Rating: 
Summary: Great footage of the Stones in their prime
Review: It's a miracle that more lives were not lost in that chaos...from overdoses if nothing else!
Rating: 
Summary: It is a excellent synopsis of a troubled decade 's end.
Review: This is a truly great documentary. You can feel the tension in the air as a poorly planned concert goes awry.The music by the stones is truly top notch. Among the best parts are the Muscle Shoals Stones recording sessions. It also includes Tina Turner, The Flying Burrito Brothers and Jefferson Airplane.The best part is the Altamont footage. The Hell's Angels seem to be remarkably restrained given their provacations by some drugged out fans. This is a must see especially if you like early Stones or the Stones period. But it is just worth watching even if you don't like them due to the fan footage of a concert doomed from the start. You can just feel the tension.5 stars
Rating: 
Summary: Hits & misses
Review: This documentary of the Stones' ill-fated 1969 American tour is quite good at times, with some excellent concert footage featuring the Stones, Ike and Tina Turner, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jefferson Airplane. However, the film bogs down quite badly during the prolonged (and boring)sequences featuring Melvin Belli. Less gab and more music would have improved this film vastly. It's OK, but hardly a classic.
Rating:
Summary: All time best Rock documentary.
Review: This movie is a time capsule of 1969. It's well filmed, gritty, ugly, beautiful, dark, out of control, and very real. I'm a big early-Stones fan, so my judgement may be biased. The Altamont show provides a vivid contrast to the commercial and sterile atmosphere of the big concert tours of the '80s and '90s. And you gotta love that german shepard wandering around onstage and the Hells Angel with the coyote-head hat.
Rating:
Summary: I was there!
Review: I saw it a long time ago and I want to see it again, mostly because I was at Altamont! Movie is good but being there was better.
Rating:
Summary: Great 'Rockumentary'
Review: The sick underbelly of American pop culture is exposed as a drug hazed, violent, and chaotic mess. The Stones aggressive back beat tunes hammer the point home that the 60's was also about uncontrolled excess. Great tunes & scary bikers. Viva Rock'n'Roll !!
Rating:
Summary: Thrilled to have this in the collection of rock videos
Review: A chilling, thrilling, important movie at the time of its release. The music remains compelling and the story even more valuable now with the benefit of hindsight and a little wisdom gained with age. The Grateful Dead later sang about this whole disaster, "This darkness has got to give." It's debatable if it ever has -- for the Stones, for the Dead, for the music scene itself. At least the naivete about drugs is mostly gone.
Rating:
Summary: The STONES as carrier of subconscious cultural tension
Review: This film is one of the greatest rock documentaries ever made. I consider it to be more important than WOODSTOCK. Tension, fear, and hate are presented as an undertone to the peace, love, and happiness of the countercultural movement of the late 60's. Climax arrives at the Altamont Speedway. The Hell's Angels serve as Security guards. The band tries to make its way through "Sympathy for the Devil," but must stop due to the rampant violence and destruction which the song generates. Jagger proclaims that something sinister seems to happen everytime they play that number. It's incredible. Not to mention the Killer performances of Ike and Tina(have you ever wanted to see her fondle a microphone) and Jefferson Airplane who's guitarist is knocked over the head in mid set.
Rating:
Summary: a strong film with many bonus features
Review: This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.Gimme Shelter is regarded by many as the most important rock film of all time. It follows the Rolling Stones on their infamous 1969 US tour. It covers the Madison Square Garden concert and the near-disastrous Altamont Speedway concert, along with actuality footage of the band in meetings with their lawyer, Melvin Belli (also known for defending Jack Ruby and for a guest appearance in a Star Trek episode) It remains one of the most popular rock films ever made and is as thought-provoking today as it was 35 years ago. An actual now-famous homicide was caught on tape and is featured in this film (as well as nudity), making it inappropriate for children. The Criterion DVD includes many special features also. There is a theatrical trailer and a re-release trailer for the film as well as the films, "Salesmen" and "Grey Gardens" also directed by the Maysles brothers. There is film restoration deomonstration, several deleted scenes and outtakes, audio commentary by the directors and collaborator, Stanley Goldstein. There are also 80 minutes of excerpts from the 4 hour call-in radio show done after the Altamont concert and a photo gallery of the Altamont concert. As an added bonus the accompanying booklet is many times larger than normal (this one is 44 pages) and contains several essays by many different people. This DVD is a MUST for Rolling Stones fans as well as Criterion Collection DVD fans alike.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant companion piece (and antidote) to "Woodstock" doc
Review: I don't have much new to add here, but I will say this documentary is a very important historical document of its time and scene. I would suggest watching the "Woodstock" documentary first. After that makes you feel high, lovable, and loved, put this one in; it will bring you back down to earth. "Gimme Shelter" left me thinking that the hippie bliss realization of Woodstock was confined to just that one single weekend. Although the music and performances at Woodstock were some of the absolute best ever captured on film, the hippie ideals that filled that festival were nothing but ideals. And what we saw in Altamont, however, left me thinking that the disaster of Woodstock '99 didn't seem so bad compared to Altamont '69. "Gimme Shelter" is not at all a concert film, which is okay because that's not even its purpose. The Stones sounded pretty bad live throughout the film. They were experimenting with drugs and new equipment (not a good combination). I wouldn't have minded, however, if the filmmakers had included more footage of a knockout Tina Turner. And couldn't they have put the camera on Gram Parsons (with The Flying Burrito Brothers) for at least a few seconds!!. Little did they know how valuable that footage would have been! But those are just questions, not quibbles. So as a concert film don't expect much. But as a document of the end of an era (and its ideals), I can't imagine a better one. This is a must-see documentary. Easily one of the best ever.
| 
