I'll give the nod to THE LAST WALTZ in terms of presentation, but the events captured here, and the way the editing renders them are incomprable. It never ceases to amaze me that the end of the hippies as a mass movement was caught on film.
shareGimme Shelter and Wattstax are my two favorite concert films. Both go beyond just merely showing bands play and extend themselves into social commentary.
shareSome other great music docs that haven't been mentioned...
Let it Be (1970)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065976/
Festival Express (2003)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372279/
Janis (1974)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073193/
Stop Making Sense (1984)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088178/
The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2005)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436231/
Gigantic: a Tale of Two Johns (2002)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0304081/
Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt (2004)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0423853/
Heartworn Highways (1981)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405963/
And while I've yet to see it, I suspect that the Tom Waits concert doc Big Time (1988) is probably worth the price of admission:)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094743/
A lot of strange things happen in this world. Things you don't know about in Grand Rapids.
Yes...this is definitely the best rock documentary ever...I don't think anything is even close. As a matter of fact, I think this is one of the best documentaries ever made. To be in a position to record one of the most infamous, tragic events in the history of rock'n roll is nothing short of amazing.
If people want to say that other films did a better job at showcasing a particular group's music, then I would concede that point. But that's not what makes this movie the great film that it is.
Agreed. This film definitely transcends other music docs, to be sure.
A lot of strange things happen in this world. Things you don't know about in Grand Rapids.
The Kids are Alright all the way baby!!! The Who rocks!
Gimme Shelter was good, but I thought it was slow until the 45 minute mark when they were at Alomont.
I'm glad to see at least one other person mentioned Festival Express. For some reason this one is overlooked, perhaps because the footage from 1970 was compiled fairly recently. Some of the most amazing performances by Joplin, The Band, Buddy Guy, and the Grateful Dead. I particularly loved Richard Manuel singing "I Shall Be Released" and Joplin's "Tell Mama". Definitely check it out...
shareSo rolltide... is bored by footage of the band at Muscle Shoals -- ironic, non?
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Yes, best rock-doc ever, I NEVER tire of watching it. Too bad it's hardly ever on TV.
>>>Gimme Shelter was good, but I thought it was slow until the 45 minute mark when they were at Alomont
Exactly what I thought.
I cried because I had no shoes üntil I met a man with no sole. ~ Ancient Disco Proverb
This is a fascinating and haunting rock documentary. Everything about the contrasts between the big beefy violent Hells Angels and the hippie crowd is interesting. And the way it supposedly starts off in this idealistic way and ends up in tragedy perfectly represents the loss of innocence for the end of the 60s flower movement.
"I'm f'ing busy-or vice versa" -Dorothy Parker
This is an absolutely horrifying film about how something so right can go so wrong so quickly. The fact that the performers were trying to play and calm they crowd while some of their musicians were being attacked is surreal.
In many ways, this documentary feels as chaotic as the concert surely was. There were a few times I wanted a bit more context, but I think that was difficult with the nature of the random footage.
You might argue that Woodstock and The Last Waltz were better as concert films but as a historical document Gimme Shelter easily wins.
I'll Teach You To Laugh At Something's That's Funny
Homer Simpson
Yes, I'd say "Woodstock" and "The Last Waltz" were better as concert films – the concerts were certainly better musically – but "Gimme Shelter" is the best rock documentary I have ever seen. I find it very disturbing and a vital musical snapshot of an era on the edge.
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Yes, for me, "Gimme Shelter" is indeed the best rock documentary of all time.
People often cite "Woodstock" or "The Last Waltz" as the best, and I love those films too. But "Gimme Shelter" is a deeper film that the other two; it is so much more than just a "concert movie".
"Gimme Shelter" captures a change that happened to our culture in a single moment. The stabbing/killing is symbolic of the end of the 60's - this is POWERFUL piece of filmmaking. It is haunting and it stays with you long after it ends.
I always thought of the Manson murders to be the symbolic end of the '60s. However, maybe they were just the first nail in the coffin, while Altamont could be seen as the coup de grâce.
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Best that I seen for sure. Amazing how masterfully the hallucinatory feel of the event was captured; really beautifully handled camerawork off stage... and there`s such an immense energy, beauty & power of the performances, the way they`re rendered. A perfect goddamn time capsule that so compellingly managed to set in stone an end of an era, as it were. From then on, there`s just fear and loathing... Silly people - as if the flowery-powery naivete could ever be converted into something real; as if the "forces of old and evil" coulda been overcome... but nevertheless, it musta been a beautiful dream.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
For me it is
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