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Gimme Shelter [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

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Gimme Shelter Blu-ray
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Gimme Shelter [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray] on Blu-ray


This musical documentary concerns the Rolling Stones and their tragic free concert at Altamont Speedway near San Francisco in early December 1969. The event was all but destroyed by violence that marked the end of the peace and love euphoria of the 1960s. The night began smoothly, with the supercharged Flying Burrito Brothers opening up for the Rolling Stones and performing the truck-driving classic "Six Days on the Road" and Tina Turner giving a sensually charged performance. But on this particular evening, the Stones made the fateful (and disastrous) decision to hire the Oakland chapter of the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang as bodyguards and bouncers. It was a foolhardy, careless choice that turned the night into an unmitigated disaster; halfway through the Stones' act, the Angels killed one black spectator, and injured several others who were present (including Jefferson Airplane's lead singer Marty Balin). In the film, we watch Mick Jagger -- ere an ebullient, charismatic performer of bisexual charm -- reduced to standing on stage like a frightened child with his finger in his mouth in wake of the violence. Unsurprisingly, the Grateful Dead refused to perform after the violence erupted; the picture ends on a despairing note, with the Stones repeatedly watching a film of the murder. Celebrated documentarians Albert and David Maysles directed and Haskell Wexler shot the film, with heightened instinct and control; as a result, this film is considered one of the greatest rock documentaries ever made. Stones songs performed include "Brown Sugar," "Under My Thumb," and "Sympathy for the Devil." ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
  • Sound By: Dolby Digital Stereo
  • Released By: Criterion
Audio Commentary featuring Directors Albert Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin and Collaborator Stanley Goldstein

Performances by the Rolling Stones at Madison Square Garden in 1969, including "Oh Carol" and "Prodigal Son," plus backstage outtakes and footage of the band mixing "Little Queenie"

Audio Excerpts from KSAN Radio's Altamont wrap-up, recorded December 7, 1969, with Introductions by then DJ Stefan Ponek

Altamont Stills Gallery, featuring the work of renowned photographers Bill Owens and Beth Sunflower

Original and Re-release Theatrical Trailers

Plus: A Booklet featuring essays by Film Critic Amy Taubin, Music Writer Stanley Booth, Mick Jagger's former Assistant Georgia Bergman, Music Writer Michael Lydon, and Film Critic Godfrey Cheshire

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  • Gimme Shelter Blu-ray
Gimme Shelter Blu-ray

Editorial Reviews

A dark counterpoint to the lovefest of the film Woodstock, this documentary about the Rolling Stones' 1969 American concert tour centers on the hallucinatory nightmare of the Altamont Music Festival. The free rock concert attracted 300,000 fans. The Stones hired members of the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang to conduct security, but the gang ended up implicated in a fan riot which left one person dead. Cinematographer Haskell Wexler's tremendous camera work captures the connections between the Stones' hypnotic and provocative music and the drug-addled frenzy of the crowd. Directors David Maysles and Al Maysles take a hands-off approach, and the result is a disturbing look at the hellish side of the 1960s rock & roll counterculture. Gimme Shelter is one of the most gripping concert films ever made, and one of the very few to examine the dangerous interplay between performers and live audiences. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi