BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Woodyanders It probably seemed like a good idea at the time: The Rolling Stones decide to hold a free concert at Altamont Speedway in San Francisco, California in which the Hell's Angels were hired as security. Not surprisingly, the presence of the hostile bikers caused everything to degenerate into chaos and violence that culminated in the murder of an audience member that's often referred to as a bleak example of the dismal failure of the hippie love generation. However, the Hell's Angels alone can't be entirely blamed for what went wrong. For starters, the dark and harsh content of the music by the Stones comes across like an invitation to violence. Moreover, a lot of the people in the audience were clearly wasted on bad drugs that only compounded the severity of an already dire situation. Plus the whole thing was hastily thrown together at the last minute.Directors Charlotte Zwerin and Albert and David Maysles wisely let the footage speak for itself as well as vividly capture a potently unnerving sense of dread and unease. The Rolling Stones are in peak form, with Mick Jagger in particular strutting about on stage like a magnificent arrogant peacock. Better still, their performances of such terrific classics as "Satisfaction," "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Street Fighting Man," and "Sympathy for the Devil" are quite exciting to behold. Sadly, this film also serves as proof positive that the naïve peace'n'love ideology of the hippie generation was basically destined to crash and burn; Jagger's sincere, but meek pleas for the crowd to cool it are especially heartbreaking to hear. A riveting and terrifying chronicle of the tragic end of an era.

timmyj3 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.

gregory-joulin Certainly not a filmed concert, this important documentary describes, in a very sensitive and powerful way, the incredible human bestiary that rushed towards the 1969 free Rolling Stones show located on Altamont speedway, California.Complete disorganization, brutal security staff, drug abuse will turn this rock party to an awful black celebration that will lead to more than a human sacrifice : the destruction of a new kind of innocence.Often shocking and disturbing, sometimes dreadful, "Gimme shelter" brings to us not only the pictures of a riot. It makes us think about the difficulty for men to live as social animals when they're unable to repress their predator instincts. Let's finally mention the great musical first part of the film, and the quality of the direction.

keigwin I haven't seen this in a few years, I'd like to see it again, so excuse my vagueness.But all I remember of this film is that it was mesmerizing to watch.Maybe some of the other comments here are right, that the film making was lacking, but as for the images; well they speak for themselves. The first 10-15 minutes, on the road (I think) document the groupie/hippie scene way better than any movie since.The way the camera lingers, it felt like a Wiessman film. I just can't get enough of not being to told what to think; you watch a group of people in the frame for minutes on end, and you can make up your own mind. Or not.