Blu-Ray Review: Much More Than a Tour Chronicled in ‘Gimme Shelter’

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CHICAGO – If the 1969 U.S. tour of The Rolling Stones had gone smoothly, David Maysles, Albert Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin’s “Gimme Shelter” would still be one of the best music documentaries ever made. Of course, as everyone who knows anything about music or pop culture history knows, the tour did not go smoothly, ending in the infamous concert at Altamont Speedway that’s often pointed to as the end of the era of love.

The Criterion Collection, continuing a pattern of releasing their music documentaries on Blu-Ray before other selections, brings this riveting document of the end of an era through a band in its prime to the world of HD.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0

“Gimme Shelter” opens with a photo shoot and one of the best live performances of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” ever put on film (and probably ever recorded). Clearly, this is a band at the top of the rock ‘n’ roll game. Every element of the band, especially the vibrant force of energy known as Mick Jagger, was working together. But what was happening on stage was not being mirrored in the crowd that tragic day at Altamont when a security team ran by Hell’s Angels clashed with three hundred thousand members of the Love Generation and the show ended in death.

Gimme Shelter was released on Blu-Ray on November 24th, 2009.
Photo credit: Courtesy of the Criterion Collection

Knowing where “Gimme Shelter” must eventually go lends the entire piece a remarkable sense of sadness. It’s as if what was going on in the world - San Francisco in 1969 couldn’t have been any closer to the center of the protest movement and had been the scene of several fights between the new generation and those who didn’t quite understand the hippie movement - was more powerful than what was going on up on the stage. Even the greatest rock and roll band of all time couldn’t stop what almost feels like an inevitability - that the summer of love would end in tragedy. A band as powerfully emotional as The Rolling Stones were merely the fuel for a fire waiting to be lit. When Mick sings “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” he speaks to and empowers the protest movement, the love generation, and, yes, the Hell’s Angels.

With performances that include “Wild Horses,” “Brown Sugar,” “Honky Tonk Women,” “Street Fighting Man,” “Sympathy For the Devil,” “Under My Thumb,” and, of course, “Gimme Shelter,” the movie that bears the same name is an amazing concert film on one side, a commentary on the end of the ’60s on the other side, and a great documentary in the middle.

The Criterion Blu-Ray for “Gimme Shelter” is presented in 1.33:1 full frame and includes the new high-definition digital transfer of the uncensored thirtieth anniversary version, with exclusive DTS-HD Master Audio surround and stereo mixes. Special features include audio commentary featuring the directors 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 rerelease theatrical trailers, and a booklet featuring essays by film critic Amy Taubin, music writer Stanley Booth, Mick Jagger’s former assistant Georgie Bergman, music writer Michael Lydon, and film critic Godfrey Cheshire.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com