[Pet Health Admin]

In December of 1969, four months after Woodstock, the Rolling Stones and Jefferson Airplane gave a free concert in Northern California, east of Oakland at Altamont Speedway. About 300,000 people came, and the organizers put Hell's Angels in charge of security around the stage. Armed with pool cues and knifes, Angels spent the concert beating up spectators, killing at least one. The film intercuts performances, violence, Grace Slick and Mick Jagger's attempts to cool things down, close-ups of young listeners (dancing, drugged, or suffering Angel shock), and a look at the Stones later as they watch concert footage and reflect on what happened. ++++ DVD FEATURES: This officially licensed release from South Korea is All-Region NTSC Code 0 (playable worldwide) with Full Screen display and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound in ENGLISH with optional (removeable) English or Korean subtitles. EXTRA FEATURES: Interative Menu; Audio Commentary: Albert Maysles - Director, Charlotte Zwerin - Director, Stanley Goldstein - Collaborator; Additional Footage: Censored Footage; Additional Audio Material: Excerpts from KSAN radio's post-Altamont broadcast with introduction by DJ Stefan Ponek; Outtakes: Backstage Outtakes; Deleted Scenes(Songs): "Little Queenie," "Oh Carol," and "Prodigal Son"; Trailers: Original Theatrical Trailer Bonus Original Theatrical Trailer - GREY GARDENS; Bonus Original Theatrical Trailer - SALESMAN; Bonus Original Theatrical Trailer - GIMME SHELTER (re-release); Documentary: Restoration Demonstration; Text/Photo Galleries; Stills/Photos: Altamont Stills (featuring photographs by Bill Owens and Beth Sunflower); Filmographies: Albert Maysles - Director, David Maysles - Director, Charlotte Zwerin - Director
Customer Review: Stones shine amid the horror
Watching this after a screening of WOODSTOCK is a real study in contrast. ALTAMOUNT was always on my radar, growing up, and I had seen this in the theater back in the 70s, but revisiting it now ... what a revelation. There was a perception that WOODSTOCK had been an incredibly significant event in the counter-culture galaxy; a peace+love tribal congress. This concert came four months later, and because it was the west coast rebuttal to the upstate NY megafest, would be even better - better bands, better drugs, hipper hippies, freakier clothes, groovier vibes. The crowd shots are both revealing, and inevitably, terrifying as the claustraphobic crush tightens around the stage (crowd control plans, anyone?) and the HELLS ANGELS react like bears in cages being poked with sticks ... they erupt in an orgy of beatdowns and over-the-top violence. After all, that's what they do. Was anyone truly surprised? The various bands (Airplane, Santana, Dead, Stones) are merely ineffectual witnesses (with a good view) to what goes on, tho Marty Balin does get coldcocked during the Airplane set. I'm sure the musicians to this day feel fortunate that they did not get stomped on stage by the ever-growing legion of wild-eyed, wooly strangers standing nearby. (keep an eye out for the 300 lb. naked man careening through the crowd) If Woodstock gave us a pleasant marijuana buzz, Altamount grinds our collective molars with a bad blend of street meth and bootleg LSD. Man, am I glad I wasn't there. All this being said, a good portion of this excellent documentary features the Stones backstage, in the recording studio, on the road, and performing with aplomb at a Madison Square Garden show. In '69, after all, they were in midseason form.


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