELS are "feeling no pain"! I DON'T WANT TO RUIN THE SHOW,SO YOU MUST GET THIS!! AWESOME!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Wow man, what a trip...
Review: Hey dudes, Just want to check in. I was that Cat on the stage with Mick that was having that bad acid trip. Hey Man, those Angels didn't need to treat me like they did, man... Wheeeewwww! What a night! Seriously, a must see if you are a fan of The Rolling Stones, the 60's, History, The Hell's Angel's or dudes having bad acid trips... Right up there in terms of cultural importance with the Woodstock movie... The only disapointment of "Gimme Shelter" is the fact that the Maysles Brothers left out the concert footage of P. Diddy and the Bad Boys for Life Crew... I think they were there... I mean, aren't they everywhere...?
Rating:
Summary: Much more than a Rolling Stones documentary . . .
Review: which is what I was led to believe for years. I finally saw _Gimme Shelter_ and I was delightfully surprised at the story and the way the Maysles constructed this film. Throughout the film you get the idea that you're looking back; that is, the film is not linear but self-conscious and self-referencing. Concert footage is interspersed with footage of the Maysles and the Stones previewing the concert footage. A lot of the concert footage is so good that you can get lost in that alone and forget about the rest of the film going on. I suppose that's one of the great things about the film. It really captures a broad picture of the Rolling Stones and the music industry. You get down time with the band, lawyers wheeling and dealing and such, response from fans and, of course, you get the amazing performances by the Stones. Very deconstruction. I guess it's about the second half of the film where things start to get ugly. The Stones want to stage a free concert in San Francisco(originally the Golden Gate Park) and are plagued with setbacks. They finally make a deal with the folks at the Altamont Speedway and the concert is a go. 300,000 people show up as well as dozens of Hell's Angels from the San Francisco and neighboring California chapters. This turns out to be a recipe for disaster as the Angels beat the [heck] out of the folks up close to the stage and one Angel even knocks out the Jefferson Airplane guitar player (don't recall who). The concert has to be stopped periodically throughout the day whenever one or more of the Angels goes berserk on some hippie freaking out on drugs. So by the time the Stones hit the stage, at nightfall, a deadly animosity between the Angels and the crowd has about reached critical mass. Mick pleads with the Angels and the crowd to, "Stop fighting!", but the violence continues, culminating in the stabbing death of an 18-year-old black kid in a bright green zoot-suit at the hands of the Angels. But the blame isn't so easily cast, for when the Maysles review the film the youth is seen drawing and firing a pistol at the Angels before it's knocked away and he's stabbed to death. The concert at Altamont deflates the carefree, excessive arrogance of the self proclaimed, "Greatest Rock-and-Roll Band Ever" and the film ends on a rather bitter note. Fans of the Stones will be happy with this film as they get to see their idols in the height of youth. The extras on the DVD are really good also. You get commentary and a bunch of radio interviews recorded after the Altamont debacle. Also, Mick playing Ike Turner's Telecaster and singing backstage with Ike and Tina (can't be missed) and a short on how the film was cleaned up for digital transfer. The booklet is also very nice and I'm glad they included this booklet instead of putting the essays on the DVD and enraging me. Nothing worse than having to read a text essay off of the TV.
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