ernestrp

I got Gimme Shelter in the mail today. Gave it a quick look and it does look like one great disc. The booklet is quite good to. Thanks, Criterion and Buy.com for getting it to me before the release date.

patrckpiteo

How's the sound? DId you use the DTS track?

ernestrp

I got around to watching it last night and very good. Has for Dts sound, I dont have that but the there is an option for Dts 5.1. There is a restoration demonstration for both the picture and sound and they really show a difference on what I have for the sound.

I do have a question for someone who might have been there or has more information but how many songs did the Stones do at Altamont? I had seen this on Tv probably back in the late 70's or so and thought the show ended with the murder.

JamesBrian

quote:<HR>Originally posted by ernestrp:
[
I do have a question for someone who might have been there or has more information but how many songs did the Stones do at Altamont? [/B]<HR>

To paraphrase an expression - if you remember how many songs they played you weren't there.

I was within 30 yards of the action all day(between a biker bus and the stage) and had no idea there was a murder. I did see a photographer head toward the stage earlier in the day, and come back a little while later with blood streaming down his face - not too smart to take pictures of the Angels. It was dark when the Stones played, and everyone was standing up and shoving toward the stage, just like any other concert when the headliners came on. I thought they sounded great under the circumstances (remember this was a last minute setup in the middle of nowhere), but I was pretty fried by then and it was indeed a VERY weird day.

I think i have a tape of the laserdisc somewhere, but I'm ordering the DVd today.

ernestrp

JamesBrian,

Cool you were there. I only remember seeing once on TV. Maybe listening to the audio commentary will answer my question. I thought it was a little strange from how they would seem to sart with Sympathy for the Devil and then Under My Thumb when the the guy with the gun was killed/murdered by a hells angel and then go into a part of Street Fighting Man and it ends.

A great Dvd.

Gil Jawetz

The concert is not presented in it's full length, of course. i don't know how many songs they did but it was a full show. The filmmakers said in a recent interview that after the murder the mood lightened up noticably, even though few people were aware of what had happened and they chose not to continue showing footage after the murder because the festive mood of the show would mar the film they were trying to make at that point. Apparently the rest of the show was one of the best the stones ever performed but Gimme Shelter isn'ta bout that.

One thing people should know is how the film is actually slightly at fault: The only reason the concert was moved in the last minute was because the previous venue wanted a cut of the proceeds fromt he film and the Stones didn't want to give that up, so they moved to a less secure venue in the last minute. This sort of disorganized behavior led partially to the mess that the event became. Obviously the murderer is at fault but the film doesn't mention these strange circumstances that helped cause the anarchy.

I can't wait for my disc to come in. Hopefully Amazon won't sit on it too long.

------------------
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El Kabong

I watched the first 20 minutes today in DTS 5.1 & it sounded great. The guitar was really effective in the live songs & when they were playing Wild Horses in the studio, I was hearing subtle guitar parts that I hadn't noticed before. Can't wait to watch the whole thing tomorrow. The video wasn't bad for what I saw, but the audio is definitely rockin'.

KingusKong

The Rolling Stones wanted a west coast answer to Woodstock. What they got serves as dark counterpoint to peace-and-love; what they got was Altamont.

GIMME SHELTER documents the last few weeks of the Rolling Stones' 1969 tour of the U.S.A. The film kicks off with a concert triumph of New York's Madison Square Garden and then moves to the melancholy of a Muscle Shoal's recording session. However, the film's ultimate destination is Altamont. And Altamont looms darkly over this film and all of its proceedings.

The Rolling Stones' free winter concert for 300,000 fans at San Francisco's Altamont Speedway was to be a west-coast equivalent of that summer's Woodstock. Altamont's promoters (in what can only be considered one of the greatest blunders in the history of organized mass gathering) employed the Hell's Angels as the concert's security force. Their pay was free beer and their disdain for the youth culture is evident, for they beat concert goers (and in the case of one Jefferson Airplane member, a concert performer) sensless throughout the second half of GIMME SHELTER. In what serves as the film's climax, a man is stabbed to death by one of the Angels. The stabbing is caught on film.

It is amazing what GIMME SHELTER accomplishes in just 91 minutes. The camera eye of this film is not the stuff of a typical rockumentary. Where other films would be a typical concert pic, this film instead documents the concert experience. The Stones play and the camera wanders. The camera focuses on one face after another, sometimes focusing on the band and at other times totally ignoring the band. But all the while, the music blares and offers context. (One small quibble: The camera, when focusing on the band, is a bit Mick-centric). When the Stones go into the recording studio, the camera doesn't show the Stones making music----instead the camera focuses on the band's faces as they listen to playback. And when this film focuses on something, it gets up and gets close and is unwavering. Upon all these other layers of content is an added twist: Mick and Charlie watch a rough edit of GIMME SHELTER along with the viewer and their experience becomes an integral part of the film itself. There is so much going on throughout GIMME SHELTER, that the repeat-viewing potential of this DVD is limitless.

(I need to say that the studio scene of the Stones' listening to the just-recorded "Wild Horses" stands for me the highpoint of the movie. Keith, Mick and Charlie don't seem so much to listen, but instead are consumed. There is a quiet reverential quality that I cannot describe except to say that it is one of my favorite scenes from any movie ever.)

The DVD of GIMME SHELTER is exceptional in most every way. The film looks great and sounds even better. I cannot believe how good this movie sounds. The DTS track is breathtaking; the depth and clarity of the music, astonishing; the mix, perfect. This DVD's audio plastered an ear-to-ear grin on my face. By comparison, the DD 2.0 track is thick and muddled, while the DD 5.1 track is just a notch below the DTS track.

The extras offer the viewer even more content to provide an even better contextual understanding of GIMME SHELTER: A 44-page booklet offers photos and essays; a filmmaker's commentary (rather dry but informative) gives not only technical details of the filming, but also eye-witness accounts of the proceedings from folks who actually lived this experience; outtakes offering both performances by the Rolling Stones and backstage footage of Mick with Ike and Tina Turner; a stills gallery of photographs from Altamont; and over an hour's worth of excepts from a radio show detailing Altamont's aftermath (recorded the day after the show). All of these extras serve to add dimensions of understanding for the viewer and again makes the repeat viewings of GIMME SHELTER all the more rich.

GIMME SHELTER is an experience more than a movie, and the DVD of this film is one of the best packages I have seen. The DTS audio is stunning and the extras are always intelligent and enlightening. All in all, this DVD is an absolute must-have.



[This message has been edited by KingusKong (edited November 17, 2000).]

conscience

A friend of mine asked me if the dvd shows the actual killing (or what-not) of the man at Altamont... ¿

I have never seen it...and might pick it up...since I am definately a Stones Fan...

El Kabong

You can't see it the first time, and it's not a movie close-up, but you can see the guy come running up with the gun & then getting stabbed. They show it in slow-mo & freeze frame to Mick in the studio. Great dvd- sound especially. Definitely the most tense concert movie ever.

Neitzl

I finally saw this last night, and Must say
that it is a great movie. I really don't
like the Stones too much, but they really
were great in concert. And the whole build
up to the final concert is great. It is
pretty suspensful, even though you do know
what is going to happen, although that also
lends to the suspense. The sound is great,
though the Altamont concert sounded the
weakest. The restoration demo also shows
what an incredible job they did in restoring
the film for the dvd.

I highly recommend this dvd.

Neitzl

GlennS

I agree with all the heartfelt praise for this amazing film, but let us not forget it does carry a cheap thrill or two as well. I defy anyone to ever forget the scene between Tina Turner and her microphone. Well...it has to be seen to be believed. Those who've seen it will never forget it and those who haven't...well...words would not do it justice.

El Kabong

In the deleted scene with Ike, Tina, & Mick- did anyone else get the impression Ike kicked Tina's ass back at the hotel? She was being awfully nice to Mick, plus he owuldn't even look at them for a few minutes, he just played his guitar. Then Mick started playing better than him & Tina was saying Mick was good. I bet he was pretty pissed.

Darryl

Funny you mention that about Ike...all I could think of was poor Tina taking a beating if she said the wrong thing! Anyway, loved Criterion's Gimme Shelter. Amazing sound restoration, and the picture quality is so much better than the old washed up video I had seen many moons ago.......

Gil Jawetz

I just thought I'd post this here. I recently wrote up Criterion's release of Gimme Shelter at http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?id=2167 and, with all the "What Criterion should I buy?" threads popping up, thought that y'all might enjoy it.

Richard Malloy

5 Stars across the board - and well-deserved!

I can't believe this disc hasn't generated more discussion. I was blown away by the quality of the presentation and the special features. One of the finest Criterion releases of the past year.

And the film... my god, it's just chilling. That shot of Mick singing with the rather large guy visibly freaking out next to him - looking like he might just embark on a killing spree, probably starting with Jaggar - is quite possibly the most intense scene in any film I've witnessed over the past year.

Gil Jawetz

I totally agree. In fact, i talk a little bit about that guy in the review. Such an incredible film. It leaves me chilled to the bone, almost in tears each time I see it.

Jepthah

I consider this one of the best horror pictures ever made (yes, I said horror). Buskerdog, your allusions to other horror films of the era is very apt. Well done.

Some movies just capture important events and present a time with absolute clarity. This is one of them. Not to be missed.

Big Quasimodo

A must own (I'm tryin' to find someone to trade me the dam* thing).

Your review is excellent and I would add that the music is really good too. It is like a time capsule of a seminal turning point in time. A transition from the 60's to the 70's, as it were.

I did not listen to the commentary, but found the excerpts from the radio show to be excellent as well.

Thanks.

Gil Jawetz

You know, I really should add a paragraph about that. I got carried away and it was late and I think I lost sight of that aspect of it a little bit...

Richard Malloy

Amazing performances running through it all - at New York, in the studio, at Altamont. The 5.1 mix packs a visceral punch, raw, loud and incendiary.

Glenn, I got an extra copy of Gimme Shelter as a gift - still sealed of course - if you've got a list of possible trades, I'd be happy to take a look.

Big Quasimodo

Richard - Thank you. I have responded via email.

kindofblue325

I am considering purchasing the Criterion Collection's edition of "Gimme Shelter" in the near future and I was wondering if anyone has anything the say about what they thought of the whole presentation. Obviously since it has recieved the Criterion treatment it's probably a stellar disc but I would still like to hear some feedback. I am aware of the story behind the significance of the concert and honestly since I'm not a huge Rolling Stones fan, that's part of my intrigue towards thinking about buying it. Cinematically, I have heard that the Maysles brothers have put together good documentaries along with this one, "Salesman" and "Grey Gardens." So, any comments are welcomed.

Thanks,

Brian

Heliosphann

It's a great disc and Criterion did a wonderfull job with both the audio and video... Oh yeah there's a few extra's also *note sarcasm*. So I say... BUY IT!

Hendrik

" ...I am aware of the story behind the significance of the concert and honestly since I'm not a huge Rolling Stones fan, that's part of my intrigue towards thinking about buying it... "

...not being a 'huge Rolling Stones fan' myself, I wonder if you're not better advised to 'rent (or borrow) before buying'... the stories about 'someone being murdered during the concert before your very eyes' are wildly exaggerated ('live' outdoor night cinematography in those far-off days resulted in rather 'murky' images at best - it certainly wasn't anywhere near what could be achieved under the same circumstances with today's much more sensitive film stock and/or video cameras - this is not a criticism, just a simple statement of fact)...

...that said, the CC disc is indisputably one of Criterion's more 'opulent' releases, features- and extras-wise:

http://www.dvdmg.com/gimmeshelter.shtml

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