One of the greatest music docs of all time! This chronicles the Rolling Stones as they prepare for, participate in and have to face the consequences of the aftermath of their disastrous free concert at Altamont. Incredible to watch and see a huge event like this only finding a venue two days before the event itself! The preparations were awful and the decision to use the Hells Angels as security was fatal. This was the Stones returning to America after a few years to find a whole new musical landscape in the west coast counter-culture. But Altamont was to be the point where they returned and showed the psychedelic upstarts who was still boss. It didn't turn out that way at all. Instead the documentary plays out like a slow reveal horror movie, culminating with the disturbing footage of a fan being murdered before them in the audience. Shot in cinema verité style, this feels like a ground level look at one of the great calamities of music history and one of the events which is always associated with the death of the 60's. Its potent stuff and highly recommended.
Review of Gimme Shelter
