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Sonny Barger, Melvin Belli, Jefferson Airplane, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner ... see more see more... , Ike Turner

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 mark... read more read more...ed 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

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90% liked it

5,792 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

21 critics

R, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Albert Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin, David Maysles

Release Date: December 6, 1970

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DVD Release Date: August 10, 2000

Stats: 497 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (497)

  • YLOWBSTARDreturns
    May 19, 2011
    YLOWBSTARDreturns
    A stunning time capsule, capturing it's era perfectly. At times you forget that it is at it's core a Rolling Stones concert film, due to the fact that a lot of time is dedicated to observing the setup and crowd (hippy excess and Hell's Angels confusion/brutality). The fact that t... read morehe Maysles' were able to capture on film what they did (the infamous stabbing and the end of flower-child ideals) is nothing short of extraordinary. Then there's the Stones! A must for fans of Jagger and company and flawless documentary filmmaking.
  • tsigur
    November 11, 2007
    tsigur
    Maysels do it again.
  • mjgildea
    April 18, 2007
    mjgildea
    The stabbing at Altamont was pretty crazy and is the highlight of Gimme Shelter. Another reason to watch is the part where Mick Jagger asks the crowd, "who wants to fight" in some reverse psychological way. Hilarious. But if you take only one thing away from Gimme Shelter, it wil... read morel be that The Rolling Stones were not and are not a live band. All in all, pretty anticlimactic.
  • crossbladezero
    November 30, 2010
    crossbladezero
    Wow, hanging out with the legendary Rolling Stones... is surprisingly boring. They could've really used a lot of editing, because there is way too much footage. All that aside, the film is interesting and holds great perfomances. It was neat seeing the legends and their crazy fan... read mores on and off the stage. It's a pretty lazy film but is still really worth checking out.
  • Ivan6655321
    May 5, 2010
    Ivan6655321
    One word could actually summarize the experience of watching such documentary: Harrowing. It's a rare concert documentation that treats the music not as a testament of art in the rock n' roll scene, but more of an inaudible score to accompany the chaos. Even for rock purists, it'... read mores hard to appreciate The Rolling Stone's works amidst the anarchy, because rather than it(the songs) being the celebration of the music, it's a bitter taste not just in our mouths, but also for Mick Jagger's and his troupe, whose influence among the "hippie" culture has brought about this unexpected folly. There were many sequences of sheer absurdities that one would mistake some of it to be purely surrealist ones, but the scene that lingered in my mind was the shot of The Rolling Stones' helicopter's departure, as the "hippie" counterculturist desperately said their goodbyes to the leaving band. It is a scene reminiscent of the final shot of George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead", and for once, I thought, the audiences of that fateful day was comparable to Romero's undead: Both animated by something beyond their control, but ultimately likes. After witnessing the horrors of "Gimme Shelter", I instantly had the desire to rewatch "This is Spinal Tap", just as how I liked to take a shower after watching "Salo".
  • cacutshaw
    February 8, 2008
    cacutshaw
    The Hells Angel put an end to the love era at a Rolling Stones concert. Watching an accident just waiting to happen.
  • shawnmiller2
    April 16, 2012
    shawnmiller2
    Good insight into a 70's Superband, and how things of good intention can go drastically wrong if not planned for carefully...pretty much ended the Free Love era with a bang...
  • vadermccandless
    November 26, 2011
    vadermccandless
    A doc that acts as an informative look at The Rolling Stones, the last days of the 60s, and changing attitudes and ideals.
  • dinahmoehum
    January 4, 2011
    dinahmoehum
    It's not that great of a movie, but it's damn powerful if you look at it in the context of the social state of the US in these years. I'm still reeling from the images. A must see.
  • HuskersNC949597
    March 16, 2010
    HuskersNC949597
    I'm not really a huge fan of the Stones, but jeez man, all they were trying to do was put on a free show and the freaking hippies had to ruin it because they were too wasted out of their minds to follow the damn rules, which were pretty basic: leave a small buffer zone between yo... read moreu and the performers, and don't climb the scaffolding. Oh, and don't bring a gun either.

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Critic Reviews

Chris Vognar
February 28, 2002
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

This is a seminal rock doc, and the actual music is only a small part of the magic. Full Review

Sean Axmaker
December 6, 2009
Sean Axmaker, Seanax.com

... put a frame around the notorious Altamont Speedway free concert that became the grim bookend to the decade. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
June 30, 2009
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

This seminal docu of the Rolling Stones free concert, in which a black youth was stabbed by Hell's Angels, raises crucial questions about cinema verite style, moral ambiguity, complicity, and mass beh... Full Review

Cole Smithey
March 18, 2009
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

Essential.

Michael Dequina
December 29, 2006
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

The most fascinating aspect about the film is how it traces the anatomy of the disaster that was Altamont. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
November 29, 2006
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Though upsetting, the film remains an eye-opening eyewitness report on the counterculture experience in its decline. Full Review

Jon Niccum
September 5, 2003
Jon Niccum, Lawrence Journal-World

A disturbing time capsule that showcases the anti-Woodstock

Dan Lybarger
March 28, 2003
Dan Lybarger, Nitrate Online

This look at the Rolling Stones' disastrous concert at Altamont is so chilling it will prevent anyone from ever looking back at the 1960s with rose-colored glasses.

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
June 2, 2002
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies

There are so many great and terrible things about this documentary. Full Review

Rumsey Taylor
May 28, 2002
Rumsey Taylor, Not Coming to a Theater Near You

There exist few films that exclaim their time's ideas with such gravity as Gimme Shelter. Full Review

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Gimme Shelter Trivia

  • George Lucas was a cameraman on this 1970 rock documentary, but due to a camera jam, the footage he shot was unusable and does not appear in the final version of the film.  Answer »
  • The harrowing documentary "Gimme Shelter" involves the world-famous tour of '69 of ...  Answer »
  • Jimi Hendrix is one of the few performers who makes an appearance in three famous rock concert films of the 60s' and 70s'. In what film from the era does Hendrix NOT make an appearance?  Answer »
  • In which of these Martin Scorsese movies is the song "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones NOT played?  Answer »
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