Gimme Shelter (1970 film)

This article is about the 1970 documentary film. For the song by The Rolling Stones, see Gimme Shelter. For the drama film, see Gimme Shelter (2013 film).
Gimme Shelter

Original film poster
Directed by Albert and David Maysles
Charlotte Zwerin
Produced by Porter Bibb
Ronald Schneider
Starring The Rolling Stones
Cinematography Albert and David Maysles
Edited by Ellen Hovde
Charlotte Zwerin
Distributed by Maysles Films
Cinema V (UK)
20th Century Fox (USA)
Release dates
 December 6, 1970
Running time
 91 min
Country United States
Language English

Gimme Shelter is a 1970 documentary film directed by Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin chronicling the last weeks of The Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour which culminated in the disastrous Altamont Free Concert. The film is named after "Gimme Shelter", the lead track from the group's 1969 album Let It Bleed. The film was screened at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival, but was not entered into the main competition.[1]

Context

The counterculture era documentary is associated with the Direct Cinema movement of the 1950s and 1960s. It was directed by The Maysles Brothers who are strong figures of the era.[2] The movement revolves around the philosophy of being a "reactive" filmmaker, recording events as they unfold naturally and spontaneously rather than investigating the subject matter through documentary techniques such as interviews, reconstruction and voiceover.

Production

The film depicts some of the Madison Square Garden concert later featured on the 1969 live album, Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert, as well as the photography session for the cover featuring Charlie Watts and a donkey. It also shows the Stones at work in Muscle Shoals, Alabama recording "Brown Sugar" and "Wild Horses", and footage of Ike and Tina Turner opening for the Stones at their Madison Square Garden concert, to Mick Jagger's comment, "It's nice to have a chick occasionally".

The Maysles brothers filmed the first concert of the tour at Madison Square Garden in New York City. After the concert, the Maysles brothers asked the Rolling Stones if they could film them on tour, and the band agreed.

Much of the film chronicles the behind-the-scenes dealmaking that took place to make the free Altamont concert happen, including much footage of well-known attorney Melvin Belli negotiating by telephone with the management of the Altamont Speedway. The movie also includes a playback of Hells Angels leader Ralph "Sonny" Barger's famous call-in to radio station KSAN-FM's "day after" program about the concert, wherein he recalls, "They told me if I could sit on the edge of the stage so nobody could climb over me, I could drink beer until the show was over."

Altamont Free Concert

Further information: Altamont Free Concert

The action then turns to the 1969 concert itself at the Altamont Speedway, the security for which was provided by the Hells Angels (armed with pool cues). As the day progresses, with drug-taking and drinking by the Angels and members of the audience, the mood turns ugly. Fights break out during performances by The Flying Burrito Brothers and Jefferson Airplane; Grace Slick pleads with the crowd to settle down. When Mick Jagger arrives to the grounds via helicopter, he is punched in the face by an unruly fan while making his way to his trailer.

At one point Jefferson Airplane lead male singer Marty Balin is knocked out by a Hells Angel; Paul Kantner attempts to confront "the people who hit my lead singer" in response, announcing: "Hey, man, I'd like to mention that the Hells Angels just smashed Marty Balin in the face, and knocked him out for a bit. I'd like to thank you for that." To which a Hells Angel sitting on stage grabs a microphone, and replies: "You're talking to my people. Let me tell you what's happening. You, man, you are what's happening!" Slick herself warns the Angels after they continue hitting people: "You don't hassle with anybody in particular. You gotta keep your bodies off each other unless you intend love. People get weird, and you need people like the Angels to keep people in line. But the Angels also-- You know, you don't bust people in the head for nothing. So both sides are fucking up temporarily; let's not keep fucking up!" Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh arrive, but The Grateful Dead opt not to play after learning of the incident with Balin from Santana drummer Michael Shrieve. (Santana and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young also performed at the concert but are not shown in the movie).

The Stones are shown appearing onstage that evening and opening with "Jumpin' Jack Flash", and are also shown performing "Sympathy for the Devil", as the tension continues to build. During the next song, "Under My Thumb", a member of the audience, 18-year-old Meredith Hunter, attempted, with other crowd members, to force his way onto the stage , and as a result was struck by the Hells Angels guarding the band. Hunter then drew a revolver before being subdued by Hells Angel Alan Passaro and killed by at least six stab wounds. Hunter's stabbing was captured on film by at least one of the many camera operators filming the documentary, and appeared in the final cut of the film. According to Albert Maysles, the stabbing was filmed by Baird Bryant; other sources have also credited Eric Saarinen.[3][4] The film sequence clearly shows the dark silhouette of a handgun in Hunter's hand against the white knit dress of his girlfriend, Patty Bredahoff, as Passaro enters from the right, grabs and raises Hunter's gun hand, turns Hunter around, and stabs him at least twice in the back before pushing Hunter off camera.

The credited camera operators for Altamont included a young George Lucas.[5] At the concert, Lucas' camera jammed after shooting about 100 feet (30 m) of film. None of his footage was incorporated into the final cut.[6]

Songs performed

The Rolling Stones
Ike and Tina Turner
Jefferson Airplane
Flying Burrito Brothers

Notes

  1. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: Gimme Shelter". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  2. ↑ Dave Saunders, Direct Cinema: Observational Documentary and the Politics of the Sixties, Wallflower Press, 2007
  3. ↑ McCreadle, Marsha (2008). Documentary Superstars: How Today's Filmmakers Are Reinventing the Form. New York: Allworth Press. p. PT35. ISBN 9781581157208.
  4. ↑ "Baird Bryant". The Los Angeles Times. 16 November 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  5. ↑ Marc Myers (16 November 2010). "The Rolling Stones at the Altamont Speedway - WSJ". WSJ.
  6. ↑ Sabulis, Tom (5 November 1989). "Rock Nightmare Twenty Years Ago Altamont Marked the End of An Era". The Chicago Tribune. p. 5.

See also

References

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