Gimme Shelter (1970)

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

Directors:

Albert Maysles, David Maysles

Stars:

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited 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)

Storyline

A documentary on the Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour and the tragic events that concluded it. We see footage of their concerts and of them making the Sticky Fingers album in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. However, the main focus of the film is on one concert - Altamont Speedway, outside San Francisco, 6 December 1969. A free concert, it is the Stones' idea and it was meant to be the Woodstock of the West (Woodstock having occurred four months earlier). Other bands performing included Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Ike and Tina Turner, Crosby Stills Nash and Young and Santana. However, it is far from being the peace and love of Woodstock. Part of the problem is that the Stones hired the Hells Angels as security. The other problem was that a large portion of the crowd were high on drugs. Friction ensues. During the Stones' set, Meredith Hunter, high on methamphetamine and armed with a gun, makes a lunge for the stage and is stabbed to death by the Hells Angels. The peace and ...

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Plot Keywords:

hell's angels motorcycle club | rock 'n' roll | singing | singer | nightfall | 

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Taglines:

The Rolling Stones gave a concert in Altamont, Calif. The Hell's Angels policed it. Four people died. This is the Actual Film Story.

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Genres:

Documentary | Music | Thriller

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Official Sites:

Maysles Films

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 December 1970 (UK)

Also Known As:

Los Rolling Stones (Gimme Shelter)

Filming Locations:

Muscle Shoals, Alabama, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,576, 13 August 2000, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$252,570, 19 November 2000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Maysles Films, Penforta

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Besides "Brown Sugar", two other songs that were unreleased at the time are heard during the scenes filmed at Muscle Shoals. They were "Wild Horses" and "You Got to Move". Those songs, along with "Brown Sugar" would be released on the classic "Sticky Fingers" album that came out two years later in 1971.

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Quotes

Mick Jagger: We're gonna do a slow blues for you now, people.
[singing]
Mick Jagger: Well I followed her to the station, With a suitcase in my hand, Yeah, and I followed her to the station, With a suitcase in my hand, You know it's hard to tell, it's hard to tell, When all your love's in vain, Cry on baby...

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Alternate Versions

2000 theatrical re-release version features two minutes of footage (including a shot of a topless woman) that were originally cut from the picture to ensure a PG rating. The DVD special edition has even more additional scenes, including studio footage from the mixing sessions of the Stones' "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out" live album and six extra songs from the 1969 Madison Square Garden show: "Stray Cat Blues", "Live With Me", "Sympathy for the Devil" and versions of Chuck Berry's "Carol" and Little Queenie and the Rev. Robert Wilkins' "Prodigal Son".

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Connections

Referenced in Gimme Shelter: Outtakes (2000)

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Soundtracks

Brown Sugar
Written by Mick Jagger & Keith Richards
Performed by The Rolling Stones

User Reviews

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.