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GIMME SHELTER

When David and Albert Maysles made the documentary film Salesman in 1969, they completely changed the landscape of the non-fiction film. Regarded as the first documentary feature film, the brothers simply tracked four door-to-door Bible salesmen. The Maysles would follow the reporters into the homes of prospective customers and stand off to the side, out of sight, and record the presentation and the responses of the targets. The film allowed the viewer to watch the salesmen as they hustled Bibles, but eventually got to understand the men and the film presented a very sad view of the participants. As simply casual observers, the Maysles brothers rejected the role of promoters and allowed the film to naturally grow on its own merits.

Gimme Shelter was originally just to be another in a line of concert films, following the Maysles brother’s work on the Monterey Pop concert film in 1968. The brothers were not the type of people to become star struck, having worked with The Beatles (What's Happening! The Beatles in the U.S.A.), Truman Capote (With Love from Truman) and Marlon Brando (Meet Marlon Brando) on earlier documentaries and they approached one of the biggest bands of all time as just another project. The resulting film, Gimme Shelter, became much more than just another concert film. It became a portrait of the decade at the time and an end to the culture it accorded.

The feature was originally supposed to chronicle the final ten days of the Rolling Stones 1969 North American tour. The footage would stretch from the Thanksgiving weekend concert at Madison Square Garden to a free festival on December 6 at the Altamont Speedway near San Francisco. We start the documentary with a performance of Jumpin’ Jack Flash and see the joy of Mick Jagger as he does what he does best – perform. Because of the tragic turn the final concert would take, the film then jumps forward in time.

We cut to the post-production when the Rolling Stones were invited to watch the film alongside the filmmakers. The footage they listen to was a radio interview with Hells Angel member Sonny Barger as he defended the actions of the biker gang at the Altamont show and then made offhanded comments about Mick Jagger, and blamed the band for all the violence. This is the first area where the brilliance of the Maysles technique shined through. We simply listen to the comments and view the faces of Charlie Watts and Mick Jagger as Barger verbally attacked the Stones. The facial reactions of Mick Jagger were especially telling and it is here we see the vulnerability of the vocalist. It is minimalist filmmaking that tells more of a story than any words could have.

We jump back in time and see the Stones recording a new song (Wild Horses) as well as get some extra footage of the concerts leading up to the Altamont show. Also mixed in is footage of the Rolling Stones’ attorney working to try to get permission to shoot this free show, despite numerous blockades lining up to prevent it. The original venue, The Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, backed out due to a scheduling conflict. The next venue was the Sears Point Raceway, but we see the disputes over financial situations. When they finally received permission to play at Altamont Raceway, they encountered problems with city officials about parking as well as problems with neighboring landowners. The addition of these scenes foreshadowed some warning signs throughout that indicated maybe the concert was not meant to be. When the Rolling Stones actually arrive at Altamont, Jagger is greeted by a young man who raced forward and punched him in the face. All the signs seemed to point to a tragedy.

“During the Altamont concert there were four births and four deaths”

When the tumultuous concert finally took place, we are taken through it at a meandering pace, knowing something horrible was going to happen, but being forced to sit and watch the events as they unfold. The pacing was intricate as we just slowly build beginning with the arrival of the fans, shot in a breathtaking helicopter shot that allows us see the enormity of the situation. The Hells Angels would soon arrive and using broken pool cues, with weights added onto the ends, began to inflict their violent form of justice on anyone who crossed their path. It is unclear why they arrived. Some believe the Rolling Stones management hired them, but that was refuted in the film by the Stones who feigned ignorance to the reason of their presence. Different reasons for their being there are also given in this set itself. One person said they believed the Grateful Dead hired them. Another believed the Hells Angels were expected to protect the stage when concerts came to town. Whatever the reason, the arrival of the notorious biker gang harkened the chaos that would follow.

We see Jefferson Airplane as they tried to perform their concert. That would come to an end when singer Marty Balin was knocked unconscious by a member of the Hells Angels following an altercation onstage. When the musical group made comments questioning the incident, one member of the gang walked to a microphone and made threatening comments. The attack was enough to make the Grateful Dead, who were scheduled to play before the Stones, refuse to play and leave immediately.

When The Rolling Stones finally took the stage, nothing seemed to go right. During the performance of Sympathy for the Devil, a motorcycle backfired and began to smoke, causing the crowd to scatter. Jagger began the song again until more fights broke out between the Hells Angels and fans on the other side of the stage. The event would culminate in the stabbing death of a man named Meredith Hunter by a member of the Hells Angels. The death is given poignancy as we see Mick in post production asking the footage be rewound and replayed before finally being paused before the murder. The look on Jagger’s face as he stares at the gun in Hunter’s hand shows the levels that this tragedy affected him. Due to the severe nature of the incident, it took the Maysles brothers close to six months to finally convince him to sign a release form for the film.

While we see the damage caused by the motorcycle gang, we really are not given a side to take. We see confusion and chaos, yet we are shown in a freeze frame that the man killed was indeed holding a gun. The man who stabbed him was eventually cleared of all charges due to self defense. We see that although they knocked out Balin, they also were provoked by the fans, leading to the chaos. Yes, the tragedy is horrible, but who is to blame? Is it the Hells Angels? Is it Mick Jagger, as Hells Angel leader Sonny Barger believed? Just this year, it was revealed by an FBI agent that Jagger was the target of a failed assassination attempt by the Hells Angels as a result of the incident. The movie gives no clear answers and only presents the information and allows us as viewers to connect the dots.

The style of documentary filmmaking has changed over the years. Rarely are we given a great feature with no political opinion for either side. With films by Michael Moore leading us to what he wants us to believe, we have grown accustomed to the work of reporters, advocates and promoters who want to preach their point of view. The style of the Maysles brothers is not seen as much these days. Taking events that turned out to be much more than just another concert video and then turning around and minimalizing the tragedy. The death is shown onscreen but only as part of the events. We do see it in close up and slow motion, but that is because Mick Jagger asked to study the piece. We see the murder through the eyes of the front man. Then he turns and leaves, and so do we. The feature is not about the death of Meredith Hunter, but about the story as it deals with the Rolling Stones. The events are then given to us to view and decide what we believe to be the truth.