Gimme Shelter (1970)

Directors:

Albert Maysles
David Maysles
(more)

Release Date:

6 December 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Tagline:

The music that thrilled the world ... and the killing that stunned it!

Plot:

A harrowing documentary of the Stones' 1969 tour, with much of the focus on the tragic concert at Altamont.

Plot Keywords:

Rolling Stones | Knife | Stage | Speedway | California

Cast

The Rolling Stones	...	Themselves
Mick Jagger	...	Himself
Charlie Watts	...	Himself
Keith Richards	...	Himself (as Keith Richard)
Mick Taylor	...	Himself
Bill Wyman	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marty Balin	...	Himself (as Jefferson Airplane)
Sonny Barger	...	Himself
Melvin Belli	...	Himself
Dick Carter	...	Himself
Jack Casady	...	Himself (as Jefferson Airplane)
Mike Clarke	...	Himself (as The Flying Burrito Brothers)
Sam Cutler	...	Himself
Spencer Dryden	...	Himself (as Jefferson Airplane)
Chris Hillman	...	Himself (as The Flying Burrito Brothers)
John Jaymes	...	Himself
Paul Kantner	...	Himself (as Jefferson Airplane)
Jorma Kaukonen	...	Himself (as Jefferson Airplane)
Pete Kleinow	...	Himself (as The Flying Burrito Brothers)
Bernie Leadon	...	Himself (as The Flying Burrito Brothers)
Gram Parsons	...	Himself (as The Flying Burrito Brothers)
Ronald Schneider	...	Himself
Rock Scully	...	Himself
Grace Slick	...	Herself (as Jefferson Airplane)
Frank Terry	...	Himself - KFRC Anchor
Ike Turner	...	Himself
Tina Turner	...	Herself
Jerry Garcia	...	Himself (uncredited)
Meredith Hunter	...	Himself - Black Youth Stabbed by Hell's Angel (uncredited)
Michael Lang	...	Himself - Concert Organizer (uncredited)
Phil Lesh	...	Himself (uncredited)
Albert Maysles	...	Himself (uncredited)
David Maysles	...	Himself (uncredited)
Alan Passaro	...	Himself - Hell's Angel Who Stabs Meredith Hunter (uncredited)
Michael Shrieve	...	Himself (uncredited)
Ian Stewart	...	Himself (uncredited)
Bob Weir	...	Himself (uncredited)

Directed by
Albert Maysles
David Maysles
Charlotte Zwerin

Produced by
Porter Bibb	....	associate producer
Ronald Schneider	....	executive producer: The Rolling Stones

Cinematography by
Albert Maysles		(filmed by) (as The Maysles Brothers)
David Maysles		(filmed by) (as The Maysles Brothers)
Gary Weis

Film Editing by
Joanne Burke
Robert Farren
Ellen Giffard
Kent McKinney

Sound Department
Michael Becker	....	sound
Bill Blachly	....	sound mixer: National Film Center
John Brumbaugh	....	sound
Howard Chesley	....	sound
Pepper Crawford	....	sound
Stanley Cronquist	....	sound
Paul Deason	....	sound
Tom Goodwin	....	sound
Tony Jackson	....	sound
Glyn Johns	....	sound recordist: 16-track, Madison Square Gardens
Orly Lindgren	....	sound
Walter Murch	....	sound
Peter Pilafian	....	sound (as Peter Pilafin)
Art Rochester	....	sound
Maurice Schell	....	sound assistant
Nelson Stoll	....	production sound mixer
David Thompson	....	sound
Susumu Tokunow	....	sound (as Alvin Tokunow)

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Adair	....	camera operator
Baird Bryant	....	camera operator
Joan Churchill	....	camera operator
Ron Dorfman	....	camera operator
Robert Elfstrom	....	camera operator
Elliott Erwitt	....	camera operator
Bob Fiore	....	camera operator (as Bob Fiori)
Adam Giffard	....	camera operator
William B. Kaplan	....	camera operator (as William Kaplan)
Kevin Keating	....	camera operator
Stephen Lighthill	....	camera operator
George Lucas	....	camera operator
Chip Monck	....	lighting: tour production, The Rolling Stones (as Chipmonck)
Jim Moody	....	camera operator
Jack Newman	....	camera operator
Pekke Niemela	....	camera operator
Robert Primes	....	camera operator
Paul Ryan	....	camera operator
Eric Saarinen	....	camera operator
Peter Smokler	....	camera operator
Coulter Watt	....	camera operator
Gary Weiss	....	camera operator
Bill Yarrus	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Mirra Bank	....	assistant editor
Janet Lauretano	....	assistant editor
Adrian Mosser	....	color negative: Cineservice Inc.
Susan Steinberg	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Stanley Goldstein	....	special help
Chip Monck	....	tour manager: The Rolling Stones (as Chipmonck)

Thanks
Pamela Adams	....	thanks
Robert Albert	....	thanks
Alan Bomser	....	thanks
Tom Bywaters	....	thanks
Donald Cammell	....	thanks
Dick Carter	....	thanks: Altamont Speedway
Barbara Jarvis	....	thanks
John Jaymes	....	thanks: Young American Enterprises
Tony Kline	....	thanks
Stephen Mellor	....	thanks: Allan King Associates
Stefan Ponek	....	thanks: KSAN Radio
Steve Schmidt	....	thanks
Haskell Wexler	....	thanks
Van Wolff	....	thanks (as Van Wolf)

Production Companies

• Maysles Films
• Penforta (executive produced for The Rolling Stones in association with)

Distributors

• Cinema 5 Distributing (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Company (1970) (UK) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Kit Parker Films (2000-????) (USA) (re-release)
• LW Editora (2002) (Brazil) (DVD)
• PolyGram Video (UK) (video)
• PolyGram Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Alembic Recording  16 track recording: Rolling Stones at Altamont (as Alembic Recording - Betty and Bob, Engineers)
• KPIX  press conference footage: San Francisco
• National Film Center  sound mixing
• WABC  press conference footage: Eye Witness News Department

Also Known As:

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG (edited for re-rating) | USA:R | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta) (2002) | UK:15 (video) (1993) (uncut) | UK:A (theatrical release) (1971) (cut) | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Altamont Speedway - 17001 Midway Road, Tracy, California, USA

Company:

Maysles Films

Trivia:

The Grateful Dead also used the Hell's Angels as security for several of their concerts. However, the Angels that were at Altamont were later revealed to be neophytes and hardly any of the leaders were present at the show.

Quotes:

Mick Jagger:Who's fighting and what for?

Movie Connections:

Featured in 25x5: The Continuing Adventures of the Rolling Stones (1990) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Brown Sugar

Out of control

Certainly not a filmed concert, this important documentary describes, in a very sensitive and powerful way, the incredible human bestiary that rushed towards the 1969 free Rolling Stones show located on Altamont speedway, California. Complete disorganization, brutal security staff, drug abuse will turn this rock party to an awful black celebration that will lead to more than a human sacrifice : the destruction of a new kind of innocence. Often shocking and disturbing, sometimes dreadful, "Gimme shelter" brings to us not only the pictures of a riot. It makes us think about the difficulty for men to live as social animals when they're unable to repress their predator instincts. Let's finally mention the great musical first part of the film, and the quality of the direction.