Gimme Shelter (1970)

Directors:

Albert Maysles
David Maysles

Release Date:

6 December 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | History | 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:

Concert | Rolling Stones | Knife | Hells Angel | Speedway

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

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

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 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | USA:R (original cut)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Maysles Films

Trivia:

A rough demo version of the classic "Brown Sugar" is heard in the sequence detailing The Rolling Stones stay at Muscle Shoals. According to 'Bill Wyman' in his book on his days in the band, the Stones performed the song for the very first time in front of an audience at Altamont.

Quotes:

Mick Jagger: Who's fighting and what for?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Casino (1995)

Soundtrack:

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

It used to be a lot more than Only Rock'n'Roll

When you see this movie you really understand how sanitised, safe and corporate the music scene is today.

The Stones were possibly the biggest band in the world at the time, so by today's standards it seems unbelievable they'd put on a free concert where the venue was changed at the last minute, the set was still being constructed as the 300,000 very fried looking hippies turned up, and there was no security for their satanic majesties except for the San Francisco Hell's Angels who were paid in beer and brought along pool cues with lead weights at the end for added security - as well as the standard knives and baseball bats. And they weren't afraid to use them, even on the bands, especially Jefferson Airplane's Marty Balin.

Throw in some of the original Satanic rock band's finest sinister creations and you get the real deal, not some pantomime metal/goth horror facsimile. At the time many people really did believe that they could change the world and looked to bands like the Stones as leaders of the counterculture, and you really get the impression things like this mattered a hell of a lot more, but after Altamont, well...

Nevertheless, the version of Under My Thumb that Jagger delivers as he's watching the terrible action unfold in front of him is, for whatever reason, devastatingly understated and desperate, compared to all the OTT cavorting earlier in the set. But it's the genuine craziness of the 'fans' that makes this film seem like it was shot on another planet. Gimme Shelter is the most rock'n'roll film ever made, for all the right and wrong reasons.