Gimme Shelter (1970)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

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 | Performance | Security | 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) | 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:

Besides Meredith Hunter, three other people died during the festival. A young couple died when their car plowed into a large bonfire and one young man fell into a ditch and died of suffocation.

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 1992 MTV Movie Awards (1992) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Gimme Shelter

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.