Login
1969 was a big year for the Rolling Stones. They headlined their first U.S. Tour in three years and played to sold out arenas including world famous Madison Square Garden in New York City. They were joined on the road by renowned documentary filmmakers Albert and David Maysles. The result of this collaboration was 1970’s rock doc Gimme Shelter.
Gimme Shelter shows 18 year-old Meredith Hunter being stabbed to death by a Hells Angel at a free concert (held at the Altamont speedway in Northern California) organized by the Stones. It can’t, and doesn’t try to, give viewers the simple answers as to why pool cue wielding Hells Angels are policing the event or why Hunter made the fatal mistake of pulling out a revolver. Those answers didn’t come easy in 1969 and, in the successive 40 years, have been buried beneath half-truths and outright lies. Instead it takes its audience on a vivid trip through the dizzying highs and horrifying lows that marked that ‘69 tour. In the process it probably shows us more about the mindset of that era then a dozen academic texts could.
Gimme Shelter is largely broken into sections. The films begins as your basic concert documentary, showing The Rolling Stones play to enraptured crowds in New York City. It shifts to the planning of the Altamont concert and ends with that chaotic December 6, 1969 night. Its broken up by visits to the recording studio and the editing room, where the filmmakers play footage from Altamont to Stones band members.
The style of the film is steadfastly direct. The viewer is given no graphics, talking heads or narration. The events simply unfold before you. There is some time-line jumping which can be a bit disconcerting but the meat of the film – the planning and execution of the Altamont concert – is largely chronological. The true success of the film is in the visual style and camera work. The Maysles and their cadre of camera operators seem to always be in the right place at the right time. They do a wonderful job of capturing those perfect emotive moments; a slow motion pan over entranced audience members in New York City or a woman crying as she experiences the chaos of Altamont. It’s beautiful and ugly and succeeds at capturing the personal moments and mass conflicts that marked the tour.
It captures a moment in time; weeks before the calendar would turn over on 1969 and the freewheeling 60s. It shows the unparalleled joy of throwing caution to the wind, doing what feels right and indulging in a fantasy world of sex, drugs and the Rolling Stones. Their live performances showcase the transforming power of music matched with an electric stage presence. The Stones bewitch the New York crowd with their unmatched blend of blues and oozing sex.
As the planning for the Altamont concert gets underway Gimme Shelter also captures the opposite side of that coin - the very real consequences of living without fear of consequence. There are dozens of bright red warning signs that any sane person would read as “STOP” but the Stones and their brass push ahead despite last second venue changes, woeful facilities and reports of hundreds of thousands of acid-heads descending on Altamont Speedway.
On the morning of the event we are introduced to the enormity of the chaos. There are thousands of cars parked on the highway and the camera captures dozens of blitzed individuals wondering around the site. By themselves they would cause a SWAT response in a suburban mall but here they simply add to the seething, spaced out piles of humanity. When Mick Jagger steps out of his helicopter he’s promptly punched in the face and the arrival of the Hells Angels (to jeers from the crowd) brings the potent mixture to a boil. Then it’s essentially a trip into one of the levels of hell sound-tracked by Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers and The Rolling Stones. The Maysles capture it all; Hells Angels beating crowd members unconscious with pool cues, naked spaced out women charging the stage, even a dog. Above all they make that thick sense of impending doom pervasive. It is alarming, terrifying and sets the spectacle up for its natural conclusion. Then, there is is, caught on tape. A gun comes out, a knife comes down and a man lies dead.
The Maysles and editor/director Charlotte Zwerin framed their narrative by having Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts sit in on the editing process. After viewing the footage of the Hunter stabbing Jagger seems almost reserved. He pauses before responding, “terrible”. The true beauty of Gimme Shelter is that it doesn’t’ tell you what to think. It shows you the video evidence of that fateful day and lets you draw your own conclusions. Whose fault was it? Jagger? The Hells Angels? Meredith Hunter? The concert promoters? Or, was the whole free love, drugs and rock n’ roll movement predestined to end like this? The only sure thing is that Gimme Shelter is a perfect encapsulation of the continual drug trip that was the carefree 60s for many. No matter how great the high there is the inevitable crash. It is a thought provoking, gripping examination of a glorious decade coming to a grisly end.
10/10
