Sadly Over-hyped

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Got the privilege to see this on the big screen. It's a pretty amazing movie.It's interesting, the documentary makes the event seem like the first rock concert ever done. I've been to a lot of concerts and the whole thing seem unorganized in comparison to present day concerts, but that's the magic of the whole thing, The Rolling Stones were doing something fresh and unique at the time (Or at least somewhat, Just before this, I saw Ron Howard's documentary on the Beatles playing Shea Stadium, which was more organized and predates this event, but once again, that adds to the magic, as The Fab Four are too squeaky clean to have Hell's Angels as body guards).My favorite part was these inter cuts with the Stones watching the documentary being edited, including the infamous scene when the Hell's Angel stabs a man to death, which became one of those moments in Rock and Roll History that became legendary. Plus a cameo appearance by the Grateful Dead and a clip of Tina Turner performing really add to the vibe.Great Doc, seeing the Stones in their prime interacting with each other was great, one of those things that a true fan can enjoy, but also good music that all can enjoy.

Gimme Shelter (1970)**** (out of 4) The Maysles' landmark documentary covering The Rolling Stones 1969 tour of the United States, which was to end with a free concert in San Fransisco at the Altamont Speedway. While the band and everyone else had great hopes for the free show, it turned into a disaster as concert goers went up against the Hell's Angels who were working as security.A lot of films get the reputation as being the "greatest" of something. Most people consider CITIZEN KANE to be the greatest movie ever made and many consider GIMME SHELTER to be the greatest documentary ever made. I'm certainly not going to debate that because it's amazing how terrific this movie is on so many different levels. On on level it's amazing because the Stones really are incredibly strong with the music as we get clips from a New York show as well as Altamont. Another reason the movie is so powerful is that it has footage of the band in the studio as they were making their Sticky Fingers album. Finally, the film works brilliantly as a thriller.Yes, GIMME SHELTER works perfectly as a thriller because most people are going to come into the movie knowing what happened at that free concert. The events that night ended up turning deadly and like a great Hitchcock thriller, this one plants in your mind that things are going to turn out bad. At the very start of the picture we're given bits of information of the deadly encounter at the end so that there was pretty much the directors starting the time bomb and the intensity just keeps building up in the viewer's mind because you know it's eventually going to go off.As I said, the film simply works on so many terrific levels that it's almost sad that the movies ends on such a down notes. The musical performances throughout the picture are quite wonderful and there's no question that the band was full of energy and it really does show throughout the numbers and especially with the early stuff in New York. Satisfaction, Honky Tonk Woman, Street Fighting Man and Jumpin' Jack Flash are just a few of the tunes that sound terrific and just leap off the screen. Then there's the stuff in Altamont including Sympathy for the Devil and Under My Thumb. The performance from the band is great but what's so remarkable is seeing them struggle to try and keep the crowd under control as the mounting danger just continues to build.GIMME SHELTER really is 90 minutes of pure entertainment. Some of it, like the music, is of a very high entertainment. Seeing the hundreds of thousands of people showing up to jam is a perfect image of these type of music festivals back in the day. The other entertainment, the ugly side, is the disaster that is playing out in front of your eyes as more and more fights begin to happen and of course it eventually leads to a death. This film will certainly appeal to fans of The Rolling Stones but it's going to be even more appealing to those who don't even know the band because of how great the film itself is.

First, this film is not a concert. It is a true life story and saga. The significance of this film is that you catch the rise of the greatest rock and roll band in the world, and the absolute end of the 60's spirit.The film centers around the free concert that the Rolling Stones want to put on at the end of their 1969 US tour. They want to do a mini Woodstock and include other acts such as Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Flying Burrito Brothers, etc...But, putting on a free concert isn't that easy. The crowd estimate is starting to get out of hand. The Stones are in New York finishing up their historic Madison Square Garden Concerts which would become the famous album Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out. We flash back and forth between the concert footage and the troops on the ground in San Francisco trying to get this free concert set.The drama tightens as time is running out for securing a venue for the free show. Golden Gate Park backs out, Laguna Seca Speedway wants no part of it. Finally the Stones lawyer, Melvin Belli secures a spot. The Altamont Speedway. West of San Francisco. The Maysles Brothers capture the drama very well with the hand held cameras. This movie was years ahead of its time. You know there is going to be trouble when the promoter has really no clue what to do with 200,000 cars that are expected.We are treated to the Stones stopping off in Muscle Shoals, Alabama to work on future album "Sticky Fingers". We hear a raw version of Wild Horses some 2 years before it was released. But, the Stones are coming to Frisco and what is ahead is not good.We are finally set for the big free show. December 6th, 1969. Altamont Speedway. The violence starts right away. The crowd is dotted with Hell's Angels. Motorcycles plow through the massive crowd. Marty Balin of the Jefferson Airplane gets punched out. Mick Jagger walking away from the helicopter is attacked and hit. The mood is bad. The film feels the darkness.Finally, as darkness is set the Rolling Stones take the stage. The stage is cramped with mean looking Hell's Angels and just totally stoned out people. It is literally a sea of humanity. 250,000+. The Stones can hardly make it through one song without trouble. Finally the worst happens. Meredith Hunter, a black man in the crowd pulls a gun. He is stabbed to death in front of the stage by Hell's Angels. It is a dark frightening scene. The Rolling Stones finish up the show and are shown taking off in over crowded helicopters. A surreal scene. There were 4 deaths and 4 births at Altamont. Rock and Roll is forever changed.That the Maysles caught all this is truly amazing. The construction of the film is very good. Jagger is in the studio watching the film being put together. You aren't shaken by the past/present thing though.The free love, we love everybody 60's has ended on a dark note. The happy love-ins, bubble gum pop, no consequence drug use is over. The mistake everyone made here is that the Rolling Stones were a very dark band at this point and unwittingly cultivated this dark mood and nasty people. The Rolling Stones were bad ass as they came at that point in time. They are also at their creative zenith and were inventing the large stage act (it is only in its infancy here). The Stones would survive this and lighten up as the 70's went along.December 6th, 1969 was the days of sympathy for the devil and the midnight rambler. RIP 1960's.

I only heard about this documentary because it was listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, and starring one of the most well known British bands, it had to be worth a go. Basically this documentary focuses on The Rolling Stone, with members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards Keith, Mick Taylor (replaced by Ronnie Wood four years later) and Charlie Watts, talking a little about their career and singing of course. But the main focus of the film is on the disastrous free concert performance, which they performed in Northern California, east of Oakland at Altamont Speedway, four months following Woodstock, near the end of their 1969 tour of the USA. 300,00 people crowded to watch the show, and Hell's Angels were put in charge of security, but these men instead spent most of the concert armed with pool cues and knives beating people up, with at least one being killed. The film is made up of footage from the concert itself, including the violence that ensued and Mick Jagger trying to calm things down on stage, some of the point of view from drugged up and dancing spectators, and The Rolling Stones watching it all back and reflecting. Also starring Bill Wyman, Ike Turner, Tina Turner, Grace Slick and Skip Spence Skip. I knew it was going to be a film with plenty of the Stones' songs, but I wasn't expecting there to be a dark incidence being the main focus, it is relatively interesting viewing, but the songs were more enjoyable for me, an alright music documentary. Songs in the film include the song of the title, "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "Wild Horses", "Brown Sugar", "Love in Vain", "Honky Tonk Women", "Sympathy for the Devil" and a few others. Good!