Gimme Shelter (1970)

Directors:

Albert Maysles
David Maysles
(more)

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
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	....	sound
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)
• KRON San Francisco  press conference footage: San Francisco
• National Film Center  sound mixing
• WABC  press conference footage: Eye Witness News Department

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:

Legendary Punk guitarist Johnny Thunders is in the crowd during the Rolling Stones first performance. At Mick's line "Let's have a look at you New York", Johnny is the figure playing with his long black hair sitting on someone's shoulders.

Quotes:

Mick Jagger: Who's fighting and what for?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Casino (1995)

Soundtrack:

Sympathy for the Devil

the anti-Woodstock film best for its music

This classical documentary was part of the arrangements for the final free concert the Rolling Stones gave during their US tour in 1969. The Altamont concert moved actually at a the last moment from the Golden Gate Park to a smaller location started with ambitions to be a West Coast version of Woodstock but ended in chaos and with the loss of the lives of four people.

The documentary catches live some of the events of that night, but it is not extremely revealing or innovative in what it is showing. This is not a concert movie, but music is still the best part of it. We can see the Stones at the pick of their youth singing many of the classic tunes that became a symbol for them and for the whole generation and also Tina Turner caught in one of her sexiest numbers. Same as Altamont did not become a second Woodstock, this film is not up to the Woodstock film - it's just an average documentary with fabulous music.