Gimme Shelter (1970)

Directors:

Albert Maysles
David Maysles

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:

Rockumentary | Helicopter | Tragedy | Wild | Drugs

Cast

Mick Jagger	...	Himself (as The Rolling Stones)
Charlie Watts	...	Himself (as The Rolling Stones)
Keith Richards	...	Himself (as The Rolling Stones)
Mick Taylor	...	Himself (as The Rolling Stones)
Bill Wyman	...	Himself (as The Rolling Stones)
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
Jerry Garcia	...	Himself (as The Grateful Dead)
Chris Hillman	...	Himself (as The Flying Burrito Brothers)
Meredith Hunter	...	Himself (black youth stabbed by Hell's Angel)
John Jaymes	...	Himself
Paul Kantner	...	Himself (as Jefferson Airplane)
Jorma Kaukonen	...	Himself (as Jefferson Airplane)
Pete Kleinow	...	Himself (as The Flying Burrito Brothers)
Michael Lang	...	Himself (concert organizer)
Bernie Leadon	...	Himself (as The Flying Burrito Brothers)
Phil Lesh	...	Himself (as The Grateful Dead)
Gram Parsons	...	Himself (as The Flying Burrito Brothers)
Alan Passaro	...	Himself (Hell's Angel who stabs Meredith Hunter)
Ronald Schneider	...	Himself
Rock Scully	...	Himself
Michael Shrieve	...	Himself (as Santana band member)
Grace Slick	...	Herself (as Jefferson Airplane)
Frank Terry	...	As Himself on KFRC
Ike Turner	...	Himself
Tina Turner	...	Herself
Bob Weir	...	Himself (as The Grateful Dead)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:14A (Alberta) (2002) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | USA:R (original cut)

Filming Locations:

Altamont Speedway, Tracy, California, USA

Company:

Maysles Films

Trivia:

After all the negative press of the supposed jinx behind the song "Sympathy for the Devil", The Rolling Stones didn't perform the song for six years.

Quotes:

Hell's Angel: They told me, if I could sit on the stage so nobody climbed over me, I could drink beer till the show was over.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Casino (1995)

Soundtrack:

The Other Side of This Life

Sometimes you really do get what you need

Flying Burritos and Airplanes, Tina Turner masturbating a microphone, naked men and women, Jerry looking young and healthy in a poncho, sex, drugs, rock and roll and a liberal dash of the Hell's Angels as security guards make up this world's greatest rock documentary of the world's greatest rock and roll band, the Rolling Stones, as they finish up their 1969 U.S. tour which culminated in the free concert at the Altamont Speedway. This is documentary film-making at its best and it doesn't hurt that the music, which isn't the focus of the documentary, is also pretty darn good. But the documentary's real claim to fame is the filmmakers captured the murder of a black man, Meredith Hunter, by a Hell's Angels member directly in front of the stage. If you like the Rolling Stones, or can remember when people used the word "groovy" in conversation, then this is a must see. If you don't care about the band, then the movie is still interesting from an historical standpoint. The only area the movie faltered for me was in showing a little too much of the event planning and not enough of the other bands who performed at the event. But that's a small mistake and this still goes down in my book as the best rock and roll concert movie ever made.

Questions after watching the documentary: What was so sexy about Mick Jagger? Why do some people like to get naked at concerts? Has there ever been a better guitar duo than Richards and Taylor? What was Tina Turner really doing to the microphone? Why, in 1969, was Meredith Hunter carrying a gun to a concert?

Sometimes you really do get what you need. I rate this a 10 and recommend it to anyone.