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DVD The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter - Criterion Collection
To cite Gimme Shelter as the greatest rock documentary ever filmed is to damn it with faint praise. This 1970 release benefits from a horrifying serendipity in the timing of the shoot, which brought filmmakers Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin aboard as the Rolling Stones' tumultuous 1969 American tour neared its end. By following the band to the Altamont Speedway near San Francisco for a fatally mismanaged free concert, the Maysles and Zwerin wound up shooting what's been accurately dubbed rock's equivalent to the Zapruder film. The cameras caught the ominous undercurrents of violence palpable even before the first chords were strummed, and were still rolling when a concertgoer was stabbed to death by the Hell's Angels that served as the festival's pool cue-wielding security force.
By the time Gimme Shelter reached theater screens, Altamont was a fixed symbol for the death of the 1960s' spirit of optimism. The Maysles and Zwerin used that knowledge to shape their film: their chronicle begins in the editing room as they cut footage of the Stones' Madison Square Garden performance of "Jumpin' Jack Flash," and from there moves toward Altamont with a kind of dreadful grace. The songs become prophecies and laments for broken faith ("Wild Horses"), misplaced devotion ("Love in Vain"), and social collapse ("Street Fighting Man" and, of course, "Sympathy for the Devil"). Along the way, we glimpse the folly of the machinations behind the festival, the insularity of life on the concert trail, and the superstars' own shell-shocked loss of innocence.
Gimme Shelter looks into an abyss, partly self-created, from which the Rolling Stones would retreat--but unlike its subject, the filmmakers don't blink. --Sam Sutherland
Review(s): DVD The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter - Criterion Collection
Don't get this for the music
This is an interesting, perhaps even a historically significant, film, but it definitely is not one of the better *music* DVDs out there. The sound is great, but the Stones are out of tune with each other and with themselves, they consistently miss changes and flub endings, and the other performers are even worse.
Get Your Ya-Ya's Out is a much better buy and one of the best live rock recordings. Of course, it's cherry-picked from the Stones' entire tour and not a single concert.
Time machine back to the Rolling Stones in their prime.
The quality of the restoration brings this 35 year old print up to modern standards in terms of vision and sound. The songs are presented with passion and life by the Stones at the peak of their power. I would recommend this DVD as a 'must have' for younger people as an explanation of the hold that the Stones have over their parents generation, and as a 'must have' for baby boomers seeking an affirmation of their original connection with the Stones at their peak. The fact that all of this is wrapped around the out of control Altamont concert only reinforces the fact that this is a record of a unique and special time and place, not a carefully preconcieved packaging of a bloodless product.
From behind the scenes to behind the stage - intense !!
Rock and roll stars have done silly things over the years and it is not pretty to see them get what they deserve .
I will not explain what I mean by that - you have to see the film . Criterion are one of the best DVD studios and are a little more expensive as a result , but this is worth it .
The Stones played at being demonic and nasty for years and at a concert shown in this documentary , their karma caught up with them .
Mick Jagger likes acting , but his mask slips in this .
The filmmakers sat on the fence a little otherwise the film would never have been released , so it is hard to tell where they stand , if that matters to you .
The film shows how the business of rock works - the high priced lawyers , the boredom of the studio , the travelling and organising .
It's powerful and exciting - just like the best music .
It's also much better than the management - sanctioned airbrushed promos we get nowadays by modern 'rock stars' with their teams of stylists and handlers .
Take a look at the old days - shortly after this , it seems everyone had to start behaving themselves a bit better .
Rock on with this great package from Criterion .
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