Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Majorthebys Charming and brutal

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

subxerogravity 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.

Red_Identity I had seen the first 15 minutes of Gimme Shelter in my film class around two weeks ago. Today I decided to watch all of it, because what I had seen had intrigued me. This is a pretty fascinating documentary that mostly focuses on the events of that night in Altamont. I haven't heard much of the Rolling Stones' music, and had never seen Mick Jagger in motion. The film especially shows how incredibly powerful his stage presence and performance was, and that itself makes it easy to watch from the start. The final act is hectic, and at the same time it feels like what you would feel in that situation. The sketchy editing and the on- the-wall observation of the events remains fascinating to watch, even when it's also disturbing. Worth a watch.

druid333-2 Granted,The Woodstock Music & Art Fair had it's share of downers & bummers than the starry-eyed,stoned out audience members would admit to (there were several drug overdoses,a tragic death of a sleeping audience member by being run over by a tractor in a field next door to Max Yasgur's farm,and there was Abbie Hoffman being kicked off the stage by a surly Pete Townsend of The Who,who was in a foul mood that day),but hands down,The Altamont Free Concert holds all of the cards for perhaps what had to be one of the biggest downers of the end of the 1960's,as far as concerts go. Besides the main attraction (The Rolling Stones),there was The Jefferson Airplane,The Grateful Dead,The Flying Burrito Brothers,and others. The mere fact that The Rolling Stones, hiring the Hell's Angels had to be what was obviously the biggest blunder move of all times. The film,directed & filmed by Albert & David Mayles,etc.depicts most of the ugly vibes that was present at the fated festival that was supposed to equal,if not rival Woodstock,and would eventually leave a sour taste in the (collective) mouths of concert promoters for years to come (subsequent concerts in the 1970's would also feature violence,drug overdoses,rampant capitalism,and worse yet,a plague of armchair Marxists,who were basically, over privileged college aged young people who had an attitude that "music belongs to the people,so the music should be free,man"---come on now,were they not aware of the concept of "supporting the arts"?). In the film, we also get to see some footage of some of the better gigs that the Rolling Stones played on that tour,such as the Madison Square Garden show earlier on that tour. This is a well put together documentary of an unfortunate event in Rock & Roll history. There are at least two versions of this film in existence. One,rated 'R' by the MPAA,that contains some vulgar language,nudity & that infamous murder scene during the Rolling Stones concert sequence,on camera by the Hell's Angels,and a watered down PG version,minus most of the stronger language,nudity,but still has the murder scene,intact. Take your choice. (POSTNOTE:there is a remastered,director's cut of the film re-released a few years ago that is the original 1970 version,with additional footage,that is unrated by the MPAA)

Ralf Beckers I only recently acquired this on DVD from South America. Initially, bought it only out of curiosity. Now, I think it has taught me some truths. The content is historical/documentary and beyond any conventional rating. The music tracks in the film do have very good audio, though. Now to Dan Sims' question. I share the same view: IMHO, if someone points a gun at me, especially a high as a kite hippie, I'd deal with it in a way I see appropriate to the given situation. Square fact is, that 81 was hired to protect the bands and the audience. One could make a point that the Stones and a bunch of tree huggers owe their lives to the Big Red Machine, obviously the only men sober and sane enough to realize the danger and having the balls to deal with it. Given the chaotic circumstances, I find nothing wrong with the events in 1969. To my knowledge, so did a court of justice. Well, except parking your bike in front of the stage and getting all upset about it when someone stumbles over it. That is so silly. Cheers.