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Gimme Shelter
Original film poster
Directed by	Albert and David Maysles Charlotte Zwerin
Produced by	Porter Bibb Ronald Schneider
Starring	The Rolling Stones
Cinematography	Albert and David Maysles
Editing by	Charlotte Zwerin
Distributed by	Maysles Films
Release date(s)	December 6, 1970
Running time	91 min
Country	United States
Language	English
Official website
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Gimme Shelter is a 1970 documentary film directed by Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin, chronicling the Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour, which culminated in the disastrous Altamont Free Concert. The film is named after "Gimme Shelter", the lead track from the Rolling Stones' 1969 album Let It Bleed.

Contents 1 Context 2 Production 3 Songs performed 3.1 The Rolling Stones 3.2 Ike and Tina Turner 3.3 Jefferson Airplane 3.4 Flying Burrito Brothers 4 External links 5 Literature

The documentary is associated with the Direct Cinema movement of the 50s and 60s. The Maysles Brothers, who directed it, are strong figures of the era. The movement revolves around the philosophy of being a 'reactive' filmmaker. Rather than investigating a subject matter through such documentary techniques as interviews, reconstruction and voiceover, direct cinema simply records events as they unfold naturally and spontaneously - like a 'fly on the wall'.

The film depicts some of the Madison Square Garden concert, later featured on the live album, Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!, as well as the photography session for the cover, featuring Charlie Watts and a donkey. It also shows the Stones at work in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, recording "Wild Horses". Performances documented in the film include Ike and Tina Turner (who was one of the Rolling Stones' opening acts for the 1969 tour), the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jefferson Airplane.

Much of the film chronicles the behind-the-scenes dealmaking that took place to make the free Altamont concert happen. The action then turns on the concert itself at the Altamont Speedway, the security for which was provided by the Hells Angels. As the day progressed, with drug-taking and drinking by the Angels and members of the audience, the mood turned ugly. Fights broke out during performances by Jefferson Airplane (at one point lead singer Marty Balin was knocked out by a Hells Angel) and The Flying Burrito Brothers. By the time the Stones hit the stage, the crowd was especially restless.

It was during "Under My Thumb" that a gun-toting fan, 18 year old Meredith Hunter, was stabbed to death by a member of the Angels. Some sources at the time stated that it was because the Stones opened their performance with 'Sympathy For the Devil' that the murder took place, as they had cursed the event.^{[citation needed]}

A young George Lucas was a camera operator for the Altamont concert. However, his camera jammed after shooting about 100 feet of film, and none of his footage was incorporated in the final cut.^{[citation needed]}

• "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
• "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
• "You Gotta Move"
• "Wild Horses" (in studio at Muscle Shoals)
• "Brown Sugar"
• "Love in Vain"
• "Honky Tonk Women"
• "Street Fighting Man"
• "Sympathy for the Devil"
• "Under My Thumb"
• "Gimme Shelter" (live version, over closing credits)

• "I've Been Loving You Too Long" (at Madison Square Garden)

• "The Other Side of This Life" (at Altamont)

• "Six Days on the Road" (at Altamont)

• Gimme Shelter at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website at Mayslesfilms.com
• "Gimme Shelter: The true story" at Salon.com
• Criterion Collection essay by Ralph "Sonny" Barger
• Criterion Collection essay by Amy Taubin
• Criterion Collection essay by Stanley Booth
• Criterion Collection essay by Georgia Bergman
• Criterion Collection essay by Michael Lydon
• Criterion Collection essay by Godfrey Cheshire

• Dave Saunders, Direct Cinema: Observational Documentary and the Politics of the Sixties, London, Wallflower Press 2007